On Saturday night in primetime, the Lions face the Broncos in what should be an excellent matchup. The Lions just suffered a terrible loss at the hands of the Bears, as Jared Goff put up yet another subpar showing. For the third time in the previous four games, Goff had three turnovers, and the offense was never able to get going. The Broncos just defeated the Chargers with a resounding victory that featured outstanding performances from both their offense and defense. The Broncos are a very strong team, having won six of their previous seven games. Sean Payton vs. Dan Campbell is a wonderful way to end the first Saturday slate of NFL games as this game should be extremely close.
The Broncos just defeated the Chargers in a thrilling game. They have been extremely successful in large part because of their defense, which gave up only 7 points. The focal points of this defense have been Justin Simmons and Patrick Surtain. Throughout the whole season, Surtain has been a lockdown corner, giving up only 500 yards and two touchdowns. Simmons has established himself as one of the league’s top safeties and is always producing big plays. This season, linebackers Josey Jewell and Alex Singleton have had a significant impact, combining for 214 tackles and making plays in both the run and pass games. Nik Bonitto has been a nice surprise, registering a team-high seven sacks while applying consistent pressure to quarterbacks. During their winning run, The Offense has also been effective. Russell Wilson is starting to resemble the player he was in Seattle, making accurate throws and developing greater mobility. Following a season-ending injury last year, Javonte Williams has also made a significant contribution, helping to revive the run game and make it look great. With 10 touchdown catches, second only to Tyreek Hill, Sutton has become Wilson’s go-to receiver. Although it hasn’t been terrific, the offensive line hasn’t presented any issues. Without a doubt, the Broncos can keep this game tight. In order to keep this game competitive, expect Russell Wilson to run the ball a lot because the Lions are bad against mobile quarterbacks.
The Lions just suffered a terrible defeat to Chicago, as QB Jared Goff’s problems continued. Goff turned the ball over three times for the third time in the previous four weeks. Goff had an incredible first half of the season, but since the bye week, he has struggled to play well, turning into a turnover machine and making poor choices. The running game has a really appealing appearance. Jahmyr and David Montgomery have been sharing runs, and each is averaging around 5 yards each rush. With Gibbs’s rise to prominence, this run game could be the finest in the NFL. Though his pass game hasn’t lived up to our expectations, Gibbs has demonstrated exceptional skill in the run game, scoring numerous huge runs in each game. Some of the top players at their positions, Sam LaPorta and Amon-Ra St. Brown remain favorites of quarterback passers. The offensive line has been having trouble lately, but this weekend, they should be totally healthy, so they should be able to recover. Starting with the secondary, the defense has been terrible. Although Cam Sutton has been playing well lately, Jerry Jacobs has not been at all. Jacobs is accustomed to facing WR1s but has been continuously burned. Campbell stated that because of Jacobs’ difficulties, we could see more of Kindle Vildor this weekend instead of Jacobs. Anzalone has been excellent this season, despite his poor performance last week. This weekend, he will want to get back to how he’s been playing previously. The defensive line is another major weakness for this defense. While Hutchinson remained dominant off the edge, he has been losing control and becoming less appealing as the season has progressed. This defensive line’s brightest player, Alim McNeill, is on injured reserve and won’t be playing this week. This will be a difficult game, and for Detroit to win, Wilson must be contained. I expect Goff and this defense should recover and appear more like themselves. Between Dan Campbell and his mentor Payton, this could be an amazing primetime contest. Though anything may happen, and I wouldn’t be stunned if Denver prevailed, I think Detroit will win.
My Prediction: Detroit 27 Denver 21
