Detroit Lions dismissing rare Vegas odds: They said we 'were trash when we were 1-6'
Dan Campbell is not a betting man.
"I’ll get banned for life in this league if I bet," he said Friday.
But the Detroit Lions coach was surprised to hear that his 5-7 team is a 2½-point favorite over the 10-2 Minnesota Vikings on Sunday — the first time since the 1970 merger that a team eight or more games over .500 is an underdog against a team with a losing record (excluding games where teams rested their starters), according to CBS Sports.
"I’m shocked by that," Campbell said. "But there again, it doesn’t — all those things don’t matter. Point spread, who’s favored. This team finds ways to win and if we’re not ready to go and we don’t handle our business, it’s going to take every one of us, coaches and players to win this game. That’s what I do know, 'cause they’ve got plenty over there. And there again, a team that finds ways to win. Those are dangerous teams."
The Vikings have the second-best record in the NFL and can clinch the NFC North with a win Sunday, but they needed a late-game rally to beat the Lions in Minnesota, 28-24, and have nine wins by eight points or less this season.
While gamblers have been hesitant to believe in Minnesota's success — the Vikings also have the worst pass defense in the NFL — the Lions have been one of the league's hottest teams (and most efficient offenses) since the start of November.
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They've won four of their past five games, including a dominant 40-14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars last week. Their only loss during that stretch was, 28-25, against the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving, when they blew a fourth quarter lead and gave up the winning field goal with 2 seconds on the clock.
Campbell said he does not consider the point spread for Sunday's game a sign that his team has started to earn the respect of people across the league.
"It’s the same people that we were trash when we were 1-6, so it’s irrelevant," he said. "If we don’t win this game then it’s back to, 'Well, we’re not what we were and it’s a fluke and blah, blah, blah.' So it’s all about, man, the next game right in front of us. That’s all we can worry about, and it’s about playing good football."
If the Lions don't do that Sunday, Campbell said they won't beat a dangerous Vikings team that could be feeling overlooked.
"It’s going to come down to the wire," he said. "It’s going to come down to the last two minutes of this game and we got to get ourselves in that position in the last minute of the game to have an opportunity to win, and then when we have our opportunity we got to find a way to finish it out. 'Cause that’s what they’ve done well."
Dre day
D'Andre Swift played more snaps and got more touches last week against the Jaguars than he had in any game since Week 1, but Lions running backs coach Duce Staley said Friday that Swift still is managing the ankle injury that slowed him much of the season.
"I think Swift is doing fine, man," Staley said. "I think he’s slowly, but surely getting back to the Swift we all know and he’s showing that. He’s fighting through some things and just going out there battling and this is the NFL, so he’ll tell you, man, ‘Hey, I’ve got to go out there and perform.’ And that’s what he’s doing.”
Swift had 14 carries for 62 yards and caught four passes for 49 yards against the Jaguars, when he outsnapped Jamaal Williams in the running back rotation for the first time since Week 8.
Williams leads the NFL with 14 rushing touchdowns, and Staley indicated both and third-string back Justin Jackson will remain in the playing mix going forward.
"Usually when you have two, you kind of lean towards the hot hand, but when you’ve got three and they’re all playing well you just kind of, you get them going and you have certain plays that are tagged for them and you try to get that rotation and keep that rotation," Staley said. "It’s tough sometimes. It’s tough because you could get a guy that — like Swift since we’re talking about him, that say he broke a 30-, 40-yard run. Well, the next play it could be Jamaal going in. You kind of wish you could leave him in and kind of get going, and sometimes you can. Not saying you can’t, but how we’re programmed, we don’t do that.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Dan Campbell 'shocked' Lions favored over 10-2 Vikings
