Patriots Will Be Home Underdogs for First Time in Eight Years as Broncos Open as Favorites for Week 12 Showdown

The Patriots have an almost flawless home record over the past few seasons, but the Broncos will enter Foxboro as the favorites next Sunday night.

The Broncos, who are an NFL-best 9-1 on the season, beat the Chiefs handily on Sunday night, romping over the former unbeaten 27-17 to reclaim the top spot in the AFC West. The win, along with Denver’s record-setting offensive pace, have the Broncos as 2 1/2-point favorites over the Patriots for next week’s prime-time matchup, according to Pregame.com’s RJ Bell. If the line stays that way, the Patriots will be underdogs at home for the first time in more than eight years.

The Patriots are 56-12 at Gillette Stadium since the start of the 2005 season, including a 25-3 record since 2010, so it’s no surprise that they are favored at home so often. The Broncos have been by far the NFL’s best team this season, though, making it no surprise that they are favored heading into this game. Oh, and the last time the Patriots were underdogs at home, they played — shocker! — Peyton Manning‘s Colts in Week 9 in 2005.

The Patriots still have a Monday night meeting with the Panthers on the slate before moving on to Denver, so the line could always change depending on that outcome. New England did beat the Broncos at Gillette last season, downing Manning and Co. 31-21, so the Patriots have that going for them. The Broncos may also be without star receiver Wes Welker next week, as the former Patriots receiver suffered a concussion during Denver’s win over Kansas City on Sunday.

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