The “long week” coming off the “short week” for the Denver Broncos had to have been nice.
Playing on just four days rest in Kanas City was a struggle, but Peyton Manning, Bradley Roby and a slew of other guys found a way to get it done. Now with 10 days in between games we should see a much fresher Broncos team Sunday night in Detroit.
The Lions sit at 0-2 and conventional wisdom around town seems to be the Broncos will cruise to a double digit win. While I tend to fall into that camp as well, Denver needs to be careful. 0-3 teams don’t make the playoffs, plain and simple. Detroit will be desperate this weekend; there season is essentially on the line.
That said the Broncos are just a better team in all three phases of the game. A loss would be a letdown after a miraculous 2-0 start. It’s time to put a beat down on someone like the 2012, 2013 and 2014 Broncos did so many times early in the regular season.
With that in mind here are three bold predictions for the Broncos and Lions showdown at Ford Field on Sunday Night Football:
No. 3 — Peyton Manning throws for 300 yards and three plus touchdowns
Arm strength in question
2015: sacked 7x (so far)
Peyton will rest on Wednesdays this season http://t.co/6kdwrFieae pic.twitter.com/NBUm1Ys4KM— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) September 24, 2015
Manning may be resting more this season but it’s all part of a very smart plan to have him (hopefully) healthy come January. But when he does play against weak defenses, like the Lions, Manning is still going to feast. Playing (I hope) almost exclusively from shotgun Manning will look like himself in primetime posting big numbers.
No. 2 — Chris Harris Jr. joins the touchdown party
#Broncos Chris Harris Jr leaves Arrowhead a winner again. High 5s all around pic.twitter.com/lj6DIbNEk4
— Arran Andersen (@arranandersen) September 18, 2015
Harris Jr. got his first interception of the season Thursday in Kansas City, but right now is the only guy from the “big three” cornerbacks who doesn’t have a score. Aqib Talib had the pick-six against the Ravens and Bradley Roby had the scoop and score to seal the Chiefs win. It’s a lot to ask, as defensive touchdowns are really hard to get, but Harris Jr. will find a way Sunday.
No. 1 — The Broncos have six-plus sacks of the Detroit quarterbacks
DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller respectively have the 1st and 4th most pressures in the entire NFL #MeetMeAtTheQB pic.twitter.com/sU0Xw7Nbdb
— PFF (@PFF) September 23, 2015
Notice how I didn’t just say Matthew Stafford? The former No. 1 overall pick is so beat up right now it’s a real possibility the Broncos knock him out of this game. In that case it’d be Dan Orlovsky time in Detroit and things could get really ugly. But regardless of who it is at QB this Broncos defensive line is just silly good. Miller, Ware, Barrett, Ray, Williams, Smith, the corners — who knows — they’ll all be involved as part of a huge night.
FINAL SCORE: Broncos 38, Lions 14