Ahead of Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings, here are three best bets for the Detroit Lions in Week 3.
Before getting into Week 3’s best bets for the Detroit Lions, let’s review Week 2.
Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, Over 64.5 yards (-114): 116 yards
St. Brown, Over 6.5 receptions (+106): Nine receptions
Lions RB Jamaal Williams, Anytime touchdown: Did not score
Two out of three ain’t bad I guess, and the St. Brown going over 6.5-catch total was even plus money somehow.
This week, on FanDuel Sportsbook, the Lions started as 5.5-point underdogs to the Minnesota Vikings on the road. The over-under has dropped from 53.5 points to 52.5 points since early in the week.
Here are our three best bets for the Detroit Lions in Week 3 against the Vikings. Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.
3 best bets for the Detroit Lions vs. Vikings in Week 3
Lions tight end T.J. Hockenson, 50-plus receiving yards (+154)
Hockenson has been a disappointment throigh two games, with just seven catches for 64 yards. But he has a rebound opportunity ahead of him on Sunday, as the Vikings have allowed the fourth-most receiving yards to tight ends thus far (149). In Week 2, Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert had five catches for 82 yards against Minnesota.
I was tempted to stretch a little further here, to 60-plus (+240) or 70-plus receiving yards (+370) for Hockenson. But I’ll settle more safely with 50-plus yards at plus-money.
Lions QB Jared Goff, Over 1.5 passing touchdowns (-114)
The Lions’ signal caller has multiple passing touchdowns in both games this season. Going back to the end of last season, he has multiple touchdowns through the air in six of his last seven.
The Vikings held Aaron Rodgers to less than 200 yards passing in Week 1, then Jalen Hurts torched them for 333 through the air in Week 2. They’ll also be without veteran safety Harrison Smith and rookie cornerback Andrew Booth on Sunday.
A 1.5 mark for Goff’s passing touchdowns this week begs for an over bet. I can’t turn it down.
Lions RB D’Andre Swift, 60-plus rushing yards (+168)
A long run has pushed Swift’s yardage upward in each of the first two games, artifically or unsustainably so for those who want to be a skeptic. But in terms of yards per carry (5.3; 28th in the league) Minnesota is among the worst run defenses in the NFL through Week 2.
Swift is still dealing with an ankle injury, but he played last week and should do so again on Sunday.
As long as he’s active, which again is expected, bettors could go to 70-plus (+250), 80-plus (+390) or even 90-plus (+580) rushing yards for Swift on Sunday and not feel bad about it. But I’ll just take the lower-hanging plus-money bet here and call it good.
Bonus Best Bet: Lions, +6 (-110)
The line has bumped up to six points in favor of the Vikings for Sunday’s game. That 0.5-point bump is hard to explain, with Smith out for Minnesota and left guard Jonah Jackson out for the Lions certainly more impactful in a negative way for the Vikings.
The Lions could very well beat the Vikings outright on Sunday, and they’re +205 on the moneyline. But I probably would have taken Detroit to cover 5.5 points, so 6 is a no-brainer.
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