After last season, when the Detroit Lions earned their first division title in 30 years and their first playoff victory since 1991, some fans, analysts and Michigan sportsbooks customers might have wondered if coach Dan Campbell's squad could maintain that level of success in the 2024-25 season.
The answer seems to be a resounding yes.
The Lions are 5-1 after going on the road on Sunday and defeating the previously unbeaten Minnesota Vikings 31-29 in a crucial NFC North clash in Minneapolis. Detroit matched its 2023 start, when the team went to the NFC Championship Game.
At BetMichigan.com, the home of the best Michigan sports betting promos, we used Champs or Chumps to see how teams ended up after starting 5-1 since the 2019 NFL season. There have been 23 teams in the past five seasons that have started 5-1.
Situation | Number of Teams | Percentage* |
Making The Playoffs | 22 | 96% |
Advanced Past Wild Card Round | 13 | 57% |
Winning Divisional Round | 7 | 30% |
Winning Conference Championship | 4 | 17% |
Winning Super Bowl | 2 | 9% |
The Lions have +750 odds to win the franchise’s first Super Bowl, according to BetMGM Michigan Sportsbook. That’s third on the operator’s board, behind only the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs (+425) and Baltimore Ravens (+650). The Lions have the best odds of any NFC team to lift the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
The NFL trend over the past five years is that a team winning five of its first six games pretty much always makes the postseason. Of the 23 teams to start 5-1 from 2019-2023, only the 2021 Ravens missed the playoffs, according to ChampsorChumps.us data. Last season's Chiefs started 5-1 on their way to winning it all, as did the 2021 Los Angeles Rams.
The Lions face the Tennessee Titans on Sunday (1 p.m. Eastern kickoff) at Detroit's Ford Field. After that, Detroit goes back on the road for another NFC North clash in Green Bay against the Packers. See our Lions vs. Packers odds page to track line movements and compare operators at BetMichigan.com for that Nov. 3 game.
Detroit is tied with Minnesota atop the division at 5-1 but this might be the best division race in the NFL, with all four teams guaranteed to be over .500 entering November. The Packers, who have not had a bye, are lurking half a game back at 5-2 and the surprising Chicago Bears are 4-2. The Lions have scored 182, points, an average of 30.3 per game. Only the Washington Commanders (218 points in seven games for a 31.1 average) have been lighting up scoreboards at a more efficient rate.
Keep track of the Detroit Lions Super Bowl odds all season with us at BetMichigan.com.
USA Today photo by Kimberly P. Mitchell
Author
Jim Tomlin writes and edits for BetMichigan.com. In 30 years as a journalist he has worked for publications such as the Tampa Bay Times, Saturday Tradition, Saturday Down South and FanRag. He now lends his sports and gambling expertise to BetMichigan among other websites.
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