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Lions vs. Cowboys Saturday NFL Week 17 odds, props: Total of 53.5 points highest of season; Dallas on 15-game home winning streak

The total of 53.5 in Lions at Cowboys on Saturday night is the highest in the NFL this season.

Matt Severance

There is no Monday night game in Week 17 because of the College Football Playoff national semifinals on New Year's Day, but in its place is a special Saturday night game on ESPN/ABC as the NFC North champion Detroit Lions (11-4) visit the Dallas Cowboys (10-5). who put an NFL-best 15-game home winning streak on the line. The Cowboys opened at -5.5 but have dropped at -4.5 at a few sportsbooks today in a minor surprise. The total of 53.5 is the big story, as it's the highest in the NFL this season.

Know this about high totals: Since the start of 2022, the Under is 27-12 (69%) in games with totals of 50 or more points. The big number makes a ton of sense, as the Cowboys are the first team in NFL history to score at least 30 points in each of its first seven home games of a season with Dallas averaging 35.1 points per game at AT&T Stadium. The Cowboys' plus-167 point differential at home is the seventh-best since the 1970 merger.

Since Week 7, Dallas has the NFL's best overall scoring offense and Detroit is tied for the second-worst scoring defense. The franchise record is 18 straight home wins from 1979-81. That record likely can't be broken until next season because this is the Cowboys' regular-season home finale and they are not in a position to host a playoff game as the likely No. 5 seed in the NFC.

Dallas is a game behind Philadelphia in the NFC East and if the Eagles win out – probable, considering they are double-digit home favorites vs. Arizona on Sunday and visit the nothing-to-play-for Giants in Week 18 – they will repeat in the division. Philadelphia would clinch in Week 17 with a win and Cowboys loss. Thus, Mike McCarthy's team should be playing at the NFC South champion on Wild Card Weekend.

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was briefly the MVP favorite but is now a +2500 longshot. He does lead the NFL in touchdeown passes with 30 and is a -120 favorite to win that title. No Cowboys QB ever has. Prescott has an over/under of 2.5 TD passes for Saturday with the Under a -150 favorite.

Detroit clinched its first division title since 1993 on Sunday with a win at Minnesota so it will host at least one playoff game. Earning the NFC's top seed is still possible and would be accomplished if the Lions win out and both San Francisco and Philadelphia lose at least once. Detroit (+1500 to get the top seed) is seeking its second 12-win season in team history (1991), and the club's six road wins are its most since 1961.

The Lions have eight 30-point games this season, tied for most in a season in franchise history (2022). Jared Goff can become the 10th player in NFL history with 30 passing TDs in a year for multiple franchises (he did it with Rams). He's third in the league with 27.

It's the first time these teams have met with both having double-digit wins. Dallas has won the past four, including a 24-6 victory at home last season. Goff badly struggled with two picks and five sacks taken. Prescott had one TD pass.

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