The oddsmakers are sending a pretty loud message about the Detroit Lions heading into the 2026 NFL season.
Detroit is currently favored in 14 of its 17 scheduled games according to early betting lines released following Thursday night’s official NFL schedule reveal.
That is a massive sign of respect for Dan Campbell’s squad.
Lions only underdogs in three games
According to the early betting lines, Detroit is only listed as an underdog three times all season:
- Week 2 at Buffalo Bills (+3)
- Week 17 at Chicago Bears (+1.5)
- Week 18 at Green Bay Packers (+2.5)
That means sportsbooks expect the Lions to be competitive nearly every single week against what most believe will be one of the easiest schedules in the NFL in 2026.
Biggest spreads favor Detroit heavily
The Lions’ largest projected spread comes in Week 3 against the New York Jets, where Detroit opened as a 9.5 point favorite at Ford Field.
Clearly, oddsmakers believe Detroit’s offense will once again rank among the NFL’s elite while expecting the roster to remain one of the NFC’s deepest teams.
NFC North expected to be a war again
Even though Detroit is favored in most games, the NFC North still looks like one of the NFL’s toughest divisions.
The Lions are slight favorites or slight underdogs in nearly every divisional matchup, which reflects how close sportsbooks believe the race could become.
Late season road games against Chicago and Green Bay especially stand out.
Both environments could be cold weather playoff atmosphere games with major postseason implications attached.
Full Detroit Lions 2026 betting lines
- Week 1 vs. Saints: Lions -7
- Week 2 at Bills: Bills -3
- Week 3 vs. Jets: Lions -9.5
- Week 4 at Panthers: Lions -3
- Week 5 at Cardinals: Lions -8.5
- Week 7 vs. Packers: Lions -1.5
- Week 8 vs. Vikings: Lions -4.5
- Week 9 at Dolphins: Lions -6.5
- Week 10 vs. Patriots: Lions -1.5
- Week 11 vs. Buccaneers: Lions -4.5
- Week 12 vs. Bears: Lions -2
- Week 13 at Falcons: Lions -3.5
- Week 14 vs. Titans: Lions -7.5
- Week 15 at Vikings: Lions -1.5
- Week 16 vs. Giants: Lions -5.5
- Week 17 at Bears: Bears -1.5
- Week 18 at Packers: Packers -2.5