It’s official: Matthew Stafford is finally on the IR list.
“Obviously, have the utmost respect for Matthew and his efforts to try and do everything he could to get back and play”
Lions place quarterback Matthew Stafford on Reserve/Injured: https://t.co/KaxkPUvRGa pic.twitter.com/0BEzS3SHN4
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 17, 2019
Not that it changes much, but the Detroit Lions are officially favoring their right paw and limping towards the end of the 2019 regular season.
As Detroit sports fans, I don’t have to tell you that it’s been bad but I will anyhow. It’s been really bad. The Lions have lost seven straight. And just as I was beginning to worry about Matt Patricia’s job, he and Bob Quinn look like they are coming back next season. That said, they are both going to be on the hot seat early.
But it isn’t all their fault. Personnel issues and injuries have plagued the Lions this season. Marvin Jones Jr. is on IR, Jermaine Kearse is on IR, now Matthew Stafford is on IR and he hasn’t played since the Lions visited Oakland on November third. Jeff Driskel is on IR, so now we’re at 3rd-string behind center. Karryon Johnson is on IR, Nick Bawden, Joe Dahi, Jarrad Davis, T.J. Hockenson are all out for the season. Then the list goes on with stingers and questionable players for Week 16.
The Denver Broncos have a laundry list of injuries as well, but they managed to beat both the Houston Texans and the Los Angeles Chargers in the last three weeks and they are playing at home, so it’s no wonder the NFL odds show the Broncos favored by seven points.
That said, we can’t just come out and say that the Denver Broncos are going to win or that they will cover that one-TD point spread. It’s not like they have been the measure of consistency this season. The only thing they have been consistent with is playing in low-scoring games. Seventeen of the last 23 Denver Broncos games have gone UNDER the posted points total.
On the flip side, the Lions have dropped five road games in a row and are have only won two of their last thirteen away games over the last two seasons.
The best prediction we can make on this game is that it will be a low-scoring affair. I believe the two will combine for less than the 38.5 points that are on the boards.
The Stats
The Detroit Lions still managed to average 21.71 points per game, basically 22 points on the season. And it doesn’t drop off too terribly while out on the road; they hit 19.43 per game as the visiting team. The Denver Broncos are averaging just 17.07 per game. The problem the Broncos have is at home, they don’t get any better. They still only score 17.83 per game at Mile High.
The reason we see the 7-point spread is because of defense. The Broncos allow their opponents to score 20.29 points per game on average, but just 18.5 when playing in Denver. On the flip side, the Lions allow 26.64 per game on average but play better on the road, letting just 23.43 slip by as the visiting team.
But the Lions offensive numbers have plummeted over the last four weeks. Just 17 points against Tampa Bay, 7 against the Minnesota Vikings, 20 against the Chicago Bears, and 16 against the Washington Redskins, make their 4-Week average 15 points per game. The Broncos managed to put up 24 against Houston and 203 against the Chargers, but they only got three points on the Bills and three against Kansas City last week. So, their 4-week total is just 13.25 points per game.
All in all, the weather should be in the high 50’s and no rain or snow. But still, neither team has been able to put together any sort of consistent offensive efficiency and the Broncos still have an elite defense that ranks No. 8 in the NFL at home and No. 10 in the league overall. Couple this with the fact that the Broncs also have the 28th worst home offense and we have the makings for a meeting that puts just a few points up on the board.
The Lions are going to come into Denver with some extra attitude on defense and try to give their sputtering offense a chance. I’m not sure which one of these beat-up teams wins the game, but it will be low scoring and that is the prediction. Detroit Lions and Denver Broncos UNDER 38.5 points.
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