For the first time in two years, the Detroit Lions are no longer the underdogs.  Right now, Detroit is listed as 2.5-point favorites over the Washington Commanders.  They have not been favorites in any game since the Stafford-Patricia era.  

Dan Campbell loves the fact that the fans have bought in to what they are doing, but he says whether they’re favored or not doesn’t matter to them.

“Yeah, those things – I just try to tell these guys that all of that doesn’t matter. It just doesn’t.” “…we have to play better than we played last week. We have to – our details have to be much more precise, on point. The effort was fine, I mean – but man, the details and the discipline have to show up, because it doesn’t matter who you play, if you don’t do that, you’re not going to win. And if they do it better than we do, they’ll beat us.”

Detroit Lions Underdog History

According to ESPN, the Lions’ 24-game streak as the underdog is the longest in the NFL.

Back in July, the Lions were listed as 1.5-point underdogs in this matchup.  The swing comes after the Lions lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35, while the Commanders won their first game 28-22.

While favoritism doesn’t matter, it’s important to Dan Campbell that the fans stay with the team.  On Wednesday he said he doesn’t take it lightly and he knows how hard it is to want to have hope in a team. 

“Getting close doesn’t count. We’ve got to close these games out, and that’s how we keep the support. We keep it loud, we keep them coming. I mean that’s ultimately that we have to do.”

Lions Roster Updates

With that being said a slew of player updates came in this week:

• Justin Jackson has been signed to the active roster
• Halapoulivaati Vaitai underwent back surgery and will be out much longer than expected
• Frank Ragnow is not practicing due to groin soreness

The Detroit Lions will take on the Washington Commanders at Ford Field on Sunday at 1pm ET.

Maddy Miller- Detroit Lions Beat Reporter

Photo Credit: Kirthmon F. Dozier-USA TODAY Sports