The Detroit Lions have largely been also-rans over the last several years, or even decades. So their December schedule usually hasn’t been much of a concern either around the league or for Michigan betting sites. But 2023 is different.
This season, the Lions were the preseason favorites to win the NFC North and so far, they’ve been delivering on that promise. Detroit is 8-2, leading the NFC North division and putting some distance between themselves and second-place Minnesota (6-5).
The Lions head into their traditional slot as the early game on Thanksgiving Day against their ancient rival, the Geen Bay Packers, but critical games in December are looming. So we at BetMichigan.com, where such information is available along with the industry’s best Michigan sports betting promos, researched which teams have done best and worst in December games since 2013.
Here are the results:
NFL Team Records in December Since 2013
You won’t find insight like this at Michigan sportsbook apps, only at BetMichigan.com. We consulted StatMuse.com to find the records of every NFL team in December since 2013, then we put them in order from best to worst. Note that all teams didn’t participate in the same number of games, so ranking is based on win percentage.
As Detroit fans are all too well aware, the Lions haven’t had too many dominant teams in the last decade. They’ve enjoyed just four winning seasons since 2013.
Detroit showed promise last season, finishing 9-8 after a 1-6 start, but did not go to the playoffs. In the last decade, the Lions’ best season was in 2014 when they went 11-5 and finished second in the division but lost to Dallas in the Wild Card round. They again lost in the first round in 2016 against Seattle.
This season, Detroit Lions Super Bowl odds are worth a legitimate peek on a weekly basis.
Lions In Bottom Half Of NFL Since 2013
But historically, the Lions have not surged in December. Since 2013, Detroit has posted an 18-24 record (.429) in December. Among the Lions’ NFC North rivals, Green Bay has the NFL’s best December record since 2013 at 32-9 (.780), Minnesota is 23-22 at .511, and Chicago is 16-26 at.381.
Looking ahead after Detroit’s 22nd Turkey Day game against the Packers, the December schedule features games at New Orleans (Dec. 3), at Chicago (Dec. 10), against Denver at home (Dec. 17), at Minnesota (Dec. 24) and at Dallas Dec. 30. The regular-season finale is against Minnesota on Jan. 7 at home. FanDuel Michigan Sportsbook has odds of +1300 for the Lions to win the Super Bowl, the best value among a handful of operators that we surveyed on Wednesday afternoon.
