Week 7 of the NFL season begins with an interconference game between the Denver Broncos and New Orleans Saints, two teams looking to get on track after mediocre starts. The game marks the return to New Orleans for new Denver coach Sean Payton, who was the Saints’ coach for 15 years.
Denver’s three-game win streak was snapped with a loss to the Chargers, which dropped the Broncos to 3-3. Meanwhile, the Saints have dropped four straight since their blowout of the Dallas Cowboys.
This will likely be a battle of rookie quarterbacks, as the Saints’ Derek Carr is probably out with an injury and will give way to Spencer Rattler. Former Oregon star Bo Nix is at the helm for the Broncos.
The game is supposed to be competitive and low scoring, as the Broncos are a 2 1/2-point road favorite. The over-under of 37 is the lowest of the 15 NFL games this week.
The NFL Week 7 Thursday Night Football game between the Denver Broncos and New Orleans Saints will be played at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
The Broncos at Saints game will stream on Amazon Prime.
The Broncos at Saints game is scheduled to begin at 6:15 p.m. MT/7:15 p.m. CT.
Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit will call the game from the Caesars Superdome booth, and Kaylee Hartung will report from the sidelines.
The Broncos are a 2 1/2-point road favorite over the Saints in NFL Week 7 odds for the game, courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Denver is -140 on the moneyline, while Seattle is +12-. The over/under (point total) is set at 37 points.
New Orleans Saints
Saints have ruled out wide receivers Chris Olave (concussion) and Rashid Shaheed (knee), guard Cesar Ruiz (knee) and linebacker Pete Werner (hamstring) after they did not participate in practice all week. Shaheed will require meniscus surgery. Quarterback Derek Carr (oblique) is listed as doubtful but did not practice all week and is not expected to be available.
Denver Broncos
One Denver starter, cornerback Pat Surtain II, is in the league’s concussion protocol and has been ruled out after missing practice all week. Offensive tackle Alex Palczewski (ankle), who was a limited participant earlier the week before sitting out on Wednesday, also won’t play.
With a line of 2 1/2-points and an over-under of 37, the expected result is a Broncos victory of 20-17.
Bill Speros writes: “Sean Payton’s homecoming will crank up the decibels inside the Caesars Superdome. Payton coached the Saints for 15 seasons before heading to Denver ahead of the 2022 season. This game features a pair of rookie QBs, thanks to the absence of Derek Carr. … The Saints traditionally struggle on Thursday nights, having lost 5 straight TNF games at home and failed to cover in each of them.”
The site’s formula predicts that the Saints will win the NFL Week 7 game against the Broncos..
The site gives the Saints a 49.9% shot at winning the NFL Week 6 game, with a 0.4% chance of a tie.
It writes: “After extensive simulations, our model gives the Broncos a win probability of 37%, while the Saints have a win probability of 63%.”
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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