National Football League against the spread picks: Denver Broncos for the upset

A big factor is they are only giving the Broncos 5.5 points, a very manageable spread to cover.

The Patriots have the best offense in the National Football League in 2015, but in November, they’ve come back down to earth a bit.

The Denver Broncos will have to wait for at least two more weeks before they can have franchise quarterback Peyton Manning back as the latter will have to heal from a left foot injury (partially torn plantar fascia).

The former Minnesota Vikings first-rounder will serve as the Broncos third QB behind starter Brock Osweiler and Trevor Siemian, a rookie from Northwestern. New England heads into the game as three-point favorites, but they’ll have to be almost flawless if they want to remain unbeaten on the season.

Well, conventional wisdom says you throw those quick crossing routes underneath, which allow the receiver to run with the ball after he catches it. Problem is, the Patriots’ best receivers in those plays are Edelman and Amendola. The Broncos defense is giving up just 18.3 points per game, second to New England’s 18.2 points per game average. That could be the case again this week, as Denver leads the NFL with 34 sacks and has yielded league lows of eight touchdown passes and 190.6 passing yards per game.

Denver’s injury report has already declared that Manning is out. “They’ve been getting to the quarterbacks”.

Same goes for the Patriots. So there will be at least one undefeated team in the National Football League after Week 12. “So I think we’ll just keep fighting and figuring out a way to win, and it’s good to win against a good defense”.

Phillips continued, “It means doubling him a lot, certainly, but it also means putting enough pressure on the quarterback where the guy doesn’t have time to throw to the guy even when he gets open sometimes”.

Aaron Rodgers wasn’t the only quarterback casualty of that Sunday night smack-down. He might be on the sidelines or up in a coaches box, but it won’t be the same.

The Broncos offense showed mild improvement in Osweiler’s first start last week against Chicago, although the 25-year-old was sacked five times. Denver’s 27-13 win over New England in the 2006 playoffs featured one of the signature plays of Champ Bailey’s illustrious career, while Denver’s 26-16 win over the Patriots in the 2014 AFC Championship Game put them in the Super Bowl. Sunday night they’ll have to deal with Demaryius Thomas and the return of Emmanuel Sanders in Osweiler’s receiving corps.

Yet, the Broncos probably have not faced an offense like New England’s this year. With Belichick up to his usual sneaky tricks, this game is going to come down to the defense stopping Brady and Osweiler doing what he did last week – protecting the ball and moving the chains.

There is just something about Patriots-Broncos games that brings out some wackiness. Here’s why: Did you see what the “No Fly Zone” did against the Packers?

During a radio interview on Tuesday, quarterback Tom Brady didn’t express any bitterness about the whistle, and acknowledged that even the best officiating crews can make mistakes. Denver’s two losses were to the Colts and Chiefs. They’re 10-0 and we’re 8-2, so it’s definitely a five-star matchup.

Get ready for something wild to happen Sunday night.

In the meantime, Osweiler will be under center and offering something very different than what Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots have seen from the Broncos since 2012.

The action began with the traditional Thanksgiving Thursday games.