Week 18 Odds: Packers open up as 4.5-point favorites versus Lions

After the Green Bay Packers’ 41-17 win over the Minnesota Vikings, they’re set to play in a “win-and-in” game against the Detroit Lions on the final weekend of the regular season. Should Green Bay beat Detroit, the Packers would make the playoffs despite starting with a disappointing 4-8 record. If the Lions win and the Seattle Seahawks lose to the Los Angeles Rams, then Detroit will get in as a wildcard team.

On DraftKings, the Packers are currently listed as 4.5-point favorites at home in this matchup. The moneyline of -215 carries an implied probability that Green Bay will win around 68 percent of the time.

We still do not know when this game will be played, as the NFL has yet to release its full Week 18 schedule. What we do know is that Kansas City-Las Vegas and Tennessee-Jacksonville will be the two island games on Saturday, meaning that Lions-Packers will be played on Sunday. Will it be Sunday Night Football, though, or will the league put Lions-Packers on at the same time as Rams-Seahawks to keep the Lions honest? If this game is played on Sunday night, there’s a chance the Lions could be eliminated from playoff contention (with a Seahawks win) before kickoff rolls around. For what it’s worth, the Seahawks are -6.5 point favorites and carry an implied probability that they beat the Rams 74 percent of the time.

Either way, the good news for Packers fans is that their team is still alive in the playoff race and that head coach Matt LaFleur has had a lot of success in end-of-season games. Over his four regular seasons, LaFleur’s combined record in December and January is 18-1. That one loss, to the Lions in Week 18 last season, occurred when Green Bay already had the top seed in the NFC clinched. The Packers pulled their starters at halftime of that game.

According to VSiN’s reported betting splits, Green Bay is a popular team for bettors in the early hours of these lines going live. 60 percent of the bets and 55 percent of the handle (money) are on the Packers covering on Sunday. 72 percent of the bets and 62 percent of the handle is the green and gold winning straight up.