The Denver Broncos entered their Week 7 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals with a 4-2 record. The Broncos hoped this would be the game everything would fire on all cylinders. For the most part, that’s what happened in their 30-16 victory over the Cardinals. Here are some instant reactions from today’s matchup.
First half issues continue for Broncos on offense
This Sunday’s matchup versus the Cardinals provided the opportunity for Bo Nix and the Broncos’ offense to finally find their way. Earlier in the week, I noted some of the issues Nix has
experienced this season. One of them was first down passing where there has been significant regression compared to 2024 and 2025.
Head Coach Sean Payton clearly tried to find a way to improve that in the first half against the Cardinals. On most first downs early in the game, Payton opted to throw the ball. Unfortunately, outside of a handful of passes, there was not much success to be found and Denver’s offensive endeavors suffered due to it.
Nix went 10-of-19 in the first half for 72 passing yards. The offense had just six first downs. Moreover, were once again abysmal on third down sporting just one conversion on seven attempts.
The Cardinals entered today’s matchup with one of the worst run defenses in the NFL. In three of their first six games, they had allowed at least 140 yards on the ground. With that in mind, I figured this would be a point of emphasis for Denver, especially with Jonah Coleman’s return. However, Denver opted to just run the ball nine times in the first half.
Nevertheless, one of those runs was a huge play. It proved to be catalyst that helped jumpstart several encouraging drives for Denver as the game progressed. Let’s talk about that!
But explosive plays made all the difference when it mattered
The offense began to click late in the first half. Nix’s remarkable 62-yard touchdown scamper in the second quarter was the spark that ignited Denver’s offensive efforts the rest of their game. For all the hullabaloo surrounding Nix’s ankle—he seemed quite spry on that inspiring play.
In the second half, Denver’s penchant for big plays continued. A well-timed screen pass by Nix to RJ Harvey against the blitz went for 52-yards and earned Denver their second touchdown of the game. This is something I’d like to see more of moving forward. When you get Harvey in space great thing usually happen. He’s incredible in that regard.
In the final minutes of the third quarter, Nix was able to hit Marvin Mims Jr. on a 42-yard catch-and-run that got them in the red zone. That drive was topped off with a short yardage touchdown by J.K. Dobbins that put Denver up by multiple scores.
In the final thirty minutes of play, Denver was more consistent with running the ball—especially with Coleman. I thought the rookie running back had a very strong comeback performance. In turn, that opened up some opportunities for Nix and the Broncos’ aerial attack down the field.
All things considered, this was the “get it right” game the team needed on offense. It wasn’t perfect and they have some issues to still sort out, but they scored the most points of the season. I’m happy to see they finally had some explosive plays that had been absent from their efforts in the first six games.
Denver’s defense plays well in first half, gives up ground in the second half
The Cardinals came into Sunday’s matchup banged up on the offensive side of the ball. They didn’t have Jeremiyah Love at running back and that definitely put more pressure on quarterback Jacoby Brissett. In the first half, the Broncos’ defense played great.
They held Brissett to just 53 yards through the air and allowed just 117 yards of total offense. Outside of a 29-yard run given up to Bam Knight, their run defense was strong. They excelled on getting off the field on third down with Arizona netting one conversion on eight attempts.
Finding a way to limit Trey McBride was one of my keys to the game. In the first half, McBride had just four catches for 20 yards. He would go on to be the focal point of Arizona’s offensive attack in the second half and ended up with 11 catches for 111 yards and a touchdown.
There were a few big chunk plays given up by Denver’s defense in the final two quarters. With a double-digit lead, I think Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph was a little bit more conservative with his playcalling in the second half. Even so, the performance was good enough to help Denver win.
That goal line stand to end the game was quite nice to witness. Though I’d like to see some of those pressures turn into sacks moving forward. They’ll need the pass rush to come up in a big next weekend in their rematch at home versus the Kansas City Chiefs.
Special teams answered the call and helped with the field position battle
A key to victory I discussed earlier in the week was the need for special teams to step up. It’s basically been the Jeremy Crawshaw show for most of the season with very little impact returns on kicks or punts. That changed today.
Mims had several good returns that gave Denver great starting field position. He finished the game with over 100 kick return yards this afternoon with a long of 39 yards. Additionally, Adam Prentice’s blocked punt in the third quarter that gave Denver tremendous field position. Kicker Wil Lutz hit all three of his field goals and all three extra points.
Kudos to Special Teams coach Darren Rizzi and his players today. Their efforts were sound and played a big role in Denver’s fifth victory of the season.
