The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Broncos vs. Cardinals Week 7 matchup.
Find a breakdown of every Week 7 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.
| Denver | Rank | @ | Arizona | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -4.5 | Spread | 4.5 | ||
| 24.0 | Implied Total | 19.5 | ||
| 19.0 | 26 | Points/Gm | 21.0 | 24 |
| 20.8 | 10 | Points All./Gm | 29.7 | 31 |
| 57.3 | 29 | Plays/Gm | 67.3 | 4 |
| 69.0 | 31 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 58.3 | 4 |
| 4.4 | 31 | Off. Yards/Play | 4.6 | 28 |
| 5.0 | 13 | Def. Yards/Play | 6.0 | 30 |
| 42.7% | 16 | Rush% | 38.9% | 23 |
| 57.3% | 17 | Pass% | 61.1% | 10 |
| 43.5% | 19 | Opp. Rush % | 46.9% | 27 |
| 56.5% | 14 | Opp. Pass % | 53.1% | 6 |
- The Broncos and Cardinals are tied for the fewest offensive plays that have gained 20 or more yards (11).
- The Broncos are averaging 1.62 points per drive (28th).
- Denver is allowing 1.81 points per drive on defense (9th).
- Arizona has allowed 2.73 points per drive (29th).
- The Broncos have punted on 48.5% of their possessions, 30th in the league.
- The Cardinals have punted on 42.4% of their drives, 27th.
- Denver has converted 31.6% (25 of 79) of its third downs this season, ahead of only the Browns (30.8%).
Trust = spike production for that player
Broncos vs. Cardinals Fantasy Quarterback Preview
Bo Nix
Regardless of who is calling the plays in Denver, Nix has held this offense back.
Nix has thrown for 230 yards combined in the past two weeks against the Chargers and Seahawks.
Even when accounting for a brutal opening slate of pass defenses so far, what the Denver offense is doing right now is just limited.
Nix has thrown for fewer than 5.0 yards per pass attempt in three starts and only cleared 5.5 Y/A in one game.
Nix is averaging 5.4 air yards per attempt, 32nd in the league.
15.4% of his passes have traveled 15 or more air yards, the lowest rate in the league.
Nix is throwing between the numbers at a 35.9% rate, the lowest in the NFL.
He has one game with multiple touchdown passes.
Denver hasn't even asked Nix to do much lifting in the past two weeks.
They have thrown 8.3% below expectations and 7.7% below expectations in the past two games.
They have an expected dropback rate of 60.2% over the past two games, with a 52.2% actual rate.
The bummer is that Nix finally has a good matchup here, but we cannot trust him as more than a matchup-based QB2.
Denver has a 24-point team total, so we can't completely ignore the spot.
It's hard to fly in with extreme confidence that things will flip and Nix will take advantage.
Arizona is 29th in passing points allowed (19.6 per game), allowing a league-high 8.6 yards per pass attempt and a league-high 9.3% touchdown rate.
They have allowed a QB1 scorer in five straight games, including Drew Lock (21.4 points) and Jameis Winston (18 points).
If the Broncos want Nix to build confidence as a downfield passer, this is the place.
Arizona is tied for the most touchdowns allowed on throws of 10 or more yards (11).
While the Cardinals offer matchup upside, their defense can still let Denver keep doing what it has been doing if Arizona does not push back.
Opponents have only a 57.9% expected dropback rate against Arizona, and teams throw against them at the sixth-lowest rate.
Jacoby Brissett
Arizona pulled off an upset against the Rams last week, but Brissett didn't fill the box score for gamers, completing 24 of 35 passes (68.6%) for 218 yards (6.2 Y/A) with no touchdowns and 1 interception.
Brissett has been a boom-or-bust fantasy option, logging two top-10 weeks but finishing QB26 or lower in three of his past five games.
We have picked our spots with Brissett, and this isn't one to go in with expectations beyond a back-end QB2.
Brissett averages 5.7 yards per pass attempt (30th) against a Denver pass defense that ranks sixth in passing points allowed per attempt (0.33), allows 6.4 yards per pass attempt (10th), and allows a 3.2% touchdown rate (8th).
Denver has faced several good quarterbacks in their sample (Patrick Mahomes, Trevor Lawrence, Brock Purdy, and Matthew Stafford).
Brissett has faced two high-end pass defenses so far in Seattle and the Rams, closing those weeks as QB28 (6.5 points) and QB26 (6.9 points).
Broncos vs. Cardinals Fantasy Running Back Preview
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More Week 7 Fantasy Breakdowns From The Worksheet:
| Week 7 NFL Games | Time |
|---|---|
| Patriots @ Bears | Thursday Night Football |
| Steelers vs. Saints | Sunday -- 9:30 a.m. ET |
| Browns @ Titans | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Colts @ Vikings | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Buccaneers @ Panthers | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Giants @ Texans | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| 49ers @ Falcons | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Dolphins @ Jets | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Bengals @ Ravens | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Broncos @ Cardinals | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Rams @ Raiders | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Packers @ Lions | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Chiefs @ Seahawks | Sunday Night Football |
| Cowboys @ Eagles | Monday Night Football |
