The Broncos keep finding ways to win, but the offense has left a lot to be desired. After six weeks, Denver is 4-2 heading into Week 7, and it gets a little breathing room after beating the Seattle Seahawks in overtime on Thursday night.
Now comes a road trip to face an Arizona Cardinals team that has already shown it can spoil expectations. The Cardinals were supposed to be one of the NFL’s weakest teams, yet they’ve already landed two eye-catching upsets - over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1 and the Los Angeles Rams in Week 6 - and they sit No. 3 in the NFC West. Against the Rams, Arizona was a 12.5-point underdog before winning on a last-second field goal.
That sets up a tricky matchup for Jacoby Brissett and the Cardinals at home, especially with Denver bringing a defense that has been consistently tough. The Broncos rank ninth in the league in both EPA/Play and success rate on defense, and they just held Seattle to 14 points while intercepting Sam Darnold twice.
Oddsmakers have still made Denver a 4.5-point road favorite, even with a sputtering offense that has already faced Kansas City, Jacksonville, the Rams, San Francisco, the Chargers and Seattle to open the season. The Broncos’ defense has been the backbone of the team’s 4-2 start, forcing 10 turnovers while allowing just 5.0 yards per play. And that’s been true even with Pat Surtain II missing the last two games and Talanoa Hufanga out in Week 6.
The concern for Denver is obvious: Bo Nix has not looked like the quarterback who led the team to the AFC title game in the 2025 season. Through six games, he ranks 29th among eligible quarterbacks in EPA/dropback and is averaging only 5.6 yards per attempt. He’s been under five yards per attempt in three of his six games, including both of Denver’s recent wins over the Chargers and Seahawks.
That’s a big reason the Broncos offense sits 24th in EPA/Play, 29th in success rate and 31st in yards per play. Only the banged-up Philadelphia Eagles are averaging fewer yards per play.
Nix has completed 60.3 percent of his passes for 1,049 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions, while adding 37 rushing yards and a score. He’s finished with fewer than 200 passing yards in four games.
Arizona’s defense has also been vulnerable. The Cardinals are 28th in yards per play allowed, 29th in EPA/Play and 20th in defensive success rate. Still, they did manage to hold the Rams under 20 points in Week 6.
On offense, the Cardinals have been respectable with Brissett under center. They rank ninth in success rate and 15th in EPA/Play, but they’ve still scored 21 or fewer points in three of their six games.
Denver’s defense has been even better lately, climbing into the top 12 in the league in points allowed, yards per play allowed, EPA/Play and success rate. That includes strong back-to-back showings against Seattle and Los Angeles, even without Pat Surtain II.
So while Arizona has been better than expected, this is still a spot where Denver’s defense should be able to control things. The bigger question is whether the Broncos offense can do enough to justify laying points on the road.
It’s hard to trust that unit to suddenly turn a corner, and that makes the UNDER the cleaner angle here. It has hit in five of Denver’s six games this season, with the Broncos scoring 23 or fewer points in five of those contests and 20 or fewer in four. With Denver’s defense carrying so much of the load, the scoring profile has stayed low.
Even with Arizona’s ability to surprise people and move the ball at times, the Broncos’ offense has not shown enough to inspire confidence. The UNDER trend in Denver games looks like the side to ride again in Week 7.
In Other News...
Seahawks Stay Committed To Sam Darnold Despite One Growing Concern
The Cardinals got a fresh reminder of why their defense has been so hard to crack in the early part of the season, even if the spotlight in the division has been on quarterbacks and playmakers elsewhere. Safety Budda Baker was quick to point to defensive coordinator Nick Rallis after Arizonas upset win, and the praise centered on how the game plan came together against the Rams in a tight, low-scoring finish.
For Arizona, that kind of endorsement matters because it speaks to trust, preparation and the kind of structure the defense is trying to build week to week. Bakers comments also hinted at how clearly Rallis mapped out the approach ahead of time, a detail that helps explain why the Cardinals were able to stay disciplined when the game tightened up late. [Read more 🡒]
Chad Ryland Had One Unexpected Spark In Cardinals Win Over Rams
The Cardinals latest win over the Rams had plenty of late-game tension, but Chad Ryland ended up as the difference-maker in a game that was too tight for comfort. Arizona had to claw back from a late deficit, and Ryland kept the offense moving with a flawless night on field goals, giving the Cardinals a reliable edge in a game that tilted on every possession.
What made the performance stand out was how unusual it was even by NFL standards. Ryland joined rare company by becoming just the 10th kicker in league history to hit six field goals in a single game, and he also climbed into fourth place in Cardinals history for most points by one player in a game. For a team that has already seen enough volatility this season, it was the kind of steady special-teams outing that can change the feel of an entire week. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Face Serious Off-Field Fight Over Damaging Workplace Allegations
The off-field scrutiny around the Cardinals took another turn this week as the organization continued to deal with a lawsuit brought by two former employees, Don Shumpert and Kendra Hogue, who accuse the team and owner Michael Bidwill of racial discrimination, improper pay and other workplace problems. The Cardinals have denied the allegations, but the claims add another layer of distraction for a franchise that has spent plenty of time trying to keep attention on football.
A federal judge has now said the discrimination portions of the case cannot move through open court, instead sending those claims into binding arbitration under agreements the employees signed. The ruling does not make the dispute disappear, and it leaves the larger fight over the workplace allegations in a different forum, with the public getting only a limited view of how this one will play out. [Read more 🡒]