Detroit Lions 2017 playoff odds among the worst in NFC

If it isn’t clear at this point in the offseason, there aren’t a ton of believers in the Detroit Lions for 2017. As a direct result, the oddsmakers in Vegas aren’t giving the Lions very good odds to make the playoffs.

Sports booking site Bovada.LV released their prop bet lines for 2017 NFL playoffs this week and the Lions have 3-to-1 odds to punch their ticket to the postseason (that means a $1 bet on Detroit would net you $3 if the Lions made it). While those don’t seem like very long odds to make the playoffs, comparatively speaking, they are. Only nine teams in the NFL have worse odds than the Lions, and only four in the NFC.

View all of Bovada’s odds here.

While it may not surprise you to see teams like the the Packers, Cowboys and Falcons above the Lions, it’s a bit unexpected to see teams the Lions beat in 2016—the Saints (2/1), Eagles (2/1) and Vikings (9/5)—all with better odds to make the playoffs.

The only NFC teams below the Lions in 2017 playoff odds are Washington (7/2), the Rams (13/2), Bears (10/1) and 49ers (10/1).

This is just the latest round of predictions, prognostications and odds to doubt the Lions’ success this season. Last month, ESPN gave the Lions just a 0.7 percent chance to win the Super Bowl and just a 24.6 percent chance at the postseason. Football Outsiders thinks the Lions will win less than eight games.

Of course all of this is offseason fodder. Last year, Bovada gave the Lions the seventh-worst odds to make the playoffs, and Detroit went ahead and earned a wild card berth anyway. Perhaps they thrive with the odds stacked against them.