Arizona Cardinals (4-8) vs. Denver Broncos (3-10)
December 18, 2022 4:05 pm EDT
The Line: Denver Broncos +2.5 / Arizona Cardinals -2.5 ; Over/Under: 39.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Arizona Cardinals and the Denver Broncos meet Sunday in NFL action from Empower Field at Mile High. Arizona is fresh off a Monday matchup versus the Patriots. In that one the Cardinals took a rough 14-point defeat and fell to 4-9 on the season. As for Denver, they’re 3-10 overall this year and coming off a loss to the Chiefs. Check back all season long for free NFL picks at Sports Chat Place.
Arizona was sitting at 3-4 through seven games this year. The losses in that stretch came versus the Chiefs, Rams, Eagles and Seahawks. After that came a five-game losing streak versus the Vikings, Seahawks, Rams, 49ers and Chargers.
On Monday versus the Patriots, Arizona suffered the loss of quarterback Kyler Murray due to an injury early on in the game. The Cardinals hung on for a while but eventually lost 27-13. Backup QB Colt McCoy put up 246 yards with a pick, and James Conner led the rush with 85 yards and a score.
Over on the Denver side, they were 2-5 in their first seven with losses to the Seahawks, Raiders, Colts, Chargers and Jets. The Broncos beat the Jaguars then fell to the Titans, Raiders, Panthers, Ravens and Chiefs in succession.
In last weekend’s matchup versus the Chiefs, the Broncos trailed 27-14 by halftime. Denver outscored KC 14-7 in the second half but still lost 34-28. QB Russell Wilson posted 247 yards with three scores and a pick. Jerry Jeudy caught eight balls for 73 yards and three scores.
The Cardinals are 4-1 ATS versus a team with a losing record and 5-2 ATS in their last seven after a straight-up loss. Arizona is 1-4 ATS in the last five in December.
Meanwhile, the Broncos are 2-6 ATS in their last eight on grass and 1-5 ATS versus a team with a losing record. Denver is 0-4 ATS in the last four in Week 15.
PICK: I’ll probably stay with Denver. Also probably not touching it, though. There’s not a whole lot of intrigue involved in this one; both teams are struggling this year. That said, the Broncos did reasonably well against a pretty good Kansas City team in their last outing. Denver put up 320 total yards (214 passing) in that one but had a couple of turnovers and went just 6-of-17 on third-down tries.
As for Arizona, they got a horrible break with the Kyler Murray injury. The Cardinals’ season is essentially finished, however this is still a winnable game. Arizona should put up a good fight and I expect it to be close but I don’t think they’ll win/cover.
