Broncos are somehow the NFL's biggest underdogs on Week 9 schedule

Han Solo famously once said, "Never tell me the odds," but I'm not sure the Denver Broncos want to ignore what could be some of their best bulletin board material in a year that is absolutely chock full of it. The Broncos have been written off time after time this year, especially before the season. Analysits and talking heads said the Broncos would be lucky to win their projected five games this year, and they've already reached that total before the end of October.

Despite the fact that they have won five of their last six games, the Broncos head into their Week 9 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens as heavy underdogs. As a matter of fact, they are the biggest underdogs of the entire Week 9 slate of games.

Broncos are heavy underdogs vs. Ravens in Week 9

As of Wednesday, the Broncos are a whopping 9.5-point underdog against the Baltimore Ravens. This figure could make sense on a number of levels if the Broncos hadn't played so well up to this point in the season, but it's an odd one on a number of fronts. Let's talk about it.

First of all, the Broncos have had a top three defense in the NFL this season. Although the Ravens have been dynamic and dominant at times on offense, you have to at least figure there will be some pushback from the Broncos in this game.

Second, the Broncos have been awesome on the road this year. They lost their season-opener against the Seattle Seahawks but they have won every road game they have played since then (Bucs, Jets, Saints).

Third, the Broncos and the Ravens have the same record this season. The Ravens have even lost to a common opponent (Raiders). This betting line feels like the oddsmakers are really just saying they think the Ravens are going to take out some aggression on the Broncos after losing this past week to the Cleveland Browns, and maybe that's a fair assumption.

Still, the Broncos have been within one score of every one of their losses this season, so the oddsmakers are saying that this will be Denver's first "blowout" loss of the year. Again, given how good the Ravens have been, you can't fault them for thinking they are going to bounce back after a loss, but this is great bulletin board material for the Broncos.

Not even the 2-6 Jaguars going to face off against the Philadelphia Eagles -- in Philly -- are bigger underdogs than the Broncos this week. This is as clear of a sign of disrespect as you could get at this point in the year if you're the Broncos. Hopefully they are paying attention to the betting lines and will make a statement in Baltimore.