NFL Power Rankings: Detroit Lions Leading the Pack Against the Spread

Three teams will enter Week 4 of the 2011 NFL preseason with perfect 3-0 against the spread marks and it could be a sign of upcoming success during the regular season.

The Detroit Lions have captured the imagination of the Motor City after registering an impressive 34-10 victory over the New England Patriots last week as 3.5-point home underdogs. 

Professional sports handicappers have watched the Lions destroy the bookmakers in covering all three preseason games by an average of 20 points.  It’s extremely rare to see such numbers when wagering on pro football.

Third-year quarterback Matthew Stafford has arrived on the national scene—completing 24 of 31 passes for 356 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions over the first three weeks.

Las Vegas will be focused on seeing if the former No. 1 draft pick out of Georgia remains healthy this year, as he’s made just 13 combined starts in his first two seasons.

Experts around the league have been waiting for the Houston Texans to emerge and things may be setting up perfectly for sixth-year head coach Gary Kubiak.  Backers have beaten the spread by 11.3 points on average in their first three preseason games.

Bettors need to be cautious in falling in love with this team during the 2011 campaign, as lines-makers know that the public tends to wager on sides that feature high-profile offenses.

The Texans have also failed to post a winning ATS regular season record in four straight years—tallying a 29-33-2 mark over that span.

Houston’s offensive trio of Arian Foster, Andre Johnson and Matt Schaub will receive plenty of support at the windows in the regular-season opener against the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 11 at Reliant Stadium.

Washington is the most surprising team to be mentioned in this article due to public perception, but head coach Mike Shanahan’s quarterback competition has led directly to three tickets being cashed.

John Beck and Rex Grossman will have one more chance to separate themselves for the starting quarterback spot in the preseason finale—hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Thursday night.

Little value is found on the Redskins in their upcoming contest due to being a touchdown-favorite, but bettors will get the opportunity of playing them as a home underdog in Week 1 of the regular season against the New York Giants.

The sports betting market is constantly changing and it’s likely that at least two of these three teams will not finish the preseason with an unblemished ATS record. 

We’ll have to wait and see.