The Denver Broncos (2-4) travel to Arizona on Thursday night to face the Cardinals (1-5) in a week 7 game between two struggling franchises that have practically waved their chances of reaching the playoffs.
The Broncos, losers of four straight, suffered a 23-20 heartbreaking defeat in Denver at the hands of the still unbeaten Los Angeles Rams (6-0), while the Cardinals lost 27-17 in Minnesota to the Vikings.
The Cardinals’ only win of the season came in week 5 against the San Francisco 49ers after they had lost starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for the season, so it’s hard to confidently pick them to win this game.
If the Cardinals want to win, they must provide quarterback Josh Rosen with opportunities to put the ball in play quickly, because the interior of the Cardinals offensive line is below average and is dealing with several injuries, including that of guard Mike Iupati who’s been ruled out for this game.
The Cardinals must also try to use running back David Johnson to attack Denver because, as the New York Jets proved two weeks ago, when their defense has a bad day it’s possible to run on the Broncos, especially on the road where they tend to underperform.
The Broncos have the edge in this game not only because of the Cardinals offensive line problems but because of the anemic offense that Arizona’s had all year long, which already cost quarterback Sam Bradford his starting spot.
While the Broncos defense has been a huge disappointment this year, they are not that bad to fail to stop a Cardinals team that has an ailing offensive line and a ground attack that averages 64 rushing yards per game and ranks dead last in the league.
The Cardinals have big problems stopping the pass rush and opening holes for their running backs, which explains why they rank 31st in passing yards (156.5), scoring (13.67) and yards per play (4.38).
While the disappointing Case Keenum could have a tough week against the 12th ranked pass defense of the league, the Broncos running backs will have a much easier night against the Cardinals rushing defense which ranks 31st in the league,
While the Broncos have struggled on the road under Vance Joseph this is a challenge that they can’t afford to lose and most likely won’t lose.
The Broncos defense has more talent and is too proud to lose to a Cardinals team that has arguably the worst offense in the NFL. Furthermore, Arizona’s defense won’t be able to stop Denver’s running attack, which is ranked 10th in the league in rushing yards.
Expect Denver to come out on top thanks to their defense and a ground attack that will probably have its best game of the season tonight.
Prediction: Broncos 24 – 20 Cardinals
