Broncos vs. Cardinals Predictions: Odds and Picks for Preseason Opener 8/11

The Denver Broncos are the biggest favorites of any team in the first week of the preseason, laying 5.5 points as they travel to face the Arizona Cardinals on Friday, Aug. 11.

Coach Sean Payton has said quarterback Russell Wilson will see the field, as will the rest of his starters. Denver has the vastly superior roster, and considering it’s unknown who will play for Arizona, the oddsmakers like the Broncos to emerge victorious.

Denver is listed at -200 on the moneyline and the over/under for this game is 37.5 points.

Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray (ACL) remains sidelined, which means presumed starter Colt McCoy may not see a bunch of playing time in this matchup. Even though Wilson struggled mightily a year ago, the quarterback advantage is vast for Denver.

PREDICTION

Not only does Denver have the better team, its coaching staff is much more experienced. The Cardinals could very well have some operational issues since this will be the first time calling plays for offensive coordinator Drew Petzing and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis.

The Broncos are likely to stay vanilla on defense, and while Arizona’s offensive line does offer hope that the protection will be solid enough, the lack of talent at quarterback is going to be evident.

Look for Denver to get ahead early behind their starters and then tread water the rest of the way when the contest devolves into a matchup of backups.

Prediction: Broncos 20, Cardinals 13

THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH

Cardinals WR Michael Wilson — The third-round pick has been turning heads at Cardinals training camp. Injuries were the issue at Stanford, but Wilson’s route-running has been impressive since joining Arizona. He has a chance to become a starting outside receiver out of the gate with good preseason performances, and it begins here.

Broncos QB Russell Wilson — The 2022 campaign was a disaster for the former star signal-caller. Can Russ get back in a groove under the tutelage of Sean Payton? Arizona might have the worst collection of defensive players in the NFL, so this should be shooting fish in a barrel.

Cardinals QB Clayton Tune — Colt McCoy is almost certainly going to be the Arizona starting quarterback in Week 1, but Tune, the fifth-round pick, has every opportunity to make it a competition. The expectations are probably out of hand for someone so raw. I’d expect Tune to struggle against the Broncos, which would take some helium out of any starting talk.

COACHING CLUES

One thing that could go in Arizona’s favor: Payton has been through a million preseason games while this is the first one for Gannon as head coach. Will Gannon be motivated to keep coaching hard late in the contest while others tend to take their foot off the gas?

A backdoor cover is a possibility if the Cardinals treat this game more seriously than Denver, but it’s hard to know since Gannon has never been in this position.

HOW TO WATCH

The Arizona Cardinals will host the Denver Broncos on Friday, August 11th, 2023 at State Farm Stadium. The game can be seen on NFL+.