The Arizona Cardinals have been the surprise team in the NFL to this point in the young season. It’s not just that they’re 3-0, but that they’re 3-0 with Drew Stanton as their starting quarterback.
Arizona Cardinals @ Denver Broncos
Sunday, October 5th – 4:05 PM ET
Odds: Denver -7.5
Why The Cardinals Will Cover
The Cardinals are simply finding ways to win under a coach who seems to have all the right answers. It is hard to express just how good Bruce Arians has been as the Cardinals’ head coach since he took over for Ken Whisenhunt a few years ago. Arians was able to get the Cardinals to 10 wins last season despite the belief that quarterback Carson Palmer’s best days were over. Arians was able to put together a system that made Palmer comfortable and didn’t demand that he try to do too much. Arizona also came up with a defense that took a lot of the burden off the offense to have to play out of its mind most weeks. The defense led the team, and that’s what the Cardinals’ identity became.
This season, Arians is doing an even better coaching job than he did in 2013, if that’s possible. The Cardinals aren’t even winning with Palmer; they’re winning with his backup, Drew Stanton, while Palmer deals with lingering injury concerns. Arizona is also winning without Darnell Dockett, a strong, high-quality defensive lineman who is out for the season with an injury. The Cardinals are also winning without injured pass rusher John Abraham, whose football career might very well be over after learning that he has been suffering from memory loss in association with concussions. Arizona doesn’t look like a team that should be winning this much, but it is doing whatever it takes.
Why The Broncos Will Cover
They are coming off a bye week, one the team needed after a physically demanding game in Seattle against the Seahawks. Denver didn’t win that game, but after the Super Bowl blowout it suffered, being able to take the Seahawks to overtime in Seattle should tell every player in the Broncos’ locker room that they can compete with the very best in the NFL. The Broncos should also benefit from two weeks of film study for the Cardinals, whose defense has been able to shut down each of its first three opponents, including the San Francisco 49ers. This is the defense good enough to beat the Seattle Seahawks on the road last season, giving Seattle its only home loss since the beginning of the 2012 NFL season. Denver needed preparation time for Arizona’s defense, and that’s what the Broncos will get this week. Peyton Manning will be able to use all the things he learned against Seattle’s defense and transfer them to this game against Arizona.
What will probably win the game for Denver is that its defense, which was so good in Seattle except for the Seahawks’ winning possession in overtime, should be able to clamp down on Stanton and give the Cardinals very few scoring opportunities. Denver might not score 30 in this game, but it won’t matter for them if they hold down Arizona’s offense as expected.
Outlook
The Denver defense, not the Denver offense, is in a good position to win this game. Arizona’s limitations at quarterback figure to cost the Cardinals against a good opponent on the road.
Pick: Broncos -7.5
