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Sunday afternoon football has drawn to a close and our beloved Detroit Lions end the day above .500 for the first time since Week 5. They still remain a couple games outside of the division lead, but they took care of business of the Cleveland Browns and gave themselves a chance to live another week in the playoff race.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. We’re still in the afterglow of a win, even if it was a shaking one against the winless Browns. Grab a beer (if you’re of age), throw on the “Africa” on vinyl (if you got it), and enjoy yourselves some stress-free AFC football.
The Denver Broncos are in trouble. Just a couple years removed from winning the Super Bowl, the Broncos are in danger of missing the playoffs for the second straight year. They currently sit at 3-5, two-and-a-half games behind the division-leading Kansas City Chiefs. Their defense isn’t what it once was, and they can’t seem to decide on a quarter right now.
That makes it a tough week to host the New England Patriots. The Patriots are winners of their last four and sit comfortably—as they usually do—in the driver’s seat of the AFC East. Worse yet, for the Broncos, the Patriots are coming off their bye week, and Bill Belichick is pretty good out of the bye week. The Patriots are 12-5 after their bye ever since Belichick joined the team in 2000, which is actually a fairly pedestrian record considering New England’s accomplishments.
Either way, this is an absolute must-win game for the Broncos, but lucky for us, it doesn’t matter at all. We can just sit back, warm our souls with Toto, and enjoy some Thursday Night Football.
Here’s how to watch:
Date/time: Sunday, November 12, 2017—8:30 p.m. ET
Location: Sports Authority Stadium, Denver, CO
Line: Patriots -7.5
TV: NBC
Announcers: Chris Collinsworth, Al Michaels, with Michele Tafoya
Online Streaming: NBCSports, NFL Sunday Ticket; Catch live audio and post-game replays on NFL Game Pass
SB Nation sites: Pats Pulpit (Patriots) - Mile High Report (Broncos)