Lions vs. Cowboys Point Spread: NFL Week 17 Odds, Prediction
There is no Monday night game in Week 17 because of New Year’s Day and that’s college football’s domain when not on a Sunday, but we do get a special Saturday night game and it’s hugely important in the NFC playoff race as Detroit visits Dallas.
The Cowboys opened as 6-point favourites to win on the NFL odds.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Both these teams are in the NFC playoffs, it’s simply a matter of seed. Detroit has won the NFC North for the first time in decades and thus is guaranteed at least one home playoff game. The Lions’ last playoff win was in the Divisional Round following the 1991 season against … Dallas. Detroit remains the only NFC team to never reach a Super Bowl. Probably not this season, either, as it’s tough to see this dome team winning outdoors in San Francisco or Philadelphia or Dallas.
Dallas is battling for the NFC East title with Philadelphia. If both those clubs win out, the Eagles would win the tiebreaker. The Cowboys aren’t slipping past the fifth seed so they probably won’t see the Lions on Wild Card Weekend because Detroit should finish as either the NFC’s No. 2 or No. 3 seed and Dallas as the No. 5 would face the division winner with the worst record (No. 4 seed), which will be the NFC South champion (currently Tampa Bay).
Including three playoff games, the Cowboys lead the all-time series 18-12 vs. Detroit and have won the past five (one postseason game). They played last season at AT&T Stadium and Dallas won 24-6 behind two TD runs from Ezekiel Elliott (now with New England). Jared Goff had two picks for the Lions. Turnovers can be his bugaboo.
Detroit Lions
Detroit had the longest division title drought in the NFC but clinched the North in Week 16 thanks to a 30-24 win at Minnesota on Sunday for the team’s first division crown since 1993 – Cleveland has the longest drought overall, last winning a division title in 1989 — and the club will host a playoff game for the first time in 22 seasons at Ford Field. Rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for two scores and Amon-Ra St. Brown caught 12 passes for 106 yards and a touchdown on Sunday. St. Brown has eight 100-yard receiving games this season, tying Tyreek Hill for the most in the NFL. Ifeatu Melifonwu had the game-sealing interception at the 5-yard line with 49 seconds left. The Lions, who picked off four Vikings passes, have reached 11 wins for the first time in nine years and their 20 victories since the start of the 2022 seasons are the most in franchise history in a two-year span. Dan Campbell is among the favourites for NFL Coach of the Year.
Dallas Cowboys
Dallas has been unbeatable at home since last season on a 15-game winning streak at AT&T Stadium and is simply an average-to-bad team on the road as it was beaten 22-20 in Miami on Sunday for its second straight loss. The Dolphins won it on a field goal with 29 seconds left. Dallas had trailed 19-10 entering the fourth but took a 20-10 lead on a Dak Prescott TD pass with 3:27 remaining. The Cowboys did have some red zone issues, including a fumble by Prescott on first-and-goal from inside the 1 on Dallas’ first possession. Coach Mike McCarthy’s team probably will not win the NFC East now because Philadelphia won to take a game lead and finishes with two of the league’s worst teams, so the Cowboys will most likely be wild card bound and will not get a home playoff game unless there are upsets galore. Dallas is 3-5 on the road and no Cowboys team has ever gone to a Super Bowl with a losing road record. The best they can be this year now is 4-5 away. At home, meanwhile, Dallas has a plus-167 point differential this year and is the first team ever with at least 30 points in each of its first seven home games.