Broncos Favorites Over Cardinals in Picks Against The Spread
Neither the Arizona Cardinals or Denver Broncos will have their starting quarterback when kickoff arrives on Sunday.
Kyler Murray is out for the foreseeable future with a torn ACL. Arizona is confident in Colt McCoy to handle duties moving further.
Denver is confident in Brett Rypien, too. The Broncos opted to keep Russell Wilson on the sidelines for a week after he left with a head injury in Week 14.
This game feels like it will come down to defense, and with Denver possessing one of the top units in the league on that side of the ball, Kliff Kingsbury will certainly have his work cut out for him.
The only problem? Kingsbury hasn't proved to be able to do that often this season.
Experts picking against the spread this week show that:
Broncos Favorites Over Cardinals in Picks Against The Spread
Vic Tafur, The Athletic
"Colt McCoy will replace Murray and is highly mediocre. With McCoy as their starting QB, the Cardinals are actually 3-2 overall and ATS, with all of their wins and covers coming on the road. (If the Murray-Kliff Kingsbury partnership is over, it will have failed to produce a single offense that finished a season ranked in the top 10 in either EPA per drive or DVOA.)
"The pick: Cardinals +2.5"
Sheil Kapadia, The Ringer
"Speaking of blowing it up, the Broncos would have the No. 2 overall pick in the draft if the season ended today. The only problem? They traded that pick to the Seahawks in the Russell Wilson trade. Wilson is in the concussion protocol, and his status for this game is in question.
"Denver’s defense ranks fifth in DVOA and is by far the best unit for either team in this game. I’ll bank on the defense to lead the way to a Broncos victory.
"The pick: Broncos (-2.5)"
Bleacher Report
Whether the Broncos have their starting quarterback or not, bettors should prepare for a low-scoring battle that features the kickers. In that scenario, with a thin point spread, you should always take the better defense.
"Denver's defense ranks fourth in scoring while Arizona allows the most points per game. Cardinals wideouts DeAndre Hopkins and Marquise Brown won't break off big plays against the league's seventh-ranked pass defense with McCoy's limited arm. Broncos win a field-goal battle with a defensive touchdown to seal the victory against a Cardinals team that's turned the ball over twice in each of its last three contests.
"Consensus Pick: Broncos -3"
Jeremy Jones, Covers.com
"Kliff Kingsbury has been dreadful late in the season since taking over the Arizona job in 2019. The Cardinals are 10-25 straight up and 13-22 against the spread in Week 8 or later of the season in that period. Arizona has failed to cover four consecutive games in the month of December.
"Meanwhile, Denver has covered five of the last seven home games against a team with a losing road record. This game is going to be ugly and low-scoring, so I don’t love the spread one way or the other. However, I do like Denver to win at home, and if it stays at a field goal or below, then the Broncos are a good bet."
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