Detroit Lions Week 15 Odds: Huge Home Underdogs As Arizona Cardinals Visit

Well, forget about a winning streak. And the playoffs.

They are now officially playing out the string in the schedule’s final four games, and Detroit Lions odds are certainly going to reflect that reality from now on. Next up in Week 15 is a home game against the NFL’s best team, as the Arizona Cardinals are coming to town Sunday.

Not surprisingly, the Lions are heavy underdogs despite the game being at Ford Field. To open the week, Michigan sportsbooks were calling Detroit 14-point underdogs for the game. On Monday, BetMGM Sportsbook and BetRivers MI had the Lions as only 13.5-point dogs, offering less juice to sacrifice the possibly crucial half-point. By game day on Sunday, the line had shifted down to 12.5 points at most books.

The Lions also were 12.5-point dogs last week at Denver, a game they lost handily.

The over/under for Arizona’s visit to Detroit has been set for 48 points.

In the summer, Michigan sportsbooks made the Lions 6.5-point underdogs for the game. Since then, the Lions are 1-11-1 and are angling for the first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Meanwhile, Arizona is jockeying among the NFC playoff elite, including the coveted top spot and a first-round bye.

If the line holds, it would be the second-biggest line the Lions have faced this season, only trailing a 16.5-point number for an October game at the Los Angeles Rams, Arizona’s Week 14 opponent for Monday Night football. (Detroit covered that line, however, and is 8-5 against the spread this season.)

The kickoff for the Lions game against Arizona is set for 1 p.m. EST. The game is on FOX.

Arizona Cardinals at Detroit Lions: Week 15 NFL Odds

Lions officially eliminated from ‘playoff contention’ after another loss

After earning their first win of the season in Week 13 against Minnesota, the Lions couldn’t make it two at the Denver Broncos, falling 38-10 in the Mile High City. The Lions were decimated with illness and injuries in this one (not that it matters much these days against competent NFL teams).

The underdog Lions did not beat a bloated 12.5-point spread but had covered four straight games before the blowout.

The loss officially eliminated the Lions from NFL playoff contention, and Detroit became the league’s third team to suffer such a fate. Believe it or not, there was a remote scenario in play for the Lions to make the playoffs entering Week 14 action, which would’ve entailed a wild scenario of very specific outcomes down the stretch.

Cardinals coming in on short week with 10 wins already

The Cardinals are one of the NFL’s top teams but will be coming in on short rest.

Arizona entered Monday night’s game against the Rams with the league’s best record. The Cardinals entered Week 14 as the only NFL team with a double-digit win total at 10-2.

Quarterback Kyler Murray was having an MVP start to the season before suffering an ankle injury in late October. He missed all of November but returned on Dec. 5 for a win against Chicago.

Murray was set to play Monday night against the Rams and former Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford.