The Detroit Lions are expected to once again be among the contenders to compete for a Lombardi Trophy in 2025, but there remain skeptics on just how successful the team will be.
Detroit currently holds back-to-back division titles in the NFC North and retains a significant amount of players who contributed to that success, but it has been an offseason of change with the departure of several key coaches and the retirement of center Frank Ragnow.
Amidst all this adversity, along with a schedule loaded with high-level competition, NBC Sports' Drew Dinsick believes that betting the Lions to miss the playoffs at (+200) odds via BetMGM carries good value.
“There are people that feel very strongly that this is still a Super Bowl contending team, and then there are people like me that think that now is the time to sell on the Detroit Lions as their make the playoff price is outrageously favorable," Dinsick said. "And I think Lions to miss the playoffs is somewhat of a value bet right now. Their win total is 10.5, they’re +120 to win the NFC North, +450 to win the NFC. This is not an especially complicated handicap. The Lions are going to be missing not just their two absolutely elite coordinators from last season, but a lot of the support staff that really helped make this a really special coaching staff in general."
Dinsick cited the departures of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, along with several of their assistants, as a key reason for a potential dropoff. Furthermore, he expects the replacements John Morton and Kelvin Sheppard to endure growing pains.
Additionally, he believes that Ragnow's retirement will have an adverse effect on quarterback Jared Goff's performance due to his impact as a pass-blocker.
It's worth noting that Goff had a hand in selecting Johnson's replacement and will have plenty on his plate with the offense. Additionally, the Lions have maintained confidence in their next man up mantra with Ragnow's departure.
However, Dinsick believes these changes will be difficult for the team to overcome.
"Both Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, their offensive and defensive coordinator respectively, have taken new jobs in the NFL as head coaches. And the backfill, I think, is going to have growing pains," Dinsick noted. "Add to the mix that your captain of your offensive line, center Frank Ragnow, had a somewhat late and surprising retirement last week, throws a lot of uncertainty into whether you’re going to have an elite pass-blocking unit which has been hugely important throughout Jared Goff’s career in terms of getting his best performances. So with Goff having a new offensive coordinator, a somewhat limited sample of weapons with some of the players just generally showing some fatigue and some injuries this offseason. And then now, a new offensive line, expecting some significant regression from Jared Goff this season is a reasonable expectation."
Among the other challenges the Lions face in 2025 is a challenging schedule. Because they won the division, they will play fellow division champions from several divisions including both teams that played in the Super Bowl.
Throw in the strength of the division as a whole, and the Lions will have their work cut out for them. It's worth noting that the Lions were unbeaten in the division last year, but that feat is a difficult one to repeat regardless of team.
"Now, the Lions are also in the most difficult division in all of football. The NFC North is an absolute war zone," Dinsick argued. "There are no easy games in division, and then outside of that they have a first-place schedule that is just littered with extremely difficult tests. So when you stir this together and you consider new offensive and defensive coordinators, still some questions about health, surprise retirements of a key leader and a very difficult schedule, I think the time is right on taking a no on the Detroit Lions to make the playoffs at +200.”
