sportsbook review players witnessed a minor miracle last week as Denver snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and set the sports talk world on fire, thanks to their quarterback. The Broncos will try to follow it up this weekend against Detroit, who may be missing their starting pivot, and Denver will take advantage of it because even if he plays, he won’t be at full strength.
What: NFL Betting
When: Sunday, 4:05 PM ET
Where: Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Denver, CO
Pick: Denver Broncos
Why Bet On Detroit Lions (5-2 SU, 4-2-1 ATS)
The Lions have now dropped two in a row after a 23-16 loss at home against Atlanta, and there weren’t many positives to take from this game. Calvin Johnson had five catches for 115 yards and a touchdown, and the Lions managed to run for 104 yards, but they didn’t run the ball nearly enough (20 attempts). The defense managed three sacks and they picked off Matt Ryan twice, but their indiscipline is starting to catch up to them; Detroit had 10 penalties of the 21 penalties in a testy game, but seven of them moved the chains for the Falcons and that is unacceptable. There is playing tough, and then there is taking dumb penalties and the Lions often find themselves on the latter side. Michael Turner also exposed the run defense, rushing for 122 yards for the Falcons.
And those may not even be the biggest problems to come from this game as Matt Stafford was 15-of-32 for 183 yards and a score, but he rolled his ankle very late in the game and has been seen in a walking boot. Detroit’s NFL betting odds are solely predicated on Stafford’s ability to stay healthy, and after playing just 13 games in his first two seasons, those concerns are warranted. He’ll be questionable when the injury report, so watch that situation closely because if he sits, Shaun Hill gets the ball and while he is serviceable, he’s no Stafford. Running back Jahvid Best (concussion) is unlikely to suit up, either.
Why Bet On Denver Broncos
Let the Tim Tebow era begin. The Broncos were down 15-0 with 3:00 to go, Tebow was missing receivers left and right (and up and down, as well) and it looked like they were going down in Miami. Then Tebow found his accuracy, threw a touchdown pass, the Broncos recovered an onside kick, and then he tossed another score to send the game to overtime, where Matt Prater hit a 52-yard field goal. Tebow was 13-of-27 for 161 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while rushing eight times for 65 yards, as well as a two-point conversion. The Broncos ran for 183 yards as Tebow’s ability to rush open the field up for Willis McGahee. Defensively, the Broncos had four sacks and shut down the Miami running game but honestly, the story of this game was Tebow. Statistically, it doesn’t make sense and the Broncos had no business winning this game. We’re still trying to figure out what happened.
The conclusion is this: we would like to see Tebow do something similar against a good team and this is his chance because let’s face it, Miami may be the worst team in the NFL. He missed a lot of open receivers and although he can run the ball, Tebow was also sacked seven times when he should have thrown the ball away. It was a nice story and the media is having a field day with it, but Tebow needs to show more in order to make us full-on believers. Also, McGahee (hand) is out at least this weekend and maybe for the next month because of a fracture, so the onus is on the disappointing Knowshon Moreno to make his presence known in the backfield.
How It Will Play Out
The NFL betting line for this game has been taken down at the moment, likely due to the status of Stafford, and the Lions will be making their first trip to Denver since 2003. Detroit is 0-3 SU at Mile High, posting a 1-1 ATS mark, with two going under the posted total (there was no total for the game in 1981).
This really couldn’t be set up any better for Denver, who are getting a Detroit team that is falling back to earth quickly and may be going into this game without their starter. If Stafford is any less than 97%, the Lions will probably sit him, given his past history with injuries and they have a bye next week. The Broncos will put Champ Bailey on Johnson (in what may the best one-on-one matchup of the entire week) and dare the Detroit quarterback to find another way to beat them. Again, Tebow may not be great, but he’ll be good enough and we’ll continue to scratch our heads. Take Denver this week in your sports betting picks.
Lions Broncos Betting Pick: Denver Broncos