Detroit Lions 2022 Regular Season Wins Total Preview and Prediction

Detroit Lions Season Win Total Over 6.5 +105 (BET365)

Detroit Lions 2022 Betting Odds

The Lions haven’t had a winning season since 2017, and they have finished last in the NFC North in each of the last four seasons. Last year they were 3-13-1, but they lost five games by four points or fewer. Jared Goff missed three games due to injury, but he finished the season strong. He threw for nine TDs and just two INTs while winning three of his final four starts.

Goff has a talented young receiving corps that will include the #12 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, WR Jameson Williams from Alabama. The Lions have invested heavily in their offensive line, and that should pay dividends in 2022.

Improved Defense?

Only two NFL teams allowed more points per game than the Lions last year (Houston and New York Jets). Detroit will hope that #2 overall pick Aidan Hutchison out of Michigan will step in and make an immediate impact. The #3 overall pick in 2020 Jeff Okudah suffered a season ending Achilles injury in last year’s season opener. The 23 year old corner out of Ohio State is expected to be ready to go for the upcoming season.

Soft Schedule

If you use a simple method of calculating last year’s records to determine strength of schedule for the upcoming season, there are only four teams that have an easier schedule than the Lions. Their first four home games come against Washington, Seattle, Miami and Philly. None of those games should be out of reach, and if things go their way they could take a winning record into their Bye Week.

Strong Finish in 2021

The Lions finished the 2021 season with an ATS record of 11-6, by far the best of any team with a losing record straight up. Only three teams performed better ATS (Cincinnati, Green Bay and Dallas). They were better in the second half of the season than they were in the first half, both straight up and against the spread. They covered the spread in seven of their last nine games overall, and the were 4-0 ATS in their final four home games.

Given the soft schedule and the addition of two first round draft picks, along with what might be an inevitable regression to the mean, it doesn’t seem like a tough ask for this team to win a few more games in 2022.

Projected record: 8-9 Overall

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