Arizona Cardinals at Denver Broncos - 12/18/22 NFL Picks and Prediction
The Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos face off on Sunday in an NFL showdown at Empower Field at Mile High. When these two teams faced off in 2018 it was the Broncos that secured the 45-10 victory.
The Cardinals come into this game with a 4-9 record, and they have gone 6-7 against the spread. In the last game against the New England Patriots, the offense only scored 13 points, and that led to the 14 point defeat. Kyler Murray tore his ACL early in the game, and is now out for the season. Colt McCoy completed 27 of his 40 passes for 246 yards, zero touchdowns, and one interception. The Cardinals are averaging 21.3 points, while their defense is giving up 26.7 points per game. The defense is ranked 32nd in the league, and they need the defense to be better here. Marquise Brown is dealing with an illness injury, and it’s unclear if he’s going to be able to go in this game.
On the other side of the matchup is the Broncos, who sit with a 3-10 record, and they have gone 5-8 against the spread. In the last game against, the Broncos scored 28 points, but it still wasn’t enough as they were defeated by six points. Russell Wilson completed 23 of his 36 passes for 247 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. Wilson finished with four carries for 57 yards. The Broncos are averaging 14.9 points, while their defense is giving up 18.3 points per game. Wilson did suffer a concussion in the last game, and he’s going to be out for this game. Brett Rypien is going to get the start here.
The Cardinals are 4-1 against the spread in their last five games. The Broncos are 2-6 against the spread in their last eight games on grass. The Cardinals are 1-5 against the spread in their last six meetings against Denver.
Rypien isn’t the answer for the Broncos, and he will struggle to move the ball here. The Broncos defense is strong, and Colt McCoy is going to really struggle to score in this game. Look for both teams to really struggle to score touchdowns here and that is going to be the difference as this game stays under the total.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
