New England Patriots vs Denver Broncos: Game 9 Preview and Prediction
By Hal Bent
In Week 10, the New England Patriots will be facing the Denver Broncos on Sunday Night Football. Here is a complete preview for the game.
After a bye week the New England Patriots are back in action in prime time on the national Sunday Night Football broadcast on NBC. The Patriots travel to Denver to take on the 3-5 Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
The Broncos jumped out to a 3-1 record with wins over the Chargers, Cowboys and Raiders before their bye in week five. Since then they have lost four games in a row with losses at home on national television to the Giants, being shut out by the Chargers, and then beaten soundly by the Chiefs and Eagles.
The Patriots had a rough start to the season starting 2-2 with losses to the Chiefs and Panthers sandwiched around wins over the Saints and Texans. After the defense allowed 125 points in the first four games of the season, the unit has allowed just 51 points in their last four games (all wins) heading into the bye week (all statistics from Pro-Football-Reference.com unless otherwise noted).
New England kicks off a stretch with five of their next six games on the road Sunday night. After their game they will stay out west and then travel to Mexico City to face the Raiders. At home after Thanksgiving against the Dolphins, the Patriots will then travel to Buffalo, Miami and Pittsburgh.
But before all that, the Patriots have a tough road game to play in Denver.
There are a number of factors that will go into whether the Patriots will win, whether the Broncos will pull the upset, who needs to step up for New England on Sunday, what hidden factors could impact the game, and what will actually happen on Sunday.