The Denver Broncos and Detroit Lions square off in the third Sunday Night Football game of the 2015 NFL season. This is a very interesting matchup. The Lions and Broncos play in separate conferences so we very rarely see these two teams face off against one another.

Let's preview the game and predict a winner.

Denver Broncos (2-0)

It hasn't been pretty, but who cares? The Broncos are 2-0 after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens in last-minute thrillers. The Broncos looked to be left for dead against the Chiefs last week until they scored 14 points in the closing minutes. A Jamaal Charles fumble eventually sealed the deal.

The Broncos are 2-0 because of their elite defense. Let's not forget that the Broncos defense did rank No. 3 overall last season in yards allowed. The Broncos defenses is well equipped at every level. Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware are terrorizing quarterbacks at the line of scrimmage while Aqib Talib is shutting down wide receivers. Expect to see Talib on Calvin Johnson on Sunday.

Although undefeated, the Broncos offense hasn't looked very impressive. Peyton Manning is off to a rocky start while the running game has been terrible. Much of that of course has to do with the offensive line, which is new and young. Manning is the greatest quarterback of all-time at making adjustments at the line of scrimmage, so he should be able to figure out this obstacle.

This will be the second consecutive week that the Broncos are on the road.

Detroit Lions (0-2)

At 0-2, the Lions are facing a must-win game against the Broncos this week. The Lions won't win NFC North ahead of the Green Bay Packers, but a wild card spot is still very much in play. The Lions haven't made the playoffs in back to back seasons since 1994 and 1995 with Barry Sanders.

Unfortunately, Sanders is walking through those doors anytime soon. The Lions run offense is terrible, and they will more than likely struggle against the Broncos dominant defense in a major way. This Lions offense is pass or bust. It's time for Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson to finally get going. Johnson is regarded as one of the best wide outs in the game, but injuries are starting to leave some doubt on that title. The Lions defensive line also looks dramatically different. Ndamukong Suh is now with the Miami Dolphins and Nick Fairley is with the St. Louis Rams.

The Lions secondary will have their hands full against Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas. If the Lions lose this game, their season is pretty much over.

Schedule

The Broncos and Lions will play each other on Sunday night at 8:30 p.m. EDT at Ford Field Stadium in Detroit, Michigan. The game will be shown on NBC. You can watch a live game stream here.

Prediction

The Broncos are just a better football team from top to bottom. They have the better skill players, better defense, and they will win in trenches. Outside of the Lions having home field advantage, there's not much going right for Detroit. The Broncos will force numerous turnovers and eventually prevail to go to 3-0.

Broncos win 31-14

 Follow Damon Salvadore on Twitter @DamonSalvadore1