The Detroit Lions are coming off two of the most successful seasons in franchise history, winning consecutive NFC North titles while reaching the 2023 NFC Championship Game and securing the No. 1 seed last year, though they suffered a disappointing loss to Washington in the Divisional Round. The team will undergo major changes on the coaching staff in 2025, though, replacing offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, both of whom are now head coaches.
Not only will the team be working with two new coordinators, but Detroit is in the toughest division in the NFL. The Vikings and Packers each made the postseason in 2024, and Green Bay just pulled off a massive move by acquiring Micah Parsons from Dallas. Now, the Packers are seen as the NFC North favorite over the Lions despite Detroit winning the division the last two years and returning the majority of its roster.
Offensively, the biggest challenge will likely be overcoming the losses of Frank Ragnow and Kevin Zeitler on the interior of the offensive line. Detroit’s O-line has been a strength in recent years as one of the best in football, but losing two key pieces in one offseason could lead to even more question marks for that side of the ball. On defense, new coordinator Kelvin Sheppard must hope for better health luck on that side of the ball. Only two starters were healthy the entire year and top edge rushers Aidan Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport combined to play only seven games. Any dip the offense faces with Johnson no longer calling the shots will have to be made up by the defense functioning like a top-tier unit, and staying healthy is the first step to making that happen.
We’re going to take a quick look at the Lions’ 2024 season and the rest of their offseason moves before getting into their track record in NFL futures over the last five years. After that, you can find the odds available at top sportsbooks for their 2025 win total along with Super Bowl and playoff odds as well as key player props to know. Finally, we’ll take a look at the pros and cons of betting on the Lions in 2025 and give out our best bets.
2024 Detroit Lions season review
- Regular season: 15-2 (NFC North champs)
- Playoffs: Lost to Commanders in Divisional Round 45-31
- Second 15-plus win team in NFL history to lose playoff opener (2011 Packers)
- Franchise-record 11-game win streak
- No. 1 seed for first time in team history
- Team records for wins (15), points per game (33.2) and point differential (+222) in a season
- First team in NFL history to increase win total by three-plus wins in three straight seasons
2025 Detroit Lions offseason review
| QB | Teddy Bridgewater, Jake Fromm | Kyle Allen | |
| RB | |||
| WR | Allen Robinson | Malik Taylor, Ronnie Bell | Isaac TeSlaa (3), Dominic Lovett (7) |
| TE | Kenny Yeboah | ||
| OL | Kevin Zeitler, Frank Ragnow, Connor Galvin | Trystan Colon | Tate Ratledge (2), Miles Frazier (5) |
| DL | John Cominsky, Kyle Peko, Jonah Williams | Roy Lopez | Tyleik Williams (1) |
| EDGE | Za’Darius Smith | Raequan Williams | Ahmed Hassanein (6) |
| LB | Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Kwon Alexander, Ben Niemann | Grant Stuard, Zach Cunningham | |
| CB | Carlton Davis, Emmanuel Moseley, Ifeatu Melifonwu, Kindle Vildor | D.J. Reed, Avonte Maddox, Rock Ya-Sin | |
| S | Dan Jackson (7) | ||
| STAFF | Ben Johnson (OC), Aaron Glenn (DC) | John Morton (OC) |
Five-year futures odds and trends
| 2024 | +1200 | 10.5 | Over | 15 | L, Divisional round |
| 2023 | +2200 | 9.5 | Over | 12 | L, NFC Championship |
| 2022 | +12000 | 6.5 | Over | 9 | 2nd, NFC North |
| 2021 | +25000 | 4.5 | Under | 3 | 4th, NFC North |
| 2020 | +8000 | 7 | Under | 5 | 4th, NFC North |
Historical betting data via Pro-Football-Reference.
2025 Detroit Lions futures odds
| Go Over win total | 10.5 (+110) | 10.5 (+105) | 9.5 (-125) | 10.5 (+120) |
| Go Under win total | 10.5 (-135) | 10.5 (-125) | 9.5 (+105) | 10.5 (-140) |
| Win Super Bowl | +1000 | +1200 | +1400 | +1200 |
| Win NFC | +650 | +600 | +700 | +600 |
| Win NFC North | +200 | +175 | +190 | +185 |
| Make playoffs | -185 | -1200 | -165 | -170 |
| Miss playoffs | +150 | +165 | +135 | +138 |
| Win No. 1 seed | +750 | +725 | +700 |
Odds subject to change.
2025 Jared Goff props
| MVP | +4000 | +4000 | +3000 | +3500 |
| Offensive POY | +10000 | +15000 | +15000 | +15000 |
| Most pass yards | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 | +1100 |
| Pass yards O/U | 3850.5 | 3875.5 | 3900.5 | 3875.5 |
| Pass TDs O/U | 28.5 | 28.5 | 28.5 | 28.5 |
Odds subject to change.
Reasons to back the Lions
The offense ranked first in points and second in yards last season, so even if there is some drop-off without Ben Johnson, it’s still likely to remain an above-average unit. Morton’s Denver offense was 19th in scoring in 2023 but jumped to 10th last year despite starting a rookie quarterback and not having a notable group of pass-catchers, and that should be considered the baseline for this Detroit offense that has better running backs and receivers along with a veteran quarterback in Goff.
The defense also figures to be much healthier after all the injuries up front. Along with Davenport barely seeing the field and Hutchison playing just five games, the team saw top defensive tackles D.J. Reader and Alim McNeill miss five games combined while linebackers Alex Anzalone and Malcolm Rodriguez each played just 10 games. The addition of D.J. Reed should help overcome the team’s biggest departure in Carlton Davis, as well.
Reasons to fade the Lions
We’ve covered the loss of Johnson and key offensive lineman and a defense that could play better if it can stay healthier, but it’s hard to see where else improvement could come from. The Lions didn’t do a ton to add talent to the roster outside of Reed, and the team’s first-round pick was a defensive lineman who may wind up being Reader’s replacement down the line. Detroit will also lean heavily on second-round guard Tate Ratledge.
Additionally, the Lions face one of the toughest schedules in the NFL, and they have eight of their first 10 games against 2024 playoff teams, and another is against the Bears. The Packers and Vikings were both already threats to Detroit’s NFC North crown, and that was before Green Bay added Parsons in a blockbuster move just before Week 1. The Lions’ road slate during that 10-game stretch involves playing the Packers, Ravens, Bengals, Chiefs, Commanders and Eagles, all teams expected to be in the playoff mix in 2025. Detroit also wraps up the seasons with three of four road games against the Rams, Vikings and Bears, all winnable matchups but none likely to be pushovers.
How to bet the Lions in 2025
- Under 10.5 wins -125 (Caesars)
- Miss playoffs +165 (Caesars)
- Jared Goff Under 28.5 passing TDs -110 (DraftKings)
There’s too much to not like about the Lions this year to make a positive play considering how high their projection is in the market as the second favorite in the NFC. No Johnson, a likely less effective offensive line and basically no improvement on the roster from last year aside from expected better health on defense is a lot to overcome when you’re playing one of the toughest schedules in the league, particularly on the road. They should still be in the mix for a playoff spot, but I see this as more of a nine- or 10-win team that has a much better chance of missing the postseason than the +165 odds at Caesars suggest.
I also think taking Under on Goff’s passing touchdowns makes a lot of sense even after he threw 37 last year. He had 30 and 29 touchdowns the previous two seasons while missing no time, and those came on more attempts than he threw last year. I’ll write 2024 off as an aberration in terms of touchdown efficiency as Goff adjusts to a new play-caller, and it might take another 600 pass attempts to get to 29-30 TDs again, which I think is a reasonable ceiling.
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