Lions vs. Broncos Odds, Betting Lines, Picks & Preview for NFL Week 14 on FanDuel Sportsbook

The Detroit Lions will travel to Mile High to take on the Denver Broncos this weekend in what should be an interesting affair. Detroit comes into this contest a little banged up. Starting running back D’Andre Swift missed Week 13 with a shoulder injury and was listed as DNP on the team’s estimated injury report. The Lions held a walkthrough on Wednesday due to a flu outbreak at the facility and listed Penei Sewell, Jared Goff, Michael Brockers, John Penisini, Nick Williams, and Halapoulivaati Vaitai as DNP with an illness. Other notable names on the injury report include T.J. Hockenson, who was listed as limited with a hand injury, and Julian Okwara, who was listed as DNP with an ankle injury. Denver had some impact names on their injury report as well. Bradley Chubb and Shelby Harris missed practice with ankle injuries, while Bobby Massie (ankle) and Melvin Gordon (hip) were limited. 

The Detroit Lions are riding a one-game winning streak and couldn’t be happier. The threat of a winless season no longer hangs over the heads of the Lions, and hopefully, that allows them to play at a higher level. As we have seen this season, the Lions have been competitive at times, so the hope in Detroit is that this momentum allows them to reel off a couple more wins down the stretch. The injury to D’Andre Swift and the flu bug ravaging the locker room is a major concern that bettors will want to monitor before placing any action on the Lions.

Addition by subtraction? Somehow, someway, Denver has remained competitive despite jettisoning the face of the franchise and the lone reason the Broncos defense was a feared unit in Von Miller. The team has drafted well and has several players on their first contract in key roles for their new-look defense. Denver has crashed back to earth after reeling off wins in the first three games of the season. The book on them at that point was that they exploited a soft early-season schedule to arrive at 3-0, and nine games later with a 3-6 record over that span, it appears that the analysts were right. Denver is not built to go anywhere with Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock as the options at quarterback and are essentially spinning their wheels, hoping to luck their way into the playoffs in a competitive AFC. They could make some noise in the Wild Card round if they happen to make it but will struggle to emerge with more than one postseason victory. 

The spread for this contest sits at -9.5, up from the -8 it opened at. As mentioned above, Swift’s injury and the team recovering from the flu will be key to the Lions’ efforts to not only compete but to cover the spread. Healthy, the Lions are the easy lean at +9.5. Denver is a strong defensive team but does not score enough points to be a two-score favorite, even against the Lions. Unless, of course, players like Swift and Goff are sidelined. The suggestion here is to wait until there is more clarity on the statuses of the Lions players. Fifty-two percent of the public action has come on the Lions to cover, but that number will grow when/if it is revealed that key players have recovered enough to play this weekend. The Lions are 4-0 ATS in their past four games overall and are 4-0 ATS in their previous four road games.

On the other hand, Denver is 4-10-1 in their past 15 games in which they were listed as a home favorite. Tap the Lions for one unit if Goff is cleared to play. Tap them for two units if Goff and Swift are both cleared. The total for this contest sits at 42, up from the 41.5 it opened at. The under is 8-4 in the Lions contests this season and 10-2 in the Broncos games this season. These two offenses have combined for just 36.7 points per game this season but have allowed 43.3 points per game. The under is 5-0 in the Lions’ past five road games and is 5-1 in the Broncos’ past six home games. Tap the under. 

All NFL game predictions and picks are courtesy of SportsGrid.

Sign up for Fanduel Sportsbook today and get your first bet risk-free for up to $1,000!