Game Information:
Last Meeting: Detroit 45 – Denver 10 on October 30, 2011.
Series Overall: Denver leads 6-5-0
Location: Ford Field – Detroit, Michigan
Weather Forecast: Dome
Kickoff Time: 8:30 PM ET
Betting Line: Denver -3.0, Total 44.5
Broadcast: NBC and the Detroit Lions Radio Network
Like always you can’t catch the game live on TV or on the radio you can follow The Majors Detroit’s Facebook and Twitter feeds for live game updates of today’s action. There will also be a The Majors Detroit live blog hosted by TMSNX’s Vice President Adam “Dorf” Waltersdorf available at www.detroit.themajors.net.
STATISTICAL LEADERS:
Detroit Lions:
PASS: Matthew Stafford: 61.4% CMP, 532 YDS, 4 TD, 3 INT
RUSH: Ameer Abdullah: 13 CAR, 59 YDS, 1 TD
REC: Eric Ebron: 12 REC, 122 YDS, 1 TD
DEF: Rashean Mathis: 14 TACK, 0 SACK, 1 TFL, 0 PD, 0 INT
Denver Broncos:
PASS: Peyton Manning: 58.8% CMP, 431 YDS, 3 TD, 2 INT
RUSH: Ronnie Hillman: 21 CAR, 75 YDS, 0 TD
REC: Demaryius Thomas: 15 REC, 176 YDS, 0 TD
DEF: Danny Trevathan: 16 TACK, 1 TFL, 0 PD, 0 INT
Detroit Lions Depth Chart:
Offense:
| POS | FIRST | SECOND | THIRD |
| WR | #15 Golden Tate | #16 Lance Moore | #13 TJ Jones |
| LT | #71 Riley Rieff | #70 Corey Robinson | |
| LG | #63 Manny Ramirez | #72 Laken Tomlinson | |
| C | #65 Travis Swanson | #63 Manny Ramirez | #65 Taylor Boggs |
| RG | #75 Larry Warford | #63 Manny Ramirez | #65 Taylor Boggs |
| RT | #66 LaAdrian Waddle | #77 Cornelius Lucas | |
| TE | #87 Brandon Pettigrew* | #85 Eric Ebron | #89 Tim Wright |
| WR | #81 Calvin Johnson | #10 Corey Fuller | |
| QB | #9 Matthew Stafford | #8 Dan Orlovsky | |
| RB | #35 Joique Bell | #25 Theo Riddick | #21 Ameer Abdullah |
| #34 Zach Zenner | |||
| FB | #46 Michael Burton | ||
| *Expected to miss game injured | |||
Defense:
| POS | FIRST | SECOND | THIRD |
| DE | #91 Jason Jones | #52 Darryl Tapp | |
| DT | #93 Tyrunn Walker | #90 Gabe Wright | |
| DT | #92 Haloti Ngata | #97 Caraun Reid | #63 Jermelle Cudjo |
| DE | #94 Ezekiel Ansah | #98 Devin Taylor | #58 Phillip Hunt |
| OLB | #59 Tahir Whitehead | #53 Kyle Van Noy | #95 Brandon Copeland |
| MLB | #55 Stephen Tulloch | #50 Travis Lewis | |
| OLB | #54 DeAndre Levy* | #57 Josh Bynes | |
| CB | #23 Darius Slay | #30 Josh Wilson | |
| CB | #31 Rashean Mathis | #24 Nevin Lawson | #28 Quandre Diggs |
| SS | #32 James Ihedigbo | #32 Don Carey | |
| FS | #27 Glover Quin | #42 Isa Abdul-Quddus | |
| *Expected to miss game – injured | |||
Denver Depth Chart:
Offense:
| POS | FIRST | SECOND | THIRD |
| WR | #88 Demarius Thomas | #12 Andre Caldwell | #16 Bennie Fowler |
| LT | #74 Ty Sambrailo | #79 Michael Schofield | |
| LG | #69 Evan Mathis | #73 Max Garcia | |
| C | #61 Matt Paradis | #53 James Ferentz | |
| RG | #65 Louis Vasquez | #64 Shelley Smith | |
| RT | #68 Ryan Harris | #79 Michael Schofield | |
| TE | #81 Owen Daniels | #85 Virgil Green | #84 Mitchell Henry |
| WR | #10 Emmanuel Sanders | #14 Cody Latimer | #11 Jordan Norwood |
| RB | #22 C.J. Anderson | #23 Ronnie Hillman | #40 Juwan Thompson |
| QB | #18 Peyton Manning | # 17 Brock Osweiler | #13 Trevor Siemian |
| FB | #80 James Casey | #85 Virgil Green |
Defense:
| POS | FIRST | SECOND | THIRD |
| DE | #90 Antonio Smith | #96 Vance Walker | |
| NT | #92 Sylvester Williams | #98 Darius Kilgo | |
| DE | #97 Malik Jackson | #91 Kenny Anunike | |
| SLB | #58 Von Miller | #48 Shaquil Barrett | #55 Lerentee McCray |
| WLB | #94 DeMarcus Ware | #56 Shane Ray | |
| ILB | #54 Brandon Marshall | #51 Todd Davis | |
| ILB | #59 Danny Trevathan | #52 Corey Nelson | |
| LCB | #21 Aqib Talib | #36 Kayvon Webster | #37 Lorenzo Doss |
| RCB | #25 Chris Harris Jr. | #29 Bradley Roby | |
| SS | #43 T.J. Ward | #30 David Burton Jr. | #20 Josh Bush |
| FS | #26 Darian Stewart | #31 Omar Bolden |
Injury Report:
Lions injury designations:
| POS | Player | Injury | Designation |
| TE | Brandon Pettigrew | Hamstring | Out |
| LB | DeAndre Levy | Hip | Doubtful |
| DE | Ezekiel Ansah | Back | Probable |
| S | Don Carey | Foot | Probable |
| S | James Ihedigbo | Knee | Probable |
| OT | Cornelius Lucas | Ankle | Probable |
| S | Glover Quin | Lower Leg | Probable |
| QB | Matthew Stafford | Ribs | Probable |
| OG | Larry Warford | Ankle | Probable |
Broncos injury designations:
| POS | Player | Injury | Designation |
| CB | Kayvon Webster | Ankle | Doubtful |
| DE | Kenny Anunike | Knee | Questionable |
| CB | Omar Bolden | Foot | Questionable |
| RB | C.J. Anderson | Ankle, Toe | Probable |
| QB | Peyton Manning | non-injury | Probable |
| LB | Brandon Marshall | Finger | Probable |
| LB | Lerentee McCray | Groin | Probable |
| S | Darian Stewart | Groin | Probable |
| CB | Aqib Talib | Illness | Probable |
| OG | Louis Vasquez | Knee | Probable |
PREGAME ANALYSIS:
Three Keys to the Victory:
- Tackle Well: Peyton Manning cannot throw the ball very far anymore so he will be throwing quick hitters all over the field. He will complete a bunch of them, so the Lions have to tackle the receiver where they catch the ball. Any extra yards after the catch will kill the Lions chances at victory today.
- Run the Ball: Matthew Stafford was the Lions leading rusher last week with 20 yards. That cannot ever happen again if Detroit wants to seriously compete.
- Keep Matthew Stafford off the deck: The Minnesota Vikings have a good defensive line, there is no doubt about that. However, the pass rush of the Denver Broncos is significantly better and might actually be the best pass rush in the NFL. Matthew Stafford was battered and bruised last week and this week won’t be any better unless the Lions play better up front.
Prediction
The Detroit Lions have to win today, they just have to. However, lets not get our hopes up folks, the Denver Broncos are a superior team. The Lions are on their way to an 0-3 record folks and tonight’s game won’t be pretty.
Detroit Lions 17 – Denver Broncos 31