NFL Betting Odds — Detroit Lions at Denver Broncos | OSB

One of the problems with the Denver Broncos this season is that they may not have exhibited enough imagination offensively. And that it’s something that many have laid at the feet of quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

But Pat Shurmur, the offensive coordinator who was previously the head coach with the Browns and Giants, is the guy who could be on his way out, that is if Vic Fangio is even brought back next season.

Bridgewater did not have a great game against the Kansas City Chiefs last time out, throwing a pick-six in a game in which his team produced only nine points.

But as OnlineSportsBet customers may have seen, they’ve got the makings of a pretty good running game in the Mile High City, and they will most likely put that on display on Sunday afternoon as they face off against the Detroit Lions in a game that begins at 4:05 p.m. Eastern Time.

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Detroit is coming off the high point of its season because they actually won a game last week. The Lions took advantage of the questionable Minnesota secondary and marched down the field in the closing moments to score a touchdown on the very last play to beat the Vikings 29-27. Jared Goff threw for 291 yards, and Detroit finally won a game after so many near-misses. They had lost by three or fewer points four times, and even though they are just one 1-10-1 straight up, their point spread record is a very solid 8-4.

So now it’s a matter of whether they wanted to celebrate too much, but there are also other matters that, one way or another, be dealt with. To begin with, they have a thin backfield, because D’Andre Swift has a shoulder injury and won’t play, and Jamaal Williams had a positive Covid test.

There are other absences on defense as well, and as a result, the Lions are left with just two healthy cornerbacks coming into this game.

In the NFL betting odds posted on this game by the folks at OnlineSportsBet, the Broncos are double-digit favorites:

Denver Broncos -12.5

Detroit Lions +12.5

Over 42 points -110

Under 42 points – 110

While one Williams is out of the backfield for Detroit, the other Williams is still going strong for the Broncos. Javonte Williams, who teamed up with Michael Carter last season at North Carolina to form a superb backfield, has broken more tackles than any running back in the NFL this season, which certainly makes him a contender of sorts for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. He has a shot at a thousand yards, having accumulated 670 so far, and is averaging 4.8 per carry.

The plan for Denver is that he will split carries with Melvin Gordon, who is listed as questionable for this game, yeah, but somehow it doesn’t seem to matter all that much if Gordon doesn’t play.

For Detroit, not having the running backs is indeed a big problem. Head coach Dan Campbell, who has had a trying first year at the helm, made the decision a few weeks back to start calling the offensive plays, even though it was something he had never done before. Campbell wanted to emphasize the run a lot more, and whether he’s really succeeded at that is a question. His philosophy, incidentally, it’s not all that much different than offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn, always a hard-nosed type who, prior to being the head coach for the Chargers, worked under Rex Ryan in Buffalo. But it appears that more of the bird is going to be put in the hands of Goff — maybe too much of the burden.

Fangio is known as something of a defensive wizard, as he has plied his trade at many stops in the NFL. What he’s liable to do here is tighten things up near the line of scrimmage against Goff, who is right down near the bottom of NFL quarterbacks in terms of air yards per target. He won’t worry much about Goff beating him long, because that’s not what the guy does.

As a result, Detroit ought to have some major challenges pushing the ball over the goal line. We are inclined to look to an under in this game, and the trends tell us that’s the right way to go — Denver has played just two games over the total in 12, while Detroit has been under in eight of the last 10.

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