Detroit Lions vs. Denver Broncos Matchup Preview (12/12/21): Betting Odds, Depth Charts, Live Stream (Watch Online)
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Detroit Lions vs. Denver Broncos Matchup Preview (12/12/21)
The Detroit Lions are set to meet the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at the Mile High City in Colorado on Sunday, December 12th at 4:05 PM EST. The 6-6 Broncos are recovering from a painful loss against the Chiefs this past week in the Sunday primetime game while the Lions are celebrating their first season win against the Minnesota Vikings. The Broncos have fallen to the number twelve spot in their division and need to win out the rest of the season to have hope in a Wild Card position for the postseason, and the Lions are hoping to start a winning streak to finish their season on a positive note. This game will depend heavily on the accuracy of the two quarterbacks and impressive performances from their defenses to find the game-winner.
Detroit Lions vs. Denver Broncos Betting Odds
Last week, people who took bets for the Lions cashed out big with the upset and unexpected win against the Vikings. Going into Week 14, many wonder if the Lions will be able to do it again against the Broncos. Unfortunately, it does not look like that will happen. ESPN projects the Broncos to win with 76.1% confidence, only leaving the Lions with a mere 23.7% win projection. Many may argue that the Lions have the momentum and drive to create a winning streak, but forget the Broncos are desperate for this win. The Broncos are heavily relying on this win to increase playoff chances since they are in a tie-breaker situation with the Cleveland Browns. The next three weeks need to be spotless for them to clinch their Wild Card spot, and they don’t have room for error. The Broncos will be focused and tuned in this week to ensure a win.
DraftKings places the favor on the Broncos and gives them a -8 on the spread, and feels confident leaving the Lions with +8. The moneyline is given to the Broncos with -400 and the Lions +300. If you are a firm believer in a second upset for the Lions, this bet will leave you with huge payouts if successful.
My Prediction: Broncos win 28-20
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TV Schedule
Date: 12/12/21
Time: 4:05 PM ET
Location: Mile High Stadium – Denver, CO
TV Coverage: FOX
Detroit Lions vs. Denver Broncos Live Stream
Where can you watch Lions vs. Broncos online? You can stream this game, and many other NFL games live online with Hulu. Hulu has a 7 Day free trial and is cheaper than cable options at $5.99/month. Watch Lions vs. Broncos Free Online Now.
Detroit Lions Analysis
The Detroit Lions have finally broken their eleven-game winless streak in Week 13 of the NFL regular season. They successfully defeated the Minnesota Vikings 29-17 as time expired with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jared Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown. The game-winning play caused the Lions stadium to erupt in cheers, and the team seems to have perked up and have a new sense of confidence going into their matchup against the Denver Broncos.
Jared Goff had one of his best games this season against the Vikings, putting up 296 passing yards and throwing for three touchdowns. After last week, he is now averaging 234 passing yards a game and is now averaging over one touchdown pass a game. This is a considerable improvement for Goff compared to the start of the season. He may have had more successful stats for himself due to the absence of star running back D’Andre Swift, which forced him to take the ball airborne instead of simply rushing the ball downfield. However, he might not have similar success against the Broncos since they have a significantly better passing defense compared to the Vikings. The Broncos are able to put substantial pressure on a quarterback and can prevent receivers from finding an open field to halt momentum in its tracks.
With D’Andre Swift still out due to a shoulder injury, the team will have to rely on its passing game to stand a chance against the Broncos. They’ll have to be crafty with their play calling to create space against the aggressive defense and have peak agility to make more significant plays downfield. The team’s top receiver, tight end T.J. Hockenson, will be looked to as a big target for short slant routes to create progress for the offense. Amon-Ra St. Brown’s impressive game last week might make him a more prominent target going into Week 14. He had ten receptions for 86 yards and one imperative touchdown. St. Brown might be considered a significant threat to the defense so that he may be under double coverage in this week’s game. He will need to focus on completing catches and running juke-worthy routes to have a similar caliber game to last week.
Detroit Lions Depth Chart
QB: Jared Goff
RB1: D’Andre Swift
RB2: Jamaal Williams
WR1: Amon-Ra St. Brown
WR2: Kalif Raymond
WR3: Josh Reynolds
TE1: T.J. Hockenson
TE2: Brock Wright
Denver Broncos Analysis
The Denver Broncos took a beating against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 13 with a loss of 9-22. The team showed promise in the first half, only trailing 3-10. Towards the end of the first half, the Broncos made a questionable play call to go for a touchdown on 4th down instead of kicking a 20-yard field goal. On that same drive, the Broncos had already completed two fourth-down conversions and maybe felt confident about their chances to add one more, but they came up short and shifted the momentum to the Chiefs once again. It’s understandable to play high-risk, high reward against a powerhouse team like the Chiefs, but it’s essential to score points, and their risk ended in no reward at the end of the day. Against the Lions, the Broncos will need better play calls and play an honest game to not fall cocky against the 32nd placed Lions if they want any chance at a postseason spot.
Teddy Bridgewater is one of the most average quarterbacks in the league. He ranks dead center at 16th in passing yards and 14th in touchdowns this season. Bridgewater threw for 257 yards against the Chiefs and found one touchdown all game. Bridgewater will have some room for error against the Lions but can’t feel too comfortable and get sloppy. The Lions are notorious for having difficulties with their rush defense, so play-calling might revolve around handing the ball off to Javonte Williams to get downfield.
Javonte Williams leads the Broncos in rushing yards with 670 yards on the season and was able to secure 102 against the Chiefs. Williams has been successful at pushing for a few extra yards after being swarmed by defensive players and will stretch for a first down marker. I project him to be a huge asset against the Lions to help keep the Broncos’ playoff chances alive. The Broncos may also call on Courtland Sutton for their passing game. Sutton has been declining in stats since the season’s beginning. In the first half of the season, Sutton was averaging 78.5 receiving yards a game. In the second half of the season, he is only averaging 29.7 receiving yards per game. Sutton will be looking to get back in the game against the Lions to improve his stats and reclaim his place as an influential receiver for the Broncos.
Denver Broncos Depth Chart
QB: Teddy Bridgewater
RB1: Melvin Gordon III
RB2: Javonte Williams
RB3: Mike Boone
WR1: Courtland Sutton
WR2: Jerry Jeudy
WR3: Tim Patrick
TE1: Noah Fant
Detroit Lions vs. Denver Broncos Daily Fantasy Picks
Sadly for many fantasy players, D’Andre Swift is still out due to a shoulder injury he sustained during the Thanksgiving game against the Bears. His backup, Jamaal Williams, has not had the same point value as the first string, and I don’t see him able to penetrate through the Broncos defense successfully,
However, the Broncos running back, Javonte Williams, might be a better option. Last week, Williams received an astonishing 29.8 points. He has boomed four times this season, blowing away his projected numbers. He’s only averaging 12.4 points per game, but he has great potential to boom again against a weak Lions rush defense.