The Detroit Lions are about to finish yet another forgettable season. Their immediate goal is to get a win and avoid finishing the season on an atrocious losing skid. Meanwhile, the Denver Broncos will look to recover after failing to stretch a winning streak.
The Lions couldn’t break their free fall as they suffered yet another loss over the weekend, this time to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home, 38-17. It’s getting clearer each week that the Lions are not going places with David Blough under center, though, Detroit is merely treating the undrafted rookie quarterback as a placeholder for Matthew Stafford, who’s done for the rest of the season. Blough had 260 passing yards and a pair of interceptions on just 24-of-43 completions. The Lions’ run game scored two touchdowns care of Wes Hills, but Detroit only averaged 2.5 yards per carry against Tampa Bay’s tough ground defense. Blough can hope for a healthier support from Detroit’s running backs in Week 16, as Bo Scarborough is reportedly set to return to action after missing Week 15 with a rib injury.
The Lions, who are 10th in the league with 20.3 points allowed per game, have seen the total hit the under in all of their last three outings on the road.
Betting on the Denver Broncos (5-9)
After back-to-back wins over the Los Angeles Chargers and the Houston Texans, the Broncos were humbled by the Kansas City Chiefs in last Sunday’s 23-3 road loss at Arrowhead Stadium. Songs were sung about how Drew Lock was going to be the future of the Broncos after their win over Houston, but against the Chiefs, those praises stopped — at least for the time being — as he went 18 for 40 for 208 passing yards with zero touchdowns and an interception. The Broncos’ running game was also shut down with Philip Lindsay and company coming up with only 52 rushing yards on 15 carries. But the Broncos can capitalize on the Lions’ defense that’s thin and lacks playmakers up front and downfield. The Lions are 27th in the league this season with 27.0 sacks and tied for last with just six interceptions.
The Broncos are 3-1 against the spread (ATS) in their last four home games.
