FAVRE, VIKINGS BEAT HAPLESS LIONS

The Detroit Lions gave their fans a bit of false hope, opening up a 10-0 lead midway through the second quarter before the Minnesota Vikings came back to win 27-13. Brett Favre was a winner in his 271st consecutive start at quarterback, and the Detroit Lions set their own dubious record becoming only the fourth team in NFL history to lose 19 consecutive regular season games.  Lions’ rookie QB Matthew Stafford did show some flashes of excellence in this game before finishing with 152 yards and a touchdown with one interception.  Favre had a solid game, throwing for 155 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.

When you bet on NFL football, its rare to find double digit home underdogs but players to took the Lions as +10 home dogs went down to defeat as well.  Minnesota has won and covered both of their games this season, while the lines have added insult to injury by failing to cover in both of their 2009 contests.  Despite being a double digit underdog in many of the games, Detroit is a woeful 5-11 ATS at home during the past three seasons.  The 40 points scored went UNDER the total of 41’.  Both teams have split their O/U results so far this season.

Favre didn’t have much to say as he reached another NFL longevity milestone, choosing instead to simply express his gratitude at still being able to play:

"Every game I play in at this point, I'm pretty grateful. I know how difficult it is."

Lions center Dominic Raiola blamed a lack of discipline and execution for yet another defeat:

"We can't keep making mistakes, and we can't keep taking penalties. We were fine in the first half, and then we stunk in the second half. I'm not pointing fingers at any one guy. This is on all of us. "We didn't do our jobs in the second half, and that's very frustrating. We're better than that."

Last year the Lions became the first team to go winless since the NFL expanded their season to 16 games, and they’re sneaking up on another mark of ignominy—during the 1976-77 seasons the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost 26 consecutive games.  On paper, the Lions aren’t nearly as pitiful as the expansion Bucs but that means nothing as the losses continue to pile up.  The 0-2 start hasn’t caused Lions’ coach Jim Schwartz to waiver in his commitment to rookie Matthew Stafford as the starting QB.  When asked about the possibility of a change at the position Schwartz said simply:

"Matt Stafford is our starting quarterback.”

The Lions will look for their elusive first victory in 21 months again this weekend with the Washington Redskins providing the opposition at Detroit’s Ford Field.  The Lions are a +6’ home underdog, and NFL betting enthusiasts would do well to keep in mind that they’ve only covered once in their last eleven spots as an underdog in this price range (+3’ to +7’).  The schedule won’t get any easier after that, as they travel to Chicago to face the Bears the following weekend before returning home to take on the Superbowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers on October 11th.  Minnesota will host the San Francisco 49ers this weekend, with the Vikings posted as a -7 home favorite.  They’ll host the Green Bay Packers on Monday, October 5th before traveling to St. Louis for a game against the Rams on October 11th.