8:30 PM EST, NBC – Line: Patriots -7.5, Over/Under: 45.5

Brady looks to keep things rolling for the Patriots, who have won four consecutive games since getting off to a shaky 2-2 start.
What had become one of the NFL’s premier rivalries in recent memory appears to be lacking some juice, as the struggling Denver Broncos play host to the New England Patriots in a meeting between a pair of teams traveling in very opposite directions. After a surprising 2-2 start to the season, the Patriots (6-2, 1st in AFC East) have (unsurprisingly) rounded into shape, winning four consecutive games heading into their Bye Week as they find themselves sitting in a rather familiar position atop the division at the midway point of the campaign. Things have certainly turned for the better in New England, where their disappointing start was headlined by an atrocious Defense, which has made serious strides during their four-game winning streak, which again is unsurprising given the man at the controls in the form of Defensive Maestro Bill Belichick; in their first four games, the Pats’ Defense was getting torched for an average of 32.0 Points per Game on a staggering 456.8 Total Yards, including 324.0 through the air, only to put together a complete about-face, yielding a vastly improved 12.8 Points on 377.3 Total Yards. The major difference is that opposing Quarterbacks haven’t been shredding them on a weekly basis anymore, with Belichick’s charges limiting the likes of Pro Bowl Quarterbacks such as Matt Ryan (23-of-33, 233 YDS, 1 TD) and Philip Rivers (17-of-30, 212 YDS, 1 TD) to relatively pedestrian Stat Lines. Of course, there are still plenty of problem areas that need to be addressed with this unit, particularly their Run Defense, which has been pummeled over the previous two weeks (138.5 Y/G), while yielding a league-worst 5.1 Yards per Carry this season, but for all intents and purposes, this is a group that is certainly on the up and up. On the opposite side of the ball, it’s been the Tom Brady Show, with the 40-year old Quarterback continuing to carry the attack despite performing in what is supposed to be the twilight of his storied career. It’s remarkable in seeing very little statistical drop-off, as the five-time Super Bowl Champion has completed 66.7% of his Attempts for an average of 317.6 Yards per Game (which leads the NFL, by the way), on 7.32 Net Yards per attempt, with sixteen Touchdowns and a mere two Interceptions. Granted, he’s throwing the ball far more than he has in recent memory (38.6 A/G), and he’s already been sacked more times than he was in twelve outings in 2016 (Twenty-One), but there is one reason and one reason only that the Patriots’ Offense remains one of the more feared units in the league, and that’s all because of No. 12. Consider the fact that reliable Slot Receiver Julian Edelman has missed the entire season with a torn ACL, and the likes of Chris Hogan (Shoulder) and Danny Amendola (Knee) have each missed time with various ailments, while the running game has been middling at best (109.0 Y/G, 16th Overall), and it’s amazing that this guy has still been able to propel this group to the most Total Yards in the league (426.6 Y/G). And that’s what makes tonight’s meeting with the Broncos so intriguing, for Denver’s Defense has historically given Brady all kinds of problems, while the thin air at Sports Authority Field has been the least welcoming venue for the two-time MVP throughout his career; he’s only 7-9 against them all-time, including the Playoffs, where he’s lost all but one of four meetings, while mustering a 3-9 record at Mile High. In what amounts to a full season worth of matchups (they’ve met sixteen times), he’s completed just 59.7% of his Attempts for an average of 281.0 Yards on 7.00 Yards per Attempt, while tossing thirty-two Touchdowns in comparison to eleven Interceptions, and has been sacked twenty-nine times. In fact, the only two Postseason Losses that Brady and the Pats have sustained in the last three years have come at Denver. Granted, competing against the likes of Peyton Manning has had something to do with all of that, but the numbers don’t lie, folks. This guy has left the Rocky Mountains with a victory in hand just once since 2011, with that coincidentally being last season’s trip to Denver, the first of the Post-Manning Era; it was a defensive struggle from start to finish, as Brady was relegated to just 16-of-32 passing (50.0%) for a season-low 188 Yards, with no Touchdowns in the 16-3 victory.

In his first start with Denver since 2015, Osweiler struggled mightily, completing just 19-of-38 Passes for just 208 Yards, a Touchdown and 2 Interceptions in a 51-23 loss at Philadelphia.
Meanwhile, things are going indeed south quickly for the Broncos (3-5, T-2nd in AFC West), who for the second consecutive season look to be wasting the presence of one of the nastiest defenses in the league, thanks in large part to an Offense that is for lack of a better word, a dumpster fire. In 2016, Denver got off to a promising 4-0 start, only to go 5-7 the rest of the way en route to missing the Playoffs for the first time since 2010. In that particular campaign, the Offense, led by unheralded Seventh Round Pick Trevor Siemian at Quarterback, started off hot, but cooled considerably before he was eventually benched in favor of his Rookie understudy Paxton Lynch. Fast forward to 2017, and even with a new Coaching Staff, very little has changed. With new Head Coach Vance Joseph and the return of Offensive Coordinator Mike McCoy ushering in a new era of Broncos Football, it has been the same old story in Mile High, as Siemian once again beat out Lynch (who has been nursing an injured shoulder since the Preseason), only to see the Offense sputter like a rusty old truck. On the season, Joseph’s charges have scored a disappointing 18.8 Points (22nd Overall) on 349.3 Total Yards (18th Overall), including 236.9 through the air (19th Overall) on 5.4 Net Yards per Attempt (25th Overall), along with another 112.4 on the ground (14th Overall) on 4.2 Yards per Carry (14th Overall). While those numbers may not seem terrible, they’re not indicative of how this group has performed recently, or where they’re headed. Since starting the season an inspiring 3-1, Denver has lost four games in a row, with the Offense playing the role of the proverbial punching bag, averaging just 17.78 Points on 313.3 Yards per Game. The problem, as has been the case all season, has been Turnovers, which have absolutely killed this team’s chances of victory; through eight games they’ve committed a whopping nineteen Turnovers (31st Overall), with a staggering thirteen of that total coming in the last four games alone. Six of them have been Interceptions thrown by Siemian (61.5%, 238.4 Y/G, 5.55 NY/A, 9 TD, 10 INT), who was promptly benched by Joseph shortly after a miserable Three-Interception Performance in a Nationally Televised 29-19 loss at the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football. Granted, not every one of this team’s issues can be laid at the feet of the third-year veteran, particularly given the play of the Offensive Line (they’ve allowed Twenty-Eight Sacks), which has been in shambles throughout the year, but you can’t consistently throw Interceptions and expect to keep your job. And even worse, the astounding ineptitude of the Offense has begun to infect the play of their compatriots on Defense, who have courageously done everything within their considerable powers to give their team a chance. The Broncos have given up the second-fewest Total Yards in the league (280.8 Y/G), including 192.4 against the Pass (4th Overall) on 5.7 Net Yards per Attempt (12th Overall), along with another 88.4 against the Run (5th Overall) on 3.4 Yards per Carry (2nd Overall), while totaling nineteen Sacks. With that said, they’ve only managed to snare seven Takeaways (28th Overall), which when coupled with constantly having to defend a short field, is why this star-studded unit has permitted a disappointing 24.8 Points per Game (25th Overall). Last weekend’s embarrassing 51-23 blowout loss at Philadelphia could be the breaking point, folks. The visitors were never in the affair, trailing 44-9 heading into the Fourth Quarter, with the home side ringing up 419 Total Yards (197 via the Run, 234 via the Pass) and seven Touchdowns when it was all said and done, the most allowed by the Broncos in well, let’s just say it’s been quite a long time. So where does the Coaching Staff turn, you ask? With Lynch, whom Management traded back into the First Round to select last year, still unready, Joseph and his Staff turned to none other than Brock Osweiler, who was acquired shortly before the season began after being released by the Cleveland Browns. Osweiler, of course, began his career in Denver, where he spent three years under the wing of the aforementioned Manning, before spelling his mentor, who suffered a foot injury, for a crucial stretch in their Super Bowl run of 2015; the towering Quarterback went a respectable 5-2 as the Starter, before ultimately being pulled in favor of a healthy Manning, with the rest being as they say, history. The ensuing forgettable stint as the Houston Texans’ Starter aside, Osweiler is fondly remembered in Denver, with his first career home victory coming against none other than Brady and the Patriots at Sports Authority Field, on a Sunday Night no less. On that windy, snowy Sunday Night, the young gunslinger completed 23-of-42 Passes for 270 Yards, a Touchdown and an Interception, while engineering a seventeen-point comeback to steal a 30-24 Win in Overtime. Will history end up repeating itself? Perhaps, but then again, perhaps not; in his first start since returning to Mile High, Osweiler was underwhelming against the Eagles, connecting on just 19-of-38 Attempts for 208 Yards, a Touchdown and a pair of Interceptions. Oh, Brock. How we’ve missed you…