Broncos-Lions odds have Denver favorites on the road

A gritty road win against the Kansas City Chiefs has Las Vegas and online sportsbooks believing in the Denver Broncos, based on the odds for their Week 3 match against the Detroit Lions. While the game will be in prime time and in the Motor City, the Broncos are still 2.5-point favorites, according to the latest NFL odds.

Gary Kubiak said he's surprised that the Lions are winless entering Week 3 and wouldn't count them out in their home opener.

"They're an explosive football team on the offensive side of the ball and I think that they were the No. 1 defense in football last year," Kubiak said. "They were up there very high as a defensive football team. They've been missing their leader inside [Lions LB DeAndre Levy] for a couple of weeks. That's been a big miss for them. With this league, you don't get too carried away if you're off to a good start. If you're not off to a good start, you keep your frame of mind right and keep going. It's a long, tough season. It's their home opener. It's another tough place to play. It's kind of the same challenge that we had in Kansas City in a lot of ways."

The Broncos rose to that challenge, improving to 2-0 straight up and against the spread.

The Lions boast wide receivers Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate, who will be sure to push Broncos cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Chris Harris, Jr.

"It's a huge challenge and their quarterback [Matthew Stafford] makes a lot of plays and a lot of off-scheduled plays," said Kubiak. "They're going to get the ball in those guys' hands."

One big question entering the game is whether Peyton Manning can get the ball in his guys' hands more often than Stafford can deliver for his.