The Denver Broncos were blown out 42-17 in Saturday’s primetime showdown against the Detroit Lions. Early mistakes came back to haunt the Broncos as the Lions capitalized on momentum and ran away with it.

Denver Broncos carved up in loss vs. Lions

Saturday’s game for the Broncos had all the feels of a playoff game heading into it. Unfortunately, it was the Lions who stepped up to the plate and trimmed Denver’s playoff chances down dramatically.

Denver’s defense got off to a solid start on their first possession, forcing the Lions to punt it away. Once Russell Wilson and the Broncos offense got the ball on their first possession, they struck the first blow of the game with a 40-yard catch and run by Jerry Jeudy.

Unfortunately, Wilson was strip-sacked several plays later, setting the Lions up in scoring territory and changing the course of the game entirely. Despite Denver’s defense holding up after the fumble, the Lions possessed all of the momentum and energy, and they never looked back.

Jared Goff led the Lions on three straight scoring drives after they started off with three straight punts. Goff was surgical against Denver’s defense, carving them up in the first half on 19-of-26 passing for 215 yards and three touchdowns.

Trailing 21-0 at halftime, the Broncos first-half statistics were concerning.

  • Broncos offense accumulated only 75 yards of offense in the first half.
  • The Lions offense was 3-for-6 on third down.
  • Russell Wilson was sacked twice and hit four times in the first half.

The Broncos opened up the second half with a scoring drive after the Lions were called for a 44-yard pass interference penalty. Russell Wilson capitalized on the extended drive by connecting with Lil’Jordan Humphry for a tough contested catch that trimmed their deficit to 21-7.

Denver’s defense, however, couldn’t stop the bleeding as the Lions gashed them once again, responding with an 8-play 75-yard scoring drive that saw Goff throw his fourth touchdown of the game, extending their lead to 28-7.

From that point forward, the Lions continued running full steam ahead, capping off a 6-play 75-yard with a rushing touchdown from Jahmyr Gibbs to put the game on ice.

Late in the fourth quarter, Goff tossed his fifth touchdown pass of the game to end the embarrassing night 42-17.

While the loss is disappointing, the Broncos are still very much in the playoff hunt with three AFC conference games remaining. If Denver wins out, they’ll likely make it in, but they no longer have any room for error.