NFL football’s week 7 comes at you fast when the Broncos gallop into Arizona for a Thursday Night Football showdown. Two of the weakest defenses in the league will try to get it together in order to save their season. Both teams are in desperate need of a win. Arizona is 1-5, while the Broncos are 2-4. A loss for either side would be devastating, and jobs may be on the line when the final whistle blows. It should be a wild one, which makes for some fun wagering - be sure to check out our NFL live lines for this and all the other NFL betting action this week. You won't want to miss out!
One of the few bright spots for the Broncos so far has been their running game. Rookies Philip Lindsay and Royce Freeman have been given the reigns to the backfield, and they have put up impressive numbers in the complete absence of a Broncos passing game. This game should see them run the ball a lot more against a Cardinal defense that has not had much success in stopping the rush. In total rushing yards this season, Lindsey ranks 14th in the NFL with 346 total while Freeman comes in 23rd with 272, making them the second-best RB duo in the NFL as of week 7. Meanwhile, AZ's defense is allowing 151.2 yards per game on the ground, second-worst in the NFL to Denver (161.3). Arizona allowed only three teams to exceed 100 yards last season.
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The Bronco's Vonn Miller addressed the defensive lapses very frankly after last week's defeat against the Rams.
"No excuses, it's the second week in a row that we have let up over 250," Miller said after the 20-23 loss. "But the world I live in, we are 2-4 and still have a long season. We are back in the lab tomorrow and have a game on Thursday. We really need this one. We just keep playing and see where we end up."
The Broncos are hoping LB Shane Ray, and DB Adam Jones can recover from injury in time to make the lineup on Thursday.
Arizona is coming off a 17-27 loss to the Vikings in week six. They seem like a team that is ready to give up on the season.
"The run defense has been a problem all year," Cardinals defensive tackle Corey Peters said. "At some point, it's like, 'Do guys care?' At the end of the day, everybody's got a responsibility, and everybody's got to take a look in the mirror and say, 'Did I do what I was supposed to on this play?"
After having played six games, the Cardinals rank last in the NFL in total offense (220 yards per game), rushing offense (64.0), total first downs (76) and third-down conversion percentage (21.9). They rank next-to-last points scored (13.7 per game), passer rating (69.4) and passing offense (156.5). To make matters worse, WR JJ Nelson is questionable for Thursday's game, as is DE Chandler Jones. Jones has recorded 5.5 sacks on the season so far.
Historically, Denver and Arizona have matched up ten times, with the Broncos winning eight matches to the Cardinals' 1. There was one tie back in 1973 when the Cardinals were still in St. Louis. The last matchup was a 41-20 Broncos win at Mile high in 2014.
