The New England Patriots (3-11) travel to face off against the Denver Broncos (7-7) on Sunday, December 24th. This game will be played at Empower Field at Mile High in Empower Field at Mile High and televised on NFLN. Both the Patriots and Broncos will be looking to bounce back from losses in their previous games. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:15 ET.

Patriots vs Broncos

The Patriots Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

In week 15, the Patriots had the Chiefs at home. However, they lost the game by a score of 27-17. In addition to their 10-point loss, the Patriots finished with a push vs. the spread. They were 10-point underdogs at the start of the game.

Against Kansas City, quarterback Bailey Zappe had a passer rating of 85 while completing 74% of his passes. Overall, he ended the game with 180 yards through the air.

The Patriots’ defense concluded their last game with three sacks and one interception. The team’s secondary conceded 283 passing yards, while their rush defense gave up 43 rushing yards.

Over the course of 14 games, the Patriots have put together a record of 3-11. This positions them 4th in the AFC-East and 16th in the AFC.

New England’s scoring margin up to this point is currently at -8.1. The team comes in with an ATS mark of 3-10-1. This season, New England games have seen an average of 34.6 points, which is 30th in the league. Their over/under record stands at 5-9, with an average OU line of 40.2 points.

Patriots Injury Report

• Cole Strange – Knee (Out)
• Marcus Jones – Shoulder (Out)
• Tyrone Wheatley Jr. – Knee (Questionable)
• Isaiah Bolden – Head (Out)
• Christian Gonzalez – Shoulder (Out)
• Tre Nixon – Shoulder (Out)
• Rhamondre Stevenson – Ankle (Questionable)
• Daniel Ekuale – Bicep (Out)
• Calvin Anderson – Illness (Out)
• Kendrick Bourne – Knee (Out)
• Conor McDermott – Head (Questionable)
• Raekwon McMillan – Achilles (Out)
• JuJu Smith-Schuster – Ankle (Questionable)
• Riley Reiff – Knee (Out)
• Trent Brown – Ankle/hand/illness (Questionable)
• Hunter Henry – Knee (Questionable)
• Matthew Judon – Bicep (Out)

The Broncos Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

After a 42-17 loss to the Lions, the Broncos are looking to get back on track this week. The Broncos had a 25-point loss, resulting in a defeat on their ATS record. They were 5.5-point underdogs going into the game.

Against Detroit, quarterback Russell Wilson had a passer rating of 88 while completing 56% of his passes. Overall, he ended the game with 223 yards through the air.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Broncos gave up 448 yards of total offense to Detroit. 185 of these yards came on the ground, while the team’s secondary gave up 263 yards on 34 attempts.

This season, the Broncos hold the 2nd position in the AFC-West with an overall record of 7-7. Their non-conference game record is 3-2, and in AFC action, they are AFC.

So far this season, the Broncos are above .500 vs. the spread at 5-8-1. Their average scoring margin this season is -3.4. With an over/under record of 6-8, the Broncos come in with an average margin of +2.2 relative to their over/under lines. Their games have consistently averaged 46.8 points per game.

Broncos Injury Report

• Alex Palczewski – Hand (Out)
• Eyioma Uwazurike – Suspension (Out)
• Jalen Virgil – Meniscus (Out)
• Greg Dulcich – Hamstring (Questionable)
• Nik Bonitto – Knee (Questionable)
• Caden Sterns – Knee (Out)
• Jonas Griffith – Knee (Out)
• K’Waun Williams – Ankle (Out)
• Tim Patrick – Achilles (Out)

Patriots Offense Breakdown

This season, the New England offense has an average of 13.3 points, placing them 29th in the league.

This season, New England’s passing offense ranks 16th in passing attempts. With an average of 186.9 passing yards per game, they hold the 26th spot in the NFL.

New England comes in with an average of 3.9 yards per rushing attempt and have an average of 24.9 attempts per game. In terms of total rushing yards, they are currently ranked 25th in the league.

Broncos Offense Breakdown

As they enter week 16, the Broncos offense ranks 14th in the league, averaging 21.7 points per contest.

This season, Denver’s passing offense ranks 26th in passing attempts. With an average of 187.1 passing yards per game, they hold the 25th spot in the NFL.

In terms of rushing, the Broncos are averaging 26.8 rushing attempts per game, placing them 14th for rushing yards. They have an average of 4.3 yards per rushing attempt.

Patriots Team Defense

Going up against the Broncos’ offense, the Patriots defense has allowed an average of 21.4 points per game. So far this season, they are 25th in quarterback hits and have yielded an average of 308.3 yards per contest.

Broncos Team Defense

On the defensive front, the Broncos currently hold the 17th position in tackles for loss and rank 11th in sacks. Opponents are averaging 25.1 points and 382.4 yards per game against them.

Patriots vs Broncos Trends

• In their last five games away from home, the Patriots have a straight up record of 1-4 while going 1-4 vs. the spread. The team averaged 13 points per game in this stretch.
• Across their five previous home games, Denver has an ATS mark of 2-3. Their straight up record in these matchups was 2-3 while averaging 18 points per game.
• Going back to their previous ten games as the underdog, New England has an ATS mark of 2-7-1 while going 2-8 straight up.
• Against the spread, the Broncos have put together of 2-2-1 in their last five games as the betting favorite. In these same games, they went 4-1 straight up.

Patriots vs Broncos Prediction

Even though the Broncos picked up a win in their previous game, they got off to a slow start on offense. Despite being favored vs. the Patriots, I like the Patriots to cover the spread (+6.5).

I’m going with the over as my pick, considering the over/under line at 34. Thus far, games featuring Denver have averaged a combined score of 46.8 points, and I anticipate this game will go beyond 34.

All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.