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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Prince J. Grimes

Lions will likely snap the NFL’s longest and saddest underdog streak against the Commanders

Even after a loss in their season opener, things are looking up for the Detroit Lions after a long, long, long time of being down.

The Lions are currently 2.5-point favorites in their Week 2 matchup against the Washington Commanders. If the spread holds in their favor, it’ll snap a league-leading streak of 24 straight games they’ve played as underdogs, according to ESPN.

The Lions haven’t been favored in a game since playing the Carolina Panthers in Week 11 of the 2020 season, which is really depressing to expect to lose that many games in a row. I mean, Super Bowl champion Matthew Stafford was still their quarterback.

Fans will hope the Carolina game isn’t a preview of what’s to come, though, as the Lions lost 20-0 the last time they were favored. After playing a conference favorite competitively in Week 1, they should give the 1-0 Commanders a good game.

As for those pesky Panthers, they’ll likely bookend another streak Sunday when they visit the New York Giants, who hold the second-longest run of consecutive games as underdogs. New York is currently favored by 2.5 points after playing 15 straight games as underdogs.

The last time the Giants were expected to win was Week 3 of last season when they lost by three points to the Atlanta Falcons. Coming off a huge upset over the Tennessee Titans, it’s possible the Giants are due for a letdown ahead of a Monday night battle with the Cowboys next week, but they should beat Carolina.

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