The Kansas City Chiefs are the latest Super Bowl champions.
Now, could the Lions’ actually be next in line?
Detroit, it turns out, has some early believers in the Vegas oddsmakers, who late Sunday night listed the Lions as the ninth-favorite to be hoisting the Lombardi Trophy a year from now, according to early odds posted by BetMGM. Detroit had odds of +2500, or 25-to-1.
There’s a long way to go before the 2023 season kicks off, but if those odds hold, they would be the best preseason Super Bowl odds for the Lions in more than a decade.
Before the 2012 season, Detroit was +2200, or 22-to-1 (and went on to finish 4-12). Before that, you have to go back to 1996, when the Lions were +1500, or 15-to-1 (and finished 5-11).
The Lions, of course, have never played in a Super Bowl, and haven’t won an NFL championship since 1957. But a strong finish to the 2022 season has caught the oddsmakers’ attention heading into the offseason. Detroit started the 2022 season 1-6, but finished 9-8, just out of the playoff picture.
The Chiefs, who beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-35, on Sunday night, behind a stellar performance by game MVP Patrick Mahomes (plus a touchdown by Western Michigan alum Skyy Moore), are the favorites to repeat, at +600, followed by the Cincinnati Bengals (+850), Buffalo Bills (+900), Eagles (+900), San Francisco 49ers (+900), Dallas Cowboys (+1400), Baltimore Ravens (+1800) and Los Angeles Chargers (+2000). Also at +2500 are the Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets.
The Los Angeles Rams, who won last year’s Super Bowl with ex-Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford under center, are listed at +3000, just behind the Lions, according to BetMGM.
The Lions have been massive underdogs entering each of the last two seasons, listed at +12000 before the 2022 season and +25000 before the 2021 season.
Twitter: @tonypaul1984