Packers Are Nobody’s Underdog, Historically Speaking

In 2010, with Aaron Rodgers out with a concussion, the Green Bay Packers lost at the New England Patriots. It was the expected result. Well, expected to everyone but then-coach Mike McCarthy.

“I don’t care what you guys think. We came here to win. We're nobody’s underdog,” McCarthy said after the game.

He dusted off the line ahead of the 2015 playoff game at Arizona, when the team had been hammered by injuries.

“I get what people are saying, [but] we’re not going to be an underdog,” McCarthy said. “We’re no underdog going to Arizona. I don’t care what people think or how we’re picked or things like that.”

We take that verbal walk down memory lane in light of this Sports Illustrated look at the best underdogs in major U.S. sports from the last decade. Among teams from the NFL, NBA, MLB and college football and basketball, the Packers rank sixth with a winning percentage of .565 when underdogs.

Among NFL teams, the Packers are fifth behind the Chiefs, Ravens, Steelers and Seahawks.

Underdogs In How Many Games?

What does that mean for this year?

DraftKings Sportsbook posted lines on every game this season after the schedule release. The Packers were favored in 13. Here are where the lines stand today.

Week 1: at Minnesota Vikings

The line: Packers by 1.5. It’s also 1.5 at FanDuel Sportsbook, which has a few lines posted.

Week 2: at New York Jets

The line: Packers by 6 (down from 6.5).

Week 3: Atlanta Falcons

The line: Packers by 7.5.

Week 4: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The line: No line is posted. The opening line was Packers by 1.5.

Week 5: Chicago Bears

The line: No line is posted. The opening line was Packers by 3.

Week 6: Dallas Cowboys

The line: Packers by 3.

Week 7: at Detroit Lions

The line: Lions by 1.5.

Week 8: Carolina Panthers

The line: Packers by 7.

Week 9: at New England Patriots

The line: Patriots by 1.5.

Week 10: Minnesota Vikings

The line: Packers by 4.5.

Week 12: at Los Angeles Rams

The line: Rams by 3.5, same as it was before the Myles Garrett trade. It’s Rams by 5.5 at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Week 13: at New Orleans Saints

The line: Packers by 4.5.

Week 14: Buffalo Bills

The line: No line. The opening line was Packers by 1.5.

Week 15: Miami Dolphins

The line: Packers by 10.5.

Week 16: at Chicago Bears

The line: Bears by 1.5. It’s also 1.5 at FanDuel.

Week 17: Houston Texans

The line: Packers by 2.5.

Week 18: Detroit Lions

The line: Packers by 2.5.

History for Packers, Brewers, Bucks, Badgers

The Packers are underdogs in four games, which, at least from the results from the past decade, might not matter to a team that’s proven it’s nobody’s underdog.

Under coach Matt LaFleur, the Packers are 19-18 as underdogs. Oddly, they’re better as an underdog of three-plus points (13-8) than as an underdog of less than a field goal (6-10). They are underdogs for games at the Lions, Patriots, Rams and Bears; only in the Los Angeles game are they larger than 1.5-point underdogs.

Since many Packers fans are also Brewers fans, Milwaukee over the past decade has the second-best winning percentage when an underdog. No team has won more games as an underdog than the Brewers.

In the NBA, the Bucks have the seventh-best winning percentage when underdogs.

In NCAA basketball, the Badgers have the seventh-best winning percentage when underdogs.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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