The New Orleans Saints (8-2, 3-1 away) are in Colorado to take on the Denver Broncos (4-6, 2-3 home) in an NFC-AFC battle. New Orleans has dropped five-straight against the Broncos, including a 25-23 victory in New Orleans in 2016. Kickoff is set for 4:05 p.m. EST inside Empower Field at Mile High Stadium in Denver, CO. The Saints are a 6-point road favorite in the divisional contest.
What to Know – New Orleans Saints
New Orleans has won seven in a row and sitting with a three-game lead over in the NFC South standings. The Saints were without their veteran quarterback Drew Brees last week, but that didn’t matter in a 24-9 route over the Atlanta Falcons.
Taysom Hill recorded his first career start with Brees sidelined and performed better than most expected. The gadget player completed 18-of-23 passes for 233 yards and added 51 yards rushing along with a pair of touchdowns.
Latavius Murray (12 carries, 49 yards) and Alvin Kamara (13 carries, 45 yards, one touchdown) tallied 25 of the Saints’ 36 carries. The Saints averaged 4.7 yards per carry for 168 rushing yards.
Hill utilized his talent at the wide receiver position, finding Michael Thomas nine times for 104 yards. Emmanuel Sanders chipped in four catches for 66 yards.
The Saints will be without starting left tackle Terron Armstead who tested positive for COVID-19, as well as their starting left guard, Andrus Peat, who is out with a concussion.
What to Know – Denver Broncos
Denver snapped a two-game losing streak with a surprising 20-13 win over the Miami Dolphins at home last Sunday. The Broncos are third in the AFC West standings behind the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders.
Drew Lock passed for 270 yards on 18-of-30 passing and threw one interception. The pick was Lock’s 11th of the season, a tie for the second-most in the NFL.
The Broncos relied heavily on the run game against a solid Dolphins defense, compiling 189 yards on the ground on 33 carries. Melvin Gordon III (15 carries, 84 yards, two touchdowns) and Phillip Lindsay (16 carries, 82 yards) received a majority of the carries, and both averaged over five yards per carry.
Wide receiver Tim Patrick caught five passes for a career-high 119 yards receiving. Tight end Noah Fant (four catches, 55 yards) and rookie wideout Jerry Jeudy (three catches, 37 yards) continued to garner looks from Lock in the passing game.
The Pick is In
Denver relied heavily on the rushing attack to take down the Dolphins last weekend, although they turned the ball over twice and were just 4-for-12 on third down. The Saints roll out a rush defense that is surrendering only 74.3 yards per game, one of the best in the league. History tells us the Broncos have the Saints number in this matchup, but if Hill can continue to run an efficient offense and protect the football, expect the Saints to leave Denver with their eighth victory in as many games and break the losing streak against Denver.
The Pick: Saints -6
