NFL Week 14 opening odds: Lions favorites over Cowboys

The Detroit Lions (7-5) and Dallas Cowboys (6-5-1) will square off in a Week 14 NFC showdown at Ford Field. Heading into this game, these two teams look in vastly different spots. Over the last three weeks, the Lions have lost to the Eagles and Packers, while needing overtime to take care of business against the Giants. Meanwhile, the Cowboys are 3-0 over that same time period, dispatching the Eagles, Chiefs, and Raiders.

However, the folks over at FanDuel Sportsbook apparently subscribe to the House of Reisman and don’t believe in momentum, as they’ve set the initial betting line at Lions -3.5 points. It has since dropped to Lions -3.

It’s been over three years since the Lions have lost two games in a row (Week 8 in 2022), but they’re going to need to dig deep in order to keep that streak alive. With their playoff hopes getting dangerously thin, the Lions know they’ve got to right the ship in a hurry, and it starts this week.

“Our margin for error is very small right now,” Lions coach Dan Campbell told the media on Sunday. “So, of course, we’ve got to find a way to win, and we want to win. And I think, I go back to this, we just lost one. We’ve got to find a way to win this next one in front of us. And yeah, I mean, time’s running out. It’s all about finding a way to win the game.

“But I’ve also been in these (spots) before, where we got counted out when I was a player (2002). We lost two in a row, and we were almost mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. That was all the writing, and then we won out and got in. So, you just, man, you find a way to win the one in front of you and don’t get caught up in the rest of this stuff. That’s the bottom line. We’re in this business to win, we’re trying to win, we’ve got to win.”

The Cowboys’ offense is rolling right now, averaging 29.3 points per game (third in the NFL), and they’ve scored 31, 24, and 33 points in their last three games. They also head to Detroit, possibly seeking some retribution after the Lions went into Dallas last season and smacked them around 47-9.

While Campbell isn’t so sure they’ll be out for revenge, he also knows that Dallas’ chances at a playoff run would go a long way if they could go into Detroit and get another big win.

“I think every team’s different, every year’s different,” Campbell said about the Cowboys looking for revenge. “But I know this, they want to win this game. I know that. Because I know we want to win this game. So, they’re playing good football. They’re very much in that division race over there right now and playoff race. We’re an NFC opponent, and I know that they want to beat us. But we want to win, too. And we need to win. So, that’s where this game’s at.”