NFL Picks 10/25 – Broncos @ Cardinals

by Thomas Quaynor for Wannamakeabet.com

The Denver Broncos (4-2) visit the Arizona Cardinals (2-4) at State Farm Stadium on CBS in a Week 7 interconference matchup. The teams are meeting for the first time since December 2022 when Denver picked up a 24-15 victory at home over Arizona. The Broncos have won three straight against the Cardinals dating back to the 2010 season. Due to being in opposite conferences, the franchises have only met 12 times over the last 53 years (1973); Denver leads the all-time series 10-2.

Denver is a 4.5-point favorite and the total is 43.5.

Denver escaped with a 17-14 overtime win against the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks (3-3) ten days ago on Thursday Night Football. Denver was able to emerge victorious despite Bo Nix passing for a paltry 107 yards and the offense totaling just 168 yards and three first downs. Seattle’s 353 yards of total offense more than doubled Denver’s output.

Will Lutz drilled a 53-yard field goal in overtime to win if for the Broncos. Denver handed Seattle its third loss of the season, which matches the total amount of losses (14-3) the Seahawks had all of last season when they won the Super Bowl.

Denver’s defense delivered a dominant performance that made up for the futility of the offense, as they sacked Sam Darnold five times and intercepted him twice.

Arizona stunned the heavily-favored Los Angeles Rams (2-4), 18-16, on the road last Sunday. Cardinals kicker Chad Ryland connected on a 43-yard field goal as time expired to give Arizona the upset win. Ryland accounted for all 18 of Arizona’s points as he kicked 6 field goals.

The Rams appeared to have secured the victory after Matthew Stafford’s touchdown pass to tight end Colby Parkinson with 47 seconds left gave them a 16-15 lead. But Arizona was able to quickly get into field goal range thanks in large part to Jacoby Brissett’s 21-yard pass to Jalen Brooks and a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Josh Wallace.

Jacoby Brissett completed 24 of 35 passes for 218 yards and an interception for Arizona in the win, while running back Bam Knight rushed for 80 yards on 15 carries. Knight saw an increased work load due to the absence of highly-regarded rookie running back Jeremiyah Love — Arizona’s first-round pick (4th overall) — who missed the game due to an ankle injury.

Both of Arizona’s wins this season have occurred in Los Angeles’s SoFi Stadium. The Cardinals also upset the Los Angeles Chargers 26-14 in the season opener at SoFi Stadium. This year’s Super Bowl will be held at SoFi Stadium, so if the Cardinals can defy the odds and somehow advance to the Super Bowl, they’d feel comfortable playing in that stadium.

After winning Super Bowl XLV (50) during the 2015-16 season, the Denver Broncos went through a rapid decline that saw them miss the playoffs for 7 straight seasons (2016-2022) and register 6 straight losing seasons. Trading for former Saints head coach Sean Payton in February 2023 and the selecting quarterback Bo Nix with the 12th overall pick in the April 2024 NFL draft has led to a quick turnaround.

The Denver Broncos went from pretenders to contenders in an expeditious manner with Sean Payton on the sidelines and Bo Nix under center. Over the last three seasons with Payton and then Nix, Denver has increased their win total each year, logging records of 8-9, 10-7 and 14-3 a year ago.

Denver’s 14-3 record last year earned them the top seed in the AFC playoffs, and was their most wins since 1998 (14-2), when they won their second of back-to-back Super Bowls. Unfortunately, Bo Nix fractured his right ankle late in the fourth quarter of their 33-30 win against Buffalo in the Divisional (2nd) Round of the playoffs which ended his season a week before the AFC Championship Game against New England.

Not surprisingly, Denver’s offense struggled mightily without Bo Nix in the AFC Championship Game, as they lost 10-7 to second-seeded New England. You have to believe Denver beats New England, and possibly Seattle in the Super Bowl if Nix was healthy. And to make matters worse, the AFC is loaded every year with the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and the upstart, defending Super Bowl champs Seattle lurking, so finishing as the top seed and advancing to host the AFC Title Game will be very difficult each year. The margin of error is slim in the AFC playoffs. Denver may not find themselves in that position again, no matter how much talent they have.

Denver entered the 2026 with enormous expectations after last season’s success and the return of a healthy Bo Nix for his third season. The Broncos also made a significant addition to the offense when they traded for Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. The 27-year-old Waddle spent his first 5 NFL seasons with the Dolphins where he set an NFL rookie record by catching 101 passes and posted three 1,000-yard seasons.

Despite leading Denver in receptions (38) and receiving yards (228), Jaylen Waddle has not been the explosive downfield threat for Denver that he was in Miami. Waddle’s lack of big plays is a symptom of a Denver offense that ranks 31st (out of 32 teams) in yards per game (252.2), 28th in passing yards per game (168) and averages 19 ppg, which ranks 26th.

J.K. Dobbins (team-leading 270 YDS, 2TD this yr) has emerged as Denver’s lead back after being in a time-share with RJ Harvey last season. Head coach Sean Payton still desires a more productive run game to help out Bo Nix, who is struggling this season.

Denver’s defense hasn’t been quite as dynamic as a year ago when they finished second in total defense and gave up 18.3 ppg, which ranked third. Stars like All-Pro cornerback Pat Surtain II (2 games), safety Talanoa Hufanga (1 game), and linebacker Jonathon Cooper (suspension) have been unavailable for games this year. All three were substantial contributors on last year’s elite defense. Cooper’s suspension was lifted after Week 6 and he could return to play against Arizona.

The trio of All-Pro defensive end Zach Allen (team-high 4 sacks, 1 FF), superstar linebacker Nik Bonitto (3.5 sacks, 1 FF) and cornerback Ja’Quan McMillan (2 Sacks, 1 INT) are the standouts on Denver’s defense this year. Denver’s defense should start to resemble last year’s highly-ranked unit once they get everyone back.

The 2026 season has ushered in a new era for the Arizona Cardinals as they took the field without what was supposed to be their franchise quarterback in Kyler Murray. The Cardinals selected Murray with the No. 1 overall pick (Oklahoma) in the 2019 NFL Draft after he won the Heisman Trophy as a junior at Oklahoma in 2018. Murray had been Arizona’s starting quarterback for the last 7 seasons.

Kyler Murray’s NFL career got off to a fantastic start as he was named the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2019, and passed for 70 touchdowns and rushed for 19 touchdowns over his first 3 seasons. He led Arizona to an 11-6 record and a playoff berth in his 3rd season in 2021. Unfortunately, 2021 would be the apex of Murray’s Cardinals career as injuries and a subpar supporting cast would limit his availability and productivity.

With Kyler Murray constantly dealing with injuries, and the team essentially being doormats from 2022-2025, Arizona decided to release Murray in March. They turned to veteran Jacoby Brissett as the starter. The well-traveled, 33-year-old Brissett notched career-highs in passing yards (3,366), touchdown passes (23) and completion percentage (64.9%) in his first season with Arizona last year, when he filled in for an injured Murray.

Jacoby Brissett has thrown for 1,328 yards with 9 touchdowns to 6 interceptions on 66.7% completions through 6 games this season. Arizona is Brissett’s sixth team across his 11 NFL seasons. The Cardinals could turn to rookie Carson Beck at some point this season if Brissett struggles. Arizona selected Beck in the third round out of Miami. Brissett and Beck are likely viewed as one-year, stopgap options for 2026, while Arizona sets its sights on the 2027 NFL draft which is projected to have several franchise quarterback prospects available.

Despite the quarterback position being somewhat in flux, Arizona possesses an outstanding skill position duo in All-Pro tight end Trey McBride (361 YDS, 3 TD this yr) and wide receiver Micheal Wilson (320 YDS, 1 TD). The 26-year-old McBride is arguably the top tight end in the NFL, he has topped 100 catches and 1,100 yards in each of the last 2 seasons. The 26-year-old Wilson experienced a breakout campaign last season in year three, when he finished with 78 catches for 1,006 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Arizona drafted Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love with the fourth overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft. He was one of the most ballyhooed prospects in the draft due to his speed and power, but injuries have slowed him down so far this season. He suffered a high ankle sprain in August, and it’s been troublesome for him ever since, as Love — 245 rushing yards, 1 TD, 3.7 yards per carry — has yet to show the same explosiveness he did at Notre Dame through 5 games this season.

Jeremiyah Love will miss his second straight game today because of the bad ankle. We’d expect Love to be a high-impact player once/if the ankle issues subside. The duo of Tyler Allgeier and Bam Knight will likely split carries for Arizona against Denver. Knight outperformed Allgeier in last week’s upset win against the Rams, outrushing him 80-38 on 3 fewer carries. Knight is averaging a whopping 6.2 yards per game this season, which means he could emerge as Arizona’s lead back while Love is out.

With Denver having a few more days to prepare for this game due to last playing on Thu, Oct. 15, and star linebacker Jonathan Cooper possibly returning from suspension this week, I expect Denver to prevail here. Also, it appears as if the Arizona Cardinals can only win games in Los Angeles’s SoFi Stadium, they are 2-0 there and 0-4 everywhere else. Lay the Points…Broncos 27, Cardinals 14