NFC North Lions and Packers 2024 NFL Schedules, Odds and Picks

Previews and betting tips for the 2024 NFL season – Lions and Packers

The 2024 NFL season kicked off with a Thursday/Friday doubleheader starting Sept. 5, and now the full Week 1 Sunday schedule is set for Sept. 8. The two-time defending Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs (-3, 46.5) beat the Baltimore Ravens 27-20 on Thursday, Sept. 5 in an AFC playoff rematch with those two teams the AFC favorites to reach Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9, 2025 in New Orleans. The Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers are favorites to come out on top of the tougher NFC North in 2024 after the Lions won their first division title since 1993 last season and made it to the NFC Championship Game. NFC North Lions and Packers schedules, odds and futures to guide you for the 2024 season.

NFL Week 1 Matchups And Odds – My update in Forbes

But with training camp and NFLX finished and the season set to start, football and fantasy fans are anxious to get the season started. So too are sports bettors, who have been pouring through the teams schedules, rosters, stats, odds, futures and props and making bets at leading online sportsbooks. That includes on the AFC and NFC teams with the  NFC North Lions and Packers among the betting favorites to win the NFC.

NFC West – 49ers and Rams
NFC West – Seahawks and Cardinals
NFC East – Eagles and Cowboys
NFC East – Commanders and Giants

NFL Scoring

Last season the NFL average scoring per game was 43.5 points, down from 43.8 in 2022 and 46.0 points per game in 2021. The record scoring of 49.6 points per game in 2020 seems gone, but new NFL kickoff rules will appear to improve starting field position by 2-5 yards with scoring expected to increase by at least 1.5 points per game.

Football odds from leading online sportsbooks fresh periodically and are subject to change, including on NFC East Commanders and Giants props and live betting.

Detroit Lions

Season Win Total: 10.5 (Over -150)
Division Odds: +115 / NFC Odds: +550 / Super Bowl Odds: +1100
Record Last 2 Years: 12-5, 9-8
Head Coach: Dan Campbell (4th season)

Lions Schedule, Odds and Props

Division games and advance point spreads (DraftKings)

Week 7 at Minnesota Vikings (DET -3.5 / 48)
Week 9 at Green Bay Packers (DET +1.5 / 49)
Week 13 Chicago Bears (DET -4 / 50) Thurs, Thanksgiving
Week 14 Green Bay Packers (DET -3 / 48) Thurs
Week 16 at Chicago Bears (DET -1 / 47)
Week 18 Minnesota Vikings (DET -5.5 / 47)

Other Key Games
Week 1 Los Angeles Rams (DET -3.5 / 51) SNF
Week 4 Seattle Seahawks (DET -5.5 / 49) MNF
Week 6 at Dallas Cowboys (DET +1 / 48.5)
Week 10 at Houston Texans (DET +1 / 50) SNF
Week 11 Jacksonville Jaguars (DET -4 / 50)
Week 12 at Indianapolis Colts (DET -2.5 / 48.5)
Week 15 Buffalo Bills (DET -2 / 50.5)
Week 17 at San Francisco 49ers (DET +4.5 / 49.5) MNF

Bye: Week 5

Home: Chicago, Green Bay, Minnesota, Jacksonville, LA Rams, Seattle, Tennessee, Tampa Bay, Buffalo
Away: Chicago, Green Bay, Minnesota, Arizona, Houston, Indianapolis, San Francisco, Dallas

Key Player Props (regular season at BetOnline)

QB Jerod Goff – O/U 4,050 Passing Yards / 26.5.5 Passing TD’s / 10.5 INT
RB Gibbs – O/U .5 Rushing Yards / .5 Rush TD’s / .5 Rec Yds / .5 Receptions
RB – O/U .5 Rush Yards / 3.5 TD’s / 400 Rec Yds / 50.5 Receptn
WR Amon-Ra St. Brown – O/U 1,275 Rec Yds / 105 Receptions / 8.5 Rec TD’s
TE Sam LaPorta – O/U 850.5 Rec Yards / 82.5 Receiving Yards / 7.5 Rec TD’s
DE Aidan Hutchinson – O/U 11.5 Sacks / LB Alex Anzalone 120.5 Tackles & Assists

Stats and Notes (check back ahead of season for more betting notes). NFC North Lions and Packers Handicapping and research includes sources and stats from beat writers, team sites and press notes, bettors and newsletters or betting guides like VSiN, Sharp Football, Playbook, CleveAnalytics, ESPN Stats & Info and more including FairwayJay’s proprietary data base and stats.

The Lions are this year’s NFC North favorite for the first time since Lassie was a puppy, or Barry Sanders played running back in Detroit, which was the last time the Lions won a playoff game until this past season. The roar has been restored in Detroit, and the Lions enter the season with Pro Football Focus’ No. 1 rated offensive line. Offensive coordinator returns after Detroit scored > 27 points per game and averaged 395 yards offense per contest to rank No. 3 in the league whiile ranking  No. 6 in both Rushing and Passing EPA. Despite the Lions explosive offense, they were out-gained in five of their final six games, including the playoffs. That’s because the Lions secondary ranked 25th in EPA allowed per drop back and 31st in yards per pass attempt allowed, and 74% of all yards gained on the Lions were passing yards – No. 1 highest rate in the NFL. More shootouts are expected in Lions games this season with no O/U game total above below 47 points and the Lions expected to face the easiest schedule of opposing pass defenses in the NFL. Note too that the Lions first seven games and 13 of their first 14 games being played indoors.

Last season the Lions started 5-1 on their way to a division title with a 12-5 record. They led at halftime in 13 games and went 11-2 in those contests. In 2022, Detroit started 1-6 before winning 8-of-10 games to finish 9-8 in 2022.

Pro Football Focus Offensive Line Rankings Entering 2024 Season (Lions No. 1, Packers No. 14)

Betting: Head coach Dan Campbell is 24-7-1 ATS vs. .500 or greater opponents. That includes in the NFC Championship Game this past season as +7.5 in a difficult to digest 34-31 loss. The Lions blew a 24-7 halftime lead, and coach Campbell’s decisions proved costly going for a first down instead of kicking a field goal in 4Q to put the Lions up by 17 points. The 2023 season was the second-straight season that the Lions exceeded their win total by 2.5 games, and also the third straight season (all under Dan Campbell) where they finished over 60% ATS. Detroit also overachieved at the 3rd highest rate in the NFL last season based on both point differential and blended 4th quarter win share. Clearly bettors like the Lions and their offense and schedule with the No. 1 offense, No. 2 running backs and top-5 defensive front 7 to bet on with an upgraded secondary that starts rated No. 20 in the NFL (Sharp Football).

FairwayJay has been a top of the leaderboard point spread prognosticator with 57% ATS success posting his NFL underdog picks weekly the past 7 years. That includes an unmatched 70% season in 2021 going 28-12 ATS. His previous NFL handicapping, strategics and sports betting success included 8 straight winning NFL seasons (57.3% ATS) starting in 2003 while independently documented and a professional handicapper including 52-28 ATS (65%) bursting onto the national scene his rookie year (feature Las Vegas Sun). FairwayJay provided weekly insight on a most popular daily sports betting and handicapping radio show heard in Las Vegas and nationwide on SiriusXM radio.

FairwayJay’s NFL handicapping contest success includes back-t0-back 60% seasons and top 6% finishes in the Westgate SuperContest.

Green Bay Packers 

Season Win Total: 9.5 (Over -140)
Division Odds: +230 / NFC Odds: +750 / Super Bowl Odds: +1400
Record Last 2 Years: 9-8, 8-9
Head Coach: Matt Lafleur (6th year)

Packers Schedule, Odds and Props

Division games and advance point spreads
Week 4 Minnesota Vikings (GB -5 /45)
Week 9 Detroit Lions (GB -1.5 / 49)
Week 11 at Chicago Bears (GB -1 / 44.5)
Week 14 at Detroit Lions (GB +3 / 48) Thurs
Week 16 New Orleans Saints (GB – / 4) MNF
Week 17 at Minnesota Vikings (GB -2 / 45.5)
Week 18 Chicago Bears (GB -3.5 / 46)

Other Key Games
Week 1 Philadelphia Eagles (GB +2.5 / 49) – Friday in Brazil
Week 2 Indianapolis Colts (GB -4.5 / 47)
Week 5 at Los Angeles Rams (GB +1.5 / 48.5)
Week 7 Houston Texans (GB -2.5 / 48.5)
Week 8 at Jacksonville Jaguars (GB -1 / 46)
Week 12 San Francisco 49ers (GB +2.5 / 47)
Week 13 Miami Dolphins (GB -3 / 48.5) Thurs, Thanksgiving
Week 15 at Seattle Seahawks (GB -1 / 47)
Week 16 New Orleans Saints (GB -5 / 45) MNF

Bye: Week 10

Home: Chicago, Detroit, Minnesota, Arizona, Houston, Indianapolis, San Francisco, New Orleans, Miami
Away: Chicago, Detroit, Minnesota, Jacksonville, LA Rams, Seattle, Tennessee, Philadelphia (Brazil)

Key Player Props (BetOnline and BetUS)

QB Jordan Love – O/U 3,850.5 Pass Yards / 28.5.5 Passing TD’s / 11.5 INT’s
RB Josh Jacobs – O/U 950.5 Rush Yards / 7.5 Rushing TD’s / 275.5 Rec Yards
WR Christian Watson – O/U 750.5 Rec Yards / 52.5 Rec Yards / 5.5 Rec TD’s
WR Jayden Reed – O/U 750.5 / 60.5 Rec Yards / 4.5 Rec TD’s
WR Romeo Dobbs – O/U 625.5 Receiving Yards
DE Rashon Gary O/U 8.5 Sacks / DE Preston Smith 7.5 Sacks

Stats and Notes – The Packers won their final game of the season in Week 18 over rival Bears to make the playoffs with a 9-8 record, and then pulled the surprise upset of the opening round by clubbing the Cowboys 48-32. It was a split season for new QB Jordan Love, who was sitting 18th in EPA, 25th in PFF grade and 25th in success rate through the first half of the season and a bottom-tier quarterback from a down-to-down perspective. The the light bulb came on for Love, who parlayed his half season of success into a 4-year, $220 million contract extension in July – tied for the highest-paid player in NFL history. WTF. That’s a lot of cheese for a cheesehead that looked like he may not make it as the franchise QB the first half of the season. Love finished the 2023 season as a top three QB in virtually every advanced metric. He generated a positive EPA in 11 of his final 12 games. The Packers ranked No. 1 in the NFL in fumble recovery percentage last season, which saved them through being one of the most injured teams in the NFL a season ago. The Packers DB, LB, OL, RB, WR and TE position groups ranked 22nd or worse in adjusted games lost. Still, Green Bay was 6-6 in one-score games and had the ball with under 2 minutes left with a chance to win a game that they eventually lost, five times.

Note too the Packers easiest schedule last season before going all-in with your cottage cheese bets in 2024. Green Bay faced the fourth lowest number of snaps against top 10 QBs by EPA – going against guys like Tommy Devito, Baker Mayfield, Bryce Young, Jared Hall/Nick Mullens and Justin Fields to close the season. The also lost to the losing teams Falcons, Raiders, Broncos and Vikings, and were 2-5 heading into November. This season the Packers are expected to face seven of the top 10 offenses in the NFL and have a top-10 tougher schedule, but do play just seven road games while all other NFC North teams play eight. The Packers did lose RB Aaron Jones to the division rival Vikings, but added Josh Jacobs from the Raiders. Jones was a big load running and a solid receiver for QB Love, and he’ll be missed. But Green Bay does add a top safety in Xavier McKinney (Giants) as they adjust to a new defensive coordinator (Jeff Hafley) from the college ranks, who switches the Packers from 3-4 to 4-3 defensive scheme. Green Bay’s six position units all rank top half of the NFL in 2024, according to Sharp Football Analysis. The Packers have exceeded their season win total in four of the last five years, but I’d be cautious about eating the swiss cheese and making season win total bets with a Week 1 loss in Brazil to the Eagles likely by my rushing game guidelines.

Betting: The Packers won six (or 7 pending line move, early bet) outright as underdogs last season, tops in the NFL in a season where underdogs went just 44.8% ATS. Green Bay faces the second-toughest schedule of offenses in 2024 after facing a bottom-6 last season. That includes facing 9 of the toughest 11 passing attach’s from last season, and third-toughest schedule of run defenses. Will QB Love and the Packers offense be able to match the explosivness of the Lions, 49ers Dolphins and Eagles? The Packers scored a touchdown on 95% of their drives that reached a goal-to-go situation, the best rate for any team since at least 2000. Those number will regress in 2024.

Check back for more updates, ATS and information you can bet on.

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NFC North Lions and Packers originally posted at OSGA on Sept. 3.