The Denver Broncos will play the Detroit Lions on NFL Sunday Night Football tonight, with the Lions hoping they can put on a stunning performance in front of their home fans at Ford Field to claim an unlikely first win of the season over Peyton Manning and his Denver Broncos. The game has a scheduled start time of 8.30 p.m. ET and takes place from Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The game can be watched on TV on the NBC network or online through live stream via the link below.
The Broncos come into today's game having won both their opening games to enter Week 3 on 2-0.
The Lions oppositely have lost both their opening games, and at 0-2 are desperate for a win to stop the slide.
Week 3 is often a do or die time for a number of teams to remain relevant for the postseason picture. To put things into perspective, only 12 percent of teams over the past 25 years have comeback from 0-2 to make the postseason. If the Lions slide to 0-3 tonight then they would have to join an elite group of just three teams in the last quarter century that have recovered from losing their opening three games of the season to make the Playoffs.
Ahead of the regular season starting, some analysts had been questioning whether Peyton Manning was in decline and whether he could really lead the Broncos to another Super Bowl or not. However, two weeks into the new season and the Broncos are looking good at 2-0 and are settling into their usual spot as favorites to win the AFC West division title.
That said, the Broncos have not been at their best and had their share of luck to get to 2-0. But no one can say anything about their strong defense that has suffocated opposition offenses, and even though Manning and the Broncos offense have not yet gotten into top gear, they have been quietly efficient in picking up points.
Today is a massive game for the Lions and they simply must find a way to shut down Manning, and break free from the Broncos defensive unit. Whether they can succeed remains to be seen.
Week 3 is already crunch time for a number of NFL teams. Earlier this week on NFL Thursday Night Football, the New York Giants faced a massive game against the Washington Redskins. The Giants were 0-2 after their opening two games, and they knew if they slipped to 0-3 their season was almost guaranteed to be over before it had even got going.
The 1-1 Washington Redskins were hoping to move to 2-1 to compete with the NFC East division leading Dallas Cowboys, and at the same time all but eliminate one of their main rivals from contention for the postseason.
But when the push came to shove the Giants showed that they are still alive and kicking. New York came out of the blocks fast, building a 12-0 lead after the first quarter, and it was a lead they would refuse to give up despite some strong pressure from the Redskins in the fourth.
The Giants had lost their opening two games after getting themselves into winning positions and some must have thought they were heading the same way on Thursday. However, they finally held on to a second half lead and clinched a 32-21 win, with the highlight being a 30 yard Odell Beckham Jr touchdown catch.
The Redskins must have seen how the Giants collapsed under pressure in the fourth quarter against the Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons in Weeks 1 and 2. But even though the Redskins pushed hard in the fourth, scoring 15 points in the final quarter, the Giants responded to the pressure and recorded 14 points themselves to keep themselves in front.
For today's game between the Denver Broncos and the Detroit Lions, the game has a start time of 8.30 p.m. ET and can be watched on TV on the NBC network or online through live stream by clicking here.
