Denver maintained its perfect record this season with a heart-stopping victory over division rivals Kansas City on the road on Thursday. The Broncos will look to extend their winning streak even further when they take on the struggling Detroit Lions in a marquee NFL clash this coming Sunday.
Who will grab the edge in this blockbuster showdown? Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this intriguing matchup and while you’re at it, you can check out our NFL Week 3 previews of Jacksonville vs. New England and New Orleans vs. Carolina.
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Denver Broncos vs. Detroit Lions Preview
Where: Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan
When: Sunday, September 27, 8:30 PM ET
Line: Denver Broncos (-3) at Detroit Lions (+3); total: 44.5 – view all NFL lines
TV Broadcast: NBC
Betting on the Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos stretched their unbeaten run to two games with a come-from-behind 31-24 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night. Peyton Manning rolled back the years in this thrilling contest, completing 26 of 45 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns. With that performance, he became just the second quarterback in league history to surpass 70,000 career passing yards.
[sc:NFL240banner ]Manning’s heroics capped a matchup that featured two differing Denver offenses. In the first 23 minutes of the game, Manning was sacked twice and picked off for a touchdown, putting the Broncos in an early 14-0 deficit. With Kubiak’s zone-blocking system clearly not working, Manning decided to return to his tried-and-tested no-huddle offense. It worked wonders for Denver, as it outscored Kansas City, 31-10, the rest of the way.
The Broncos now set their sights on a possible 3-0 start when they take on the Detroit Lions this coming Sunday. For Denver to achieve this feat, it needs a much better performance from its offensive line. Manning has now been sacked seven times in the Broncos’ opening two games – four against the Baltimore Ravens in the season opener and three more from Thursday night’s victory in Kansas City. Manning has not had a two-game stretch with seven sacks since 2005.
The Broncos also need to address their flailing ground attack. The Broncos have averaged just 2.8 yards per carry in their first two games. Neither of their top running backs – Ronnie Hillman and C.J. Anderson – has averaged four yards per carry. Hillman is at 3.6 yards per carry while Anderson is at 2.3. They will be licking their chops at the prospect, though, of facing a Detroit defense that’s allowing 147.0 rushing yards per game this season, fourth-worst in the NFL.
The Broncos are 6-4 SU/ATS in their last 10 road games.
Things are going from bad to worse for Detroit as it stumbled to its second consecutive defeat on Sunday with a gut-wrenching 26-16 loss to Minnesota. The Lions now start the season 0-2, the first time that has happened since 2010. Detroit opened that year with four straight losses as the Lions finished that campaign with a woeful 6-10 record.
For the Lions to avoid a similar fate this year, they will need to start addressing their failings on the defensive end. The Lions are third-worst in the NFL in total defense this season, allowing a whopping 416.5 yards per game. Detroit, in particular, had difficulty stopping Minnesota’s ground attack in its last game. The Vikings recorded 199 rushing yards on Sunday, with Adrian Peterson accounting for 134 of those. That’s a complete surprise, considering the Lions allowed just one 100-yard rusher last year.
To make matters worse for the Lions, they also struggled with their own rushing game against Minnesota. They only gained 38 yards on the ground on Sunday, with their running backs managing just 18 yards on 12 carries against the Vikings. With their ground game in disarray, the onus is on Calvin Johnson and the rest of the Lions receivers to step up their play against Denver.
Johnson led Detroit with 10 catches for 83 yards on 17 targets on Sunday after catching just two passes against San Diego last week. That being said, Johnson will have his work cut out for him against a Broncos secondary that is allowing just 135.0 passing yards per game this season, the fewest in the NFL.
The Lions are 7-1 SU and 5-3 ATS in their last eight home games.
