Mark Brunell is the quarterbacks coach of the Detroit Lions, a role he fills quite well. Back in the day, Brunell was a pretty good quarterback in his own right, leading the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars from incarnation in 1995 to four straight postseason berths after that inaugural season.
In that 1995 campaign, the Jaguars were not good at all. They finished 4-12, with the last of those 12 defeats at the hands of the Detroit Lions. Wayne Fontes’ Lions, en route to the postseason after a 3-6 start, laid waste to the expansion Jaguars 44-0 in Week 16. It was Detroit’s sixth win in a row. Brunell sat that one out in favor of Steve Beuerlein.
The reason that game is pertinent this week is not just that it was the first meeting between the Lions and Jaguars, who renew hostilities on Sunday afternoon in Ford Field. That game in the Pontiac Silverdome marks the last time the Lions were favored by at least 13 points in a game.
In Week 11, the Lions have surpassed that line from 30 seasons ago. Detroit is currently (as of Friday 7:30 a.m.) listed by BetMGM as 14-point favorites over the 2-8 Jaguars. The meeting between the NFC’s best team and the current owners of the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft is the most lopsided line of the 2024 season–if it holds.
With Mac Jones subbing for an injured Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars injury list looking like a Costco expedition, the line could actually move in the other direction. The last meeting between the two teams saw Detroit jumpstart their rally into formidable foe. That was Week 14 of the 2022 season, when the 4-7 Lions blasted the visiting Jaguars 40-14. The Lions were only favored by one point in that December matchup.