Lions Underdogs Against NFC North Rival Vikings For Week 5

The Detroit Lions (0-4) finish up their two-game road trip Sunday as they visit the Minnesota Vikings (1-3) in a NFC North Division contest at 1 p.m. ET (FOX).

The Lions are underdogs by more than a touchdown at various Michigan sportsbooks. They are 8.5-point underdogs at Tipico, +9.5 at Caesars MI, PlayUp and BetMGM MI, and +10 at DraftKings MI.

Detroit is +330 on the moneyline at DraftKings, +340 with Caesars, +350 at PlayUp and +360 at BetMGM, as of Thursday afternoon, for those looking to wager at Michigan online gambling sites.

Over/under totals on all five online sportsbooks range from 49 to 49.5 total points.

Goff on a losing streak

Lions quarterback Jared Goff completed 24-of-38 passes for 299 yards with two touchdowns to wide receiver Raymond Kalif and no interceptions in his team’s 24-14 loss at Chicago last week.

Goff, who has lost seven straight starts (tied for the longest of his career as a rookie in 2016), threw to eight receivers on the day, led by wide receiver Quintez Cephus with four receptions for 83 yards.

The Lions became the first team since at least 1993 to have the ball inside their opponents’ 10-yard line on each of their first three drives and not score on any of them (two fumbles lost, one turnover on downs).

Scouting the Vikings

The Vikings, who have won seven straight games against the Lions, look to generate some offense after last week’s 14-7 home loss to the Cleveland Browns.

Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins completed 20-of-38 passes for 203 yards with a 12-yard TD pass to Justin Jefferson (6 catches, 84 yards) in the first quarter to take an early 7-0 lead, but that was it on the day.

Running back Dalvin Cook carried nine times for just 34 yards, and this week the Vikings must re-establish the run game to be effective.

And the winner is…

Prediction: Obviously, both teams need the win badly. The Lions have shown signs against the Green Bay Packers on the road and the Baltimore Ravens at home, but it still wasn’t enough. Both sides of the ball have to show signs of consistency, and this might be the spot to generate some offense and finally get a positive result.

The Vikings are at home, where they have their only win of the season. Minnesota upended the Seattle Seahawks, 30-17, on Sept. 26, as Cousins completed 30-of-38 passes for 323 yards, three TDs and no INTs, and running back Alexander Mattison had 26 carries for 112 yards.

Jefferson also had a huge day with nine catches for 118 yards and one TD.

All three, including Cook, need to step up their game at home. I give them the edge, but only by a small margin. Vikings 27-24.