The Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos do battle Friday night in NFL preseason action from University of Phoenix Stadium. Denver enters 2023 after a rough campaign last year, stumbling to a 5-12 overall record and a last-place division finish. As for Arizona, they had an even worse season in 2022 with a 4-13 overall record which landed the team in the basement of the NFC West. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place. 

Denver Broncos 

The Broncos started out the season on a promising 2-1 run but quickly hit reality. Denver would go just 3-11 the rest of the way, landing one game behind the Raiders (6-11) for last place in the AFC West. The Broncos ranked last in scoring and were plagued by poor performance and injury. 

Hope springs eternal in Denver however, even after a rough season. New head coach Sean Payton steps in to take the helm, and he’ll be trying to get the team back to playoff contention for the first time in seven years. QB Russell Wilson should see some major improvements after the regime change, and he’ll have some familiarity in Denver due to a relatively minor roster overhaul this past offseason. The skill positions are mostly the same (besides a handful of departed names like Victor Bolden and Latavius Murray) and the offensive line should be solid again. 

Arizona Cardinals 

Over on the Arizona side, they were able to cobble together a 4-6 record through 10 games last year but they wouldn’t win another one. The Cardinals set a record for the most home losses in franchise history (eight) and immediately fired head coach Kliff Kingsbury and GM Steve Keim after the dismal 4-13 campaign. 

Arizona gets the defense-minded Jonathan Gannon into the head coaching spot this year, so we should see some improvements on that side of the ball—even though this looks to be another rebuilding year all the way around since Kyler Murray will be out for a while following the torn ACL. It’s going to be different without DeAndre Hopkins, JJ Watt, Zach Allen and Rodney Hudson on the roster, though. Arizona drafted OL Paris Johnson in the first round. With Will Hernandez, Kelvin Beachum and Hjalte Froholdt along for the ride this year, that front group does have a pretty good ceiling. 

The over is 5-0 in the Broncos’ last five overall and 4-0 in their last four on grass. The under is 13-5 in Denver’s last 18 road games. 

Meanwhile, the Cardinals are 4-10 ATS in their last 14 at home and the over is 8-3 in their last 11 overall. 

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’ll probably just stick with the Broncos in this one. Denver seems to have an advantage roster-wise, as they didn’t power through a ton of turnover this past offseason. That’s good news for the chemistry of the second- and third-string players, who will get significant playing time in this preseason opener. The coaching staff probably saw the most significant change of any group, but given that Payton is an experienced NFL name, Denver should be able to hit the ground running. The Broncos have a long, difficult road ahead due to a tough schedule and a new regime, but for now I think they’ll be okay in their first preseason action of the year.