Cowboys vs Lions: Opening odds, over-under and moneyline for NFL betting wagers
Things were not friendly the last time the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions met. The two teams, jockeying for playoff positioning, met at AT&T Stadium last December in a game that went down to the wire. The Cowboys escaped with a 20-19 victory after Detroit tried not one, not two, but three two-point tries after scoring a late touchdown in a game marked with a ton of controversy.
The Lions attempted to trick the Cowboys with offensive linemen reporting eligible, but tricked the refs and had their first conversion nullified. They failed on the second attempt, but got a reprieve as Micah Parsons was offside and then finally Dallas got a stop that stuck. The Lions took the emotion from the loss and ran with it, reaching the NFC Championship game a month later. Dallas didn’t, bowing out two weeks later in a lopsided wild-card loss.
The Lions have maintained that momentum, winning three of their first four games before a Week 5 bye and Dallas has slogged along so far and are now dealing with a mountain of serious injuries. All of that together leads to Vegas’ opinion on who should win the game and by how much.
Opening Point Spread: Cowboys +3
Relying on Bet MGM’s odds, the Cowboys are home underdogs. Many people feel that home-field advantage is an automatic three points before a spread is adjusted for the quality of the team. That isn’t always the case. Based on historical trends, some team’s home-field advantage is adjusted up or down.
When reading spreads, the team that is favored is referred to as “giving points.” The Steelers are 3-point favorites, so in order to win a bet the Lions have to win by more than three points.
The Cowboys are referred to as +3.
Spread History in 2024
LAS VEGAS, NV – FEBRUARY 02: The betting line and some of the nearly 400 proposition bets for Super Bowl 50 between the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos are displayed at the Race & Sports SuperBook at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino on February 2, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The newly renovated sports book has the world’s largest indoor LED video wall with 4,488 square feet of HD video screens measuring 240 feet wide and 20 feet tall. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The Cowboys were +1 road underdogs in their opener and beat the Browns by 16. They were 6.5-point favorites at home over the Saints and lost by 25. In Week 3 Dallas was +1.5 and lost by three. In Week 4 Dallas was favored by 5.5 and won by only five. Last week they were +2.5 to the Steelers and won outright. The Cowboys are 2-3 against the spread.
The Lions are 3-1 against the spread, matching their win-loss record. They were favored by 5.5 against the Rams and won by six. Favored by 7.5 against the Bucs and lost outright. Favored by three at home against the Cards and won by seven. Before their bye they were favored by 4.5 against the Seahawks and won by 13.
Over/Under opens at 52.5
The Over/Under is the guesstimate of the total amount of points to be scored by both teams.
For instance if the final score of Sunday’s game ends up being 33-20, then an Over bet would win because 53 total points were scored. If the final score was 21-20, then the Under bet would win based on a total of 41 points being scored.
Over/Under History in 2024
Week 1 was expected to be a defensive struggle, but they and the Browns combined for 50 points, 8.5 above the 41.5 water level. In Week two the O/U was set for 47 and the teams combined for 63 total points. In Week 3 the O/U was 47.5 and Dallas and Baltimore combined for 53 points.
In Week 4 the Cowboys and Giants combined for only 35 points and Dallas and the Steelers hit just 37, so back-to-back unders.
The Lions have had high over/unders in all of their game but only once has the over hit, in Week 4. The O/U was 47 and the teams combined for 73 points, but the previous three games had O/Us above 50 and weren’t breached.
Cowboys Money Line is currently set for +140
The Money Line is a simple win-or-lose bet. If someone thinks one team will win, but they don’t want to give or take any points, they bet on them “straight up.” Dallas’ moneyline is +140. The Lions’ moneyline is -165.
If someone bets on a favorite the ML will be negative, an underdog, positive. All bets are spoken of in terms of wagering an even $100.
A bet of $165 on Detroit to win outright would result in getting that back, plus winning an additional $100.
If someone were to wager $100 on the Cowboys, then they would get their $100 back, plus $140 in profit.
Read all the best Cowboys coverage at the Austin American-Statesman and Cowboys Wire.
