Week 15 opening odds: Despite loss, Lions still favorites over surging Broncos

The Detroit Lions are back home in Week 15, hosting a Saturday night special in primetime against the Denver Broncos. With plenty of storylines to follow for the National audience, the NFL opted to flex this game into the 8:15 p.m. ET timeslot on NFL Network.

Currently, the folks over at DraftKings have set the Week 15 opening betting line as Lions -4 points. The moneyline settles in at Lions -192, while the Broncos are at +160, with the over/under line set at 46.5 points.

The Lions have been in a rut the last month of the season, and while they’re 2-2 over that time, both wins were by just five points and both losses were to division rivals in games they got handled. Still, the Lions are 9-4 on the season, are two games ahead in their division, possess one of the most explosive offenses in football, and have seen their defense improve—though they still have a lot to clean up.

The Broncos started the season 1-5, including a 70-20 blowout on Week 3 at the hands of the Dolphins. But that game seems like a lifetime ago, as Denver has gone on to win six of their last seven games—including victories over the Packers, Chiefs, Bills, Vikings, Browns, and Chargers—bringing their record up to 7-6 and landing them firmly in the hunt for an AFC wildcard spot in the Playoffs.

The NFL made a smart decision to flex this matchup because both teams are in situations where a win could go a long way toward finding the right spot in the post-season, making this a potential game-of-the-week.