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Though former New England defensive coordinator Matt Patricia hasn’t been able to recreate Bill Belichick’s magic in his 20 games as a Detroit Lions head coach, he has brought one important Patriots tradition to his new job.

Patricia covers point spreads!

So far, anyway. Heading into Monday night’s divisional battle with the Green Bay Packers (8:20 p.m., ESPN), Patricia’s Lions have covered exactly 60 percent of their games. He’s 12-8 against the spread, though a disappointing 8-11-1 straight up.

Patricia’s dismal Detroit debut last season (also on a Monday night) set a low bar for initial expectations. You probably watched the Lions lose to the New York Jets 48-17 as seven-point favorites. Nobody wanted to bet Detroit after that. Sharps stepped in as the team improved.

Pro bettors kept right on stepping in when this Lions-Packers game first went on the board. An opener of Green Bay -5¹/₂ or -6 (depending on the store) dropped to -4 by the weekend. Keep monitoring the market Monday to determine the ’dog side of the “sharp window” (a concept we discussed on Friday). It’s already clear sharps like the Lions at +4¹/₂ or more.

Though, it should be noted pro bettors give respect to teams enjoying early-season bye weeks, particularly against opponents that had a big game the prior week. Rested Detroit had plenty of time to prepare for a Green Bay group that got sky high for a nationally televised dalliance at Dallas last Sunday. Support for the ’dog may have been less strong in a more even preparation scenario.

It’s also worth noting that Detroit isn’t playing as well as its 3-1 ATS record would suggest:

The non-cover came in a season-opening tie at Arizona that looks as bad now as it did at the time. Detroit fell apart in the second half against a rookie quarterback and head coach … and an opponent destined to be one of the dregs of the league.

A Week 2 cover vs. the Los Angeles Chargers was a nail-biter against an injury-riddled visitor. The Lions lost game stats across the board vs. a disappointment that hasn’t played well this season.

A headline-making 27-24 upset at Philadelphia was driven by turnovers and a kickoff-return touchdown. Here, the Lions were out-statted again. Detroit just missed starting 0-3 straight up.

A Week 4 shootout with Kansas City came against another injury-riddled visitor (part of a sustained storyline that has caused the Chiefs to fall in VSiN’s “market” power ratings posted Sunday).

Patricia’s 2019 Lions feel more like a bubble that’s about to burst than a serious dark-horse threat in the NFC. And, gobbling up that early bye could come back to haunt them in the second half of the season.

For now, sharps still see them as a Monday night threat to the Packers. Keep that in mind as you make your game-day betting decisions.