This late in the season, the NFL can flex out a Monday Night Football game if it does not offer an appealing matchup. Tonight's game to conclude Week 13 between the AFC North last-place Browns (3-8) and AFC West-third place Broncos (7-5) probably doesn't appeal to many viewers, but the league opted to keep it in place, possibly because Denver is in the thick of the wild-card chase. It is a 6-point favorite and the total is 42 points, which is a bit high for this time of year in the Mile High City. It will be cold but otherwise fine weather-wise.

All the Browns can do is play spoiler at this point and perhaps save the job of head coach Kevin Stefanski. He was rumored to be on the potential chopping block entering Week 12's home game vs. Pittsburgh, but Cleveland pulled off a 24-19 upset in the snow to end any talk of an immediate firing of the two-time NFL Coach of the Year. Stefanski's club also has a win over Baltimore. This is not a 3-8 roster from a talent perspective -- maybe just at quarterback when Deshaun Watson is healthy.

Entering Week 13 action, the SportsLine Projection Model gave Denver a 65.9% shot at making the playoffs, which equates to -193. With a win here, that rises to 71.4% (-250) while a loss drops it 47.6% (+110). The Broncos haven't made the playoffs since winning Super Bowl 50 in Peyton Manning's final NFL game. At DraftKings, Sean Payton's club is -180 to make it and +150 to not. 

The model had the Broncos with the 14th-toughest schedule remaining entering Week 13. This does feel like the swing game ahead of a Week 14 bye. Denver will be favored in Week 15 vs. Indianapolis but could be underdogs the next two weeks while visiting the Bengals and Chargers before closing at home vs. Kansas City. In an ideal world for the Broncos, the Chiefs would have the AFC's top seed wrapped up by then and rest their starters. 

We'll take you through every aspect of the Browns vs. Broncos game that you need to know before you lock in your bets, including SportsLine expert picks, props, trends, DFS, injury information and everything else that will help you know which plays are worth making for the primetime matchup.

Who wins Browns vs. Broncos in the Week 13 Monday night game, and what critical X-factor makes one side of the spread hit HARD? Join SportsLine right now to see everything you need to know to dominate your Monday Night Football bets, plus get expert picks, model sims, prop bets, DFS lineups, and more!