Lions, underdogs in 24 in row, favored in Week 2

DETROIT — If the betting odds hold, the Detroit Lions will be in unfamiliar territory Sunday at home against the Washington Commanders.

After playing in 24 consecutive games as an underdog, the longest active streak in the NFL, the Lions are currently 2 1/2-point favorites against the Commanders, according to Caesars Sportsbook.

The Lions’ streak is the team’s longest in the Super Bowl era.

“I don’t think it really affects anything,” Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown told ESPN on Wednesday. “A lot of us, at least for me, I didn’t even know we were the favorites. But I think for us, we don’t care what the spread is. We feel like we’re the underdog in every game just because of the history of this program, so we know what teams are going to think about us. Yeah, they’re gonna play hard, but are they gonna be on the details? Are they gonna do this right?

“So, we want to go out there and win. We don’t care how it comes. We want to go out there. We want to execute, do the little things right, keep it a clean game, no turnovers. Little things like that. And obviously we want to win. That’s the biggest thing.”

Offensive tackle Penei Sewell echoed St. Brown’s sentiments.

“It doesn’t really change much at all, to be honest,” he told ESPN. “We’re coming in every game with nameless opponents. I know they’re Washington Football Team, but at the end of the day, it’s us against us. If we don’t get our s— right, it’s just downhill from there. We’ve just got to get under control, what we can control and go from there.”

The last time Detroit was favored was Nov. 22, 2020, when it was a 1-point favorite on the road against quarterback PJ Walker and the Carolina Panthers. The Lions went on to lose 20-0.

The New York Giants hold the second-longest active streak as an underdog at 15 straight games. They are currently 2 1/2-point favorites for Sunday’s game against the Panthers, according to Caesars Sportsbook.

Detroit (0-1) is looking to redeem itself after a 38-35 loss to Philadelphia in the season opener. The Lions have won five of their past six games against Washington.