We’re about six weeks away from the start of the 2023 NFL regular season, and there are still a lot of questions left to answer. Will some of the free-agent running backs out there, such as Ezekiel Elliott and Dalvin Cook, find contracts? Will some of the players who are waiting for contract extensions sign their franchise tags or hold out for more security? Is Aaron Rodgers really going to lead the Jets to the top of the AFC? Did Kliff Kingsbury really leave the Arizona Cardinals in shambles? We have thoughts on many of these questions as we sort the 32 franchises into NFL betting tiers – classifying each tier with a quarterback from the (somewhat) storied history of the Detroit Lions.
NFL Betting News: Ranking Teams into Betting Tiers
Bobby Layne
Fans of NFL history know that Bobby Layne was part of the great Lions teams of the 1950s – winners of three titles in six years. So the teams in this category are contenders whom we expect to make deep playoff runs.
| Kansas City Chiefs | Starter: Patrick Mahomes | 2nd: Blaine Gabbert |
| Philadelphia Eagles | Starter: Jalen Hurts | 2nd: Marcus Mariota |
| Cincinnati Bengals | Starter: Joe Burrow | 2nd: Trevor Siemian |
| Buffalo Bills | Starter: Josh Allen | 2nd: Kyle Allen |
| N.Y. Jets | Starter: Aaron Rodgers | 2nd: Zach Wilson |
All five of these teams have an elite quarterback who has shown the ability to transform games with his own play – without making the sort of backbreaking turnovers that doom teams in clutch games. The Jets leapt into this tier with the signing of Aaron Rodgers, but if they hadn’t upgraded their O-line and brought in Randall Cobb, Mecole Hardman and Allen Lazard to run routes, I wouldn’t have graded them as elite. You do wonder, out of this group, when we will see Josh Allen win a clutch postseason game.
Matthew Stafford
Stafford gave his heart to the Lions’ franchise, but the front office never really committed to giving him all of the talent he needed around him at the same time. The lines never coalesced, but Stafford elevated this team as highly as any quarterback not named Layne.
| San Francisco 49ers | Starter: Brock Purdy | 2nd: Sam Darnold |
| Dallas Cowboys | Starter: Dak Prescott | 2nd: Cooper Rush |
| L.A. Chargers | Starter: Justin Herbert | 2nd: Easton Stick |
| Cleveland Browns | Starter: Deshaun Watson | 2nd: Joshua Dobbs |
| Baltimore Ravens | Starter: Lamar Jackson | 2nd: Tyler Huntley |
| Miami Dolphins | Starter: Tua Tagovailoa | 2nd: Mike White |
All six of these teams have a ton of talent, but they’re either missing a key piece or two, or they’ve simply failed to perform up to the level of their roster quality. We don’t know what the 49ers have at quarterback until Brock Purdy returns, so I’m not grading the 49ers as highly as some other sports betting writers. The Chargers have an elite quarterback and talent around Justin Herbert, but the defense still gets undressed at the wrong time. We don’t know how healthy Lamar Jackson is, we don’t know how much Lamar Jackson has left in terms of durability despite that mammoth extension, and we don’t know how Tua Tagovailoa will look after missing all that time in the concussion protocol.
Jared Goff
Goff took the Rams to a Super Bowl and then basically fell off the table as a quarterback until last season, when he showed signs of his old confidence and, in the second half of the season, almost guided the Lions to a playoff berth. He did lead his team to a Week 18 win at Lambeau Field that kept the Packers out of the playoffs and finished Aaron Rodgers’ career in the green and gold.
| Jacksonville Jaguars | Starter: Trevor Lawrence | 2nd: C.J. Beathard |
| N.Y. Giants | Starter: Daniel Jones | 2nd: Tyrod Taylor |
| Minnesota Vikings | Starter: Kirk Cousins | 2nd: Nick Mullens |
| Detroit Lions | Starter: Jared Goff | 2nd: Nate Sudfeld |
| Seattle Seahawks | Starter: Geno Smith | 2nd: Drew Lock |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | Starter: Kenny Pickett | 2nd: Mitch Trubisky |
| Chicago Bears | Starter: Justin Fields | 2nd: PJ Walker |
| Green Bay Packers | Starter: Jordan Love | 2nd: Sean Clifford |
These are teams that have either already started to make the leap to one of the top two tiers (Jacksonville and the Giants), are starting to slip in terms of contender status (Minnesota) or have the pieces in place to start making the leap (Detroit, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Green Bay). The most exciting teams out of this bunch are the Jaguars, as Trevor Lawrence finally seems to have arrived in the NFL after that awful first season under Urban Meyer, and the Steelers, with a solid team around Kenny Pickett.
Joey Harrington
Harrington had a transcendent career with the Oregon Ducks, and then he came to the NFL ready to save the Lions. He was the starter for most of four seasons (2002-2005), but the Lions never really turned a corner.
| New England Patriots | Starter: Mac Jones | 2nd: Bailey Zappe |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Starter: Baker Mayfield | 2nd: Kyle Trask |
| Denver Broncos | Starter: Russell Wilson | 2nd: Jarrett Stidham |
| Tennessee Titans | Starter: Ryan Tannehill | 2nd: Malik Willis |
| Las Vegas Raiders | Starter: Jimmy Garoppolo | 2nd: Brian Hoyer |
| New Orleans Saints | Starter: Derek Carr | 2nd: Jameis Winston |
These six teams all have quarterbacks who have achieved at a high level, in college and/or the pros, and who have made the postseason in the NFL. However, there are major questions marks around each of these quarterbacks as far as what they can do in 2023. Mac Jones got the Patriots to the playoffs as a rookie, but things have gone downhill since then. Baker Mayfield got the Cleveland Browns their first road playoff win ever, but he’s been knocking around since and is now taking over for Tom Brady in Tampa. Russell Wilson (Denver), Ryan Tannehill (Tennessee), and Jimmy Garoppolo (Las Vegas) have all played elite ball in the NFL, but either due to injury or low production last year, they aren’t arousing a lot of optimism in their fan bases.
Rusty Hilger
Hilger started nine games for the Lions in 1988. He went 4-12 and did not return after that season; Chuck Long mopped up for the last seven games of the campaign.
| Atlanta Falcons | Starter: Desmond Ridder | 2nd: Taylor Heinicke |
| Carolina Panthers | Starter: Bryce Young | 2nd: Andy Dalton |
| Washington Commanders | Starter: Sam Howell | 2nd: Jacoby Brissett |
| Indianapolis Colts | Starter: Gardner Minshew | 2nd: Anthony Richardson |
| L.A. Rams | Starter: Matthew Stafford | 2nd: Brett Rypien |
| Houston Texans | Starter: C.J. Stroud | 2nd: Davis Mills |
| Arizona Cardinals | Starter: Kyler Murray | 2nd: Colt McCoy |
Rebuilds one and all – although I’m curious to see how Anthony Richardson and the Indianapolis Colts can shake up the AFC South. The Falcons are going to be a run-heavy team behind Desmond Ridder and Bijan Robinson. The other four out of this group are all at some point on the fire-sale continuum.
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