NFL Week 17 Betting – Lions, Packers Clash for Div. Title

Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers (-7.5, 48 o/u)

The Green Bay Packers will try to make history this Sunday when they host the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field in the last game of the regular season (4:25 p.m Eastern).

Both teams come into this game at 11-4, tied for first in the NFC North. With a win, the Cheeseheads would claim a fourth consecutive division title, something that the storied franchise has never been able to do.

The Packers have been dominant at home this year, posting a perfect 7-0 record, so far, and ending many games – for all intents and purposes – before halftime. (In their last home game in week 14, the Packers jumped on the Falcons, 31-7, before the half; the Falcons mounted a furious comeback attempt – and managed to cover the 13-point spread – but the deficit proved too much and Green Bay hung on for a 43-37 win.)

The Pack have also dominated the Lions at home, winning 22 straight over Detroit in Wisconsin.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been nearly as perfect as the Packers’ record at home this season, with 23 touchdowns and no interceptions at Lambeau.

All of the above has the Packers sitting as 7.5-point favorites for Sunday’s game.

The Lions have won four straight – and have the second-best total defense in the league (295.9 yards per game) – but haven’t won at the Frozen Tundra since 1991. Making matters worse, they have struggled to score points in the last two weeks, averaging only 18 per game.

The Lions can take solace in the fact that they have already secured a playoff berth thanks to Washington’s surprising week 16 win over Philadelphia. If they lose to Green Bay – which everyone is expecting they will – the Lions will enter the playoffs as the No. 6 seed in the NFC and likely travel to Dallas in the Wild Card round.

Green Bay still has a shot at the top seed in the NFC, but they will need to beat Detroit and hope that the Seahawks lose to the Rams. If Seattle wins on Sunday, then a Green Bay win over Detroit would earn the Packers the No. 2 seed (and a first-round bye).

The Packers have lost the last two in the series against the Lions, but with the division title at stake, expect Green Bay to stay perfect at home and continue its dominance against the Lions at Lambeau Field.

(Photo credit: Mike Morbeck (flickr) “Marshall Newhouse (74), Cliff Avril (92)” [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode]. Photo has been cropped.)