The Detroit Lions will continue to search for their first win of the season when they battle the Seattle Seahawks on “Monday Night Football” as 9 1/2-point road underdogs at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Lions dropped to 0-3 on the year and extended their current straight-up losing streak to five games last weekend, dropping a 24-12 decision to the Denver Broncos as three-point home underdogs, posting their third consecutive loss against the spread and falling to 1-6 ATS in their past seven games.
After tallying a respectable 11-5 record last season, good for second place in the NFC North, the Lions have struggled to generate offense over the last year, scoring more than 20 points only once in their last seven contests and averaging just 17.7 points per game during that stretch, according to the OddsShark NFL Database.
Detroit also has struggled mightily on the road entering Monday night’s Lions vs. Seahawks betting matchup at CenturyLink Field with only one SU and ATS win in its last seven on the road. The Lions are 1-9 SU and 2-8 ATS in their past 10 games as betting underdogs.
A year ago, Detroit owned the NFL’s second-best defense, surrendering just 17.6 points and 300.9 total yards per game, trailing only Seattle. But cracks are evident in the Lions’ defensive armor this season, with the club allowing a whopping 27.7 points and 395.7 yards per game, tumbling it to 25th overall in the NFL.
However, the Lions will catch a break Monday, with news that Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch will be out because of a hamstring injury suffered in Seattle’s 26-0 rout of Chicago last weekend.
The win over the Bears was Seattle’s first of the season and ended a three-game SU losing skid that dated to its 28-24 loss to New England in Super Bowl XLIX.
Despite struggling to find the win column in the early going, the Seahawks remain perched among the early leaders in rushing yards, thanks to a strong ground game and performances by quarterback Russell Wilson and running back Thomas Rawls, who piled up 104 yards against the Bears and is expected to pick up the slack in Lynch’s absence.
Monday’s game marks the first meeting between these teams since the Seahawks’ 28-24 loss in Detroit back in Week 8 of the 2012 season. But Seattle is a solid 4-1 SU and ATS in its last five home dates with the Lions, having been pegged as 10-point favorites in four of those contests.
Thumbnail photo via Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports Images
