Can Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos finally get going on offense?

Nix has been a shell of himself through six weeks in the 2026 season, yet Denver is somehow 4-2 and favored on the road against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 7. 

Arizona is coming off a massive upset win on the road against the Los Angeles Rams, and while it may not be a playoff team, the Cardinals are not a pushover this season. Jacoby Brissett and Co. will have their work cut out for them against a Denver defense that is one of the best in the NFL.

The Bronco offense (29th in success rate) hasn’t been able to get much going during this 4-2 start, but the defense has forced 10 turnovers and is allowing just 5.0 yards per play. The play on that side of the ball has stayed intact even with Pat Surtain II (missed the last two games) and Talanoa Hufanga (missed Week 6) injured.  

Arizona’s defense is one of the weaker ones that the Broncos have on the schedule, so Sean Payton may look to get his young quarterback going early on Sunday. Will it lead to a Denver win? 

All season long, the SI Betting team is sharing final score predictions for every NFL game, and we’re hoping it’ll help our readers decide on some spread, moneyline and total bets along the way. Plus, who doesn’t want to get an exact score bet right during the season? 

Denver is favored on the road, but can bettors trust this offense with Nix struggling? This spread suggests we could see a close game, so let’s dive right into my score prediction for this Week 7 battle. 

Broncos vs. Cardinals Odds, Spread and Total

Spread

• Broncos -4.5 (-110)
• Cardinals +4.5 (-110)

Moneyline

• Broncos: -230
• Cardinals: +190

Total

• 43.5 (Over -115/Under -105)

This line has held steady since it opened, as the Broncos are still favored on the road by 4.5 points despite Arizona’s win over the Rams in Week 6. 

Broncos vs. Cardinals Score Prediction

This week, SI Betting’s Iain MacMillan continued his quest to bet on every NFL game in his Road to 272 column. In this matchup, he’s taking Denver to win and cover despite some early struggles on offense: 

You can throw all of the Broncos' middling metrics out the window, because no team has had a tougher schedule to begin the season than Denver. They've faced the Chiefs, Jaguars, Rams, 49ers, Chargers, and Seahawks, and came out on the other end of that run with a 4-2 record. Despite playing that good a record, their defense still ranks sixth in opponent EPA per play and fifth in opponent success rate. Just imagine how good this defense is going to look when facing lower-tier competition.

The Cardinals may be coming off the upset of the year over the Los Angeles Rams, but they enter this week ranking dead last in the NFL in net yards per play at -1.4. Their offense is solid at times, but their defense remains one of the worst units in the league.

Give me the Broncos as road favorites.

MacMillan has confidence in the Broncos this week, but I’m eyeing the UNDER with the Denver offense looking like one of the worst in the NFL. 

Arizona’s offense has been able to move the ball with Brissett under center, but Denver has been an elite defense the last few weeks, moving up into the top-12 in the league in points allowed, yards per play allowed, EPA/Play and success rate. 

The Cardinals are ninth in success rate and 15th in EPA/Play on offense, yet they’ve still scored 21 or fewer points in three of their six games. I expect Brissett to have a much tougher time against a Denver pass defense that – without Pat Surtain II – dominated Seattle and Los Angeles in back-to-back weeks. 

On the other side of the ball, how can anyone bet on Denver to put up points? The UNDER has hit in five of the Broncos’ six games this season, partially due to the fact that they’ve scored 23 or fewer points in five games and 20 or fewer points in four games.  

Final Score Prediction: Broncos 20, Cardinals 13