The Detroit Lions finally got off the schneid last week, with a roller coaster win over the Vikings. Yet still holding the worst record in the NFL, Football Outsiders projects the Lions have a 49.4% chance to get the first overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. As for Denver, their playoff hopes are still alive, but took a significant hit last week (dropping 11% points) and sit at 18%.
Ryan’s Season Totals
Assigned Games: 16-16-1
Best Bets: 23-14, Up 1098%
Details
- Opening Line: Denver -10
- Current Line: Denver -8
- Over/Under: 42
- Location: Mile High Stadium, Denver, CO
- Start Time: 4:05 PM EST, SUN 12/12
- Last Meeting: Broncos, 27, Lions 17 at Denver in 2019
Overview
The 2021 Broncos have had a bit of an up-and-down vibe to the season. Albeit a predictive one. With the addition of Teddy Bridewater, and a strong start to the year, fans had hope. Yet that early season performance was propped up by weak opponents, that made the upcoming “backslide” appear more like a “back to earth situation” for a middle of the road team. Then came upsets over two strong teams over the Cowboys and Chargers. Hence its tough to truly pinpoint where this team “is”, sitting at a very mediocre 18th by DVOA.
The Lions did finally win A game last week, but remain a dumpster fire. Any romanticizing of “the underdogs that fight hard for their coach” has worn off, and are simply a team that has no incentive to win, and every incentive to continue to lose.
Trends
- Broncos are 3-6 ATS in their last nine games.
- The UNDER is 6-0 in the last six Broncos games.
- The UNDER is 8-2 in the Lions last 10 games
Bottom Line
Teams that win their first game this late in the season, especially with a first time coach, go 0-4/1-3 ATS the following week. In other words, you can expect a bit of a dip in motivation the week after. Because of this, we have to back the Broncos (but not at this price).
Prediction: Broncos 20, Lions 12The Picks: Lions +10, UNDER 42