The Arizona Cardinals are riding high off their upset win over the Los Angeles Rams, which serves as a reminder of how much one week can change in the NFL.
A week ago, the discussion surrounding this team centered on the job security of general manager Monti Ossenfort, defensive coordinator Nick Rallis and quarterback Jacoby Brissett. The season appeared to be spiraling toward a similar finish to last year’s 3-14 record.
Now, it suddenly feels as if Mike LaFleur has his operation on the right track in Year 1 as head coach. The vibes are good again.
Week 7 offers a unique test of those vibes. The Denver Broncos come to town, armed with an elite defense and a miserable offense. The Cardinals offense, in turn, will aim to show that it can hang with the
best. The Cardinals defense will aim to avoid a deflating comedown after last week’s performance.
It’s a fascinating matchup.
Denver Broncos (4-2) at Arizona Cardinals (2-4)
Time/site: 1:05 p.m. MST, State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona.
TV: CBS. Radio: 98.7.
Last time they played: It’s been four years since the Cardinals faced the Broncos. They lost 24-15 in one of the final games of the Kliff Kingsbury era. These rosters have more familiarity, though, from a joint practice in August 2025, in which the Broncos had the clear upper hand on both sides of the ball.
Series history: The Cardinals are 1-10-1 all-time against Denver, their worst record against any opponent. The lone win came in 2010, when John Skelton beat Kyle Orton late in what was a lost season for both teams.
Coaching matchup
On offense, LaFleur will have to find solutions for Vance Joseph, the former Cardinals defensive coordinator who has seen his star rise since joining Denver in 2023. On the other side of the ball, Broncos head coach Sean Payton recently took playcalling duties back from offensive coordinator Davis Webb, who was seen as one of the league’s ascendant young coaches entering the season. Rallis will aim to exploit the disarray.
Arizona will win if…
- Its defense pressures Bo Nix: Nix has been bad in general this season, but he’s been especially poor against pressure, with eight turnover-worthy plays on 80 dropbacks. That’s one of the worst rates in the league, so the Cardinals will aim to make him uncomfortable, as they did with Matthew Stafford last week.
- Its run game improves: The Cardinals don’t need to score 30 points to win this game, but they do need to find some offensive answers. Even without Jeremiyah Love, that likely starts with getting a sputtering rushing attack going. Denver’s otherwise vaunted defense ranks 25th in yards per carry allowed.
- LaFleur finds a way to unlock Michael Wilson: In two games since Marvin Harrison Jr. was traded, Wilson has just eight catches for 62 yards on 14 targets. Compare that to last season, when Wilson averaged 97.2 yards per game when Harrison was out. It won’t be easy against Pat Surtain, but to find an explosive element, this offense needs to get Wilson more involved.
Denver will win if…
- The turnover machine keeps rolling: The Broncos defense has sacrificed some down-to-down efficiency this season to become a turnover machine. After ranking 27th in takeaways last year, they rank third this year, with 10 in six games. As underdogs, the Cardinals can’t afford to give the ball away in this one.
- It leans into man coverage: The Cardinals have struggled mightily against man coverage this season but, for some reason, the Rams shied away from those looks last week. It seems like an easy button to press for a Broncos secondary that has the talent to take away Trey McBride and Michael Wilson one-on-one.
- Its defense stops the Cardinals' three-tight end sets: The Cardinals offense has one clear matchup advantage in this game. They use 13 personnel (one RB, three TEs) at the highest rate in the league. The Broncos defense, meanwhile, has been a bottom-three unit against those looks. That mismatch could enable the Cardinals offense to find more success than expected in this game.
They said it
Mike LaFleur on Vance Joseph’s Broncos defense: “They’re very smart, they’re very well coached. I have as much respect for VJ as anyone in this league. They do it their own way. … It’s got an old-school approach to it in terms of some of their coverages. And that’s a credit to them.”
Sean Payton on the Cardinals defense, after their performance against the Rams: “This is a pressure defense. They give you some looks where they were problematic for the Rams. They were able to take a really good offense and a good quarterback and put them out of rhythm. So we’re going to have to have the right answers.”
By the numbers
1 — Denver’s strength of schedule ranking so far this season. The Cardinals rank third. Both these teams may be better than their records indicate.
3.2 — The Cardinals’ points per drive when they get at least one first down. That ranks 10th in the league. But they go three-and-out at a top-five rate in the league, holding their offense back.
6.0 — Nix’s average depth of target, the lowest in the league. Yet, his time to throw is the sixth-longest in the league. He is neither getting the ball in his playmakers’ hands quickly nor pushing the ball downfield. It’s a bad combination.
18.7 — Points per game allowed by the Broncos since the start of the 2024 season. No defense has been better over that span.
36.1% — The Cardinals’ blitz rate in Week 6. In the first five weeks, that number was 25.6%, a bottom-10 rate in the league.
Who will win and why
Broncos 24, Cardinals 20: The Cardinals offense matches up surprisingly well with this vaunted Broncos defense, while Denver’s own offensive struggles could open the door to another Arizona upset. Still, the Broncos’ talent advantage gives them a slight edge.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cardinals vs Broncos prediction. Can Arizona pull off another upset?
