If you need a football betting fix with the NFL and college seasons still weeks away, there’s nothing better than getting some action down on the NFL preseason. Every week, I’ll post my top picks on Monday and provide an update before each game — you can check out all of my NFL preseason Week 1 picks here. Let’s dig into today’s Broncos-Cardinals odds as we make our predictions and pick the best NFL preseason bet!
Looking for more 2023 NFL predictions? OddsShopper’s experts are here to break down the upcoming NFL season — make sure to check out the rest of our NFL articles, including our AFC East and AFC South previews. Come back during the NFL season for our market-based betting model’s picks and best bets — or try it out for Week 1 now!
Broncos-Cardinals Preseason Pick & Prediction
Broncos-Cardinals Betting Odds
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
Broncos: -240 | Cardinals: +200
Broncos -5.5: -110 | Cardinals +5.5: -110
Over 37.5: -110 | Under 37.5: -110
The betting lines for this game have not budged an inch since Monday, which means our pick from the early-week column is still on the board. As far as betting splits go, Pregame reports that 77% of the handle has come in on the under on only 50% of the tickets, but that raises the question of whether any NFL preseason betting action is actually sharp. Personally, I’m more than comfortable being on either side of the money until the games mean something for both teams.
Another question this game raises: should any team be a 5.5-point underdog in an NFL preseason game? Perhaps — this Arizona Cardinals roster isn’t good in some important areas, namely quarterback, where Colt McCoy figures to open the regular season as the starter. Meanwhile, the Denver Broncos intend to play their starters early in this one. But the Cardinals have some interesting depth options, including rookie Clayton Tune, who was efficient in a high-volume role at Houston over the last few seasons, racking up 6,618 passing yards, 70 passing touchdowns and only 20 interceptions through that span.
Fans and bettors are right to be skeptical of the Cardinals, especially after one of their training camp lowlights went viral, but it’s important to consider how skeptical we should be. All reports out of Arizona suggest that Tune has looked exceptional, which shouldn’t come as a huge surprise given his impressive college resume. Solid play from Tune should limit the chances Arizona gives to its other backup options, which include David Blough and Jeff Driskel. But even though McCoy, Blough and Driskel aren’t high-upside guys, they have the preseason experience under their belts necessary to put some points on the board.
Both of these teams are making big transitions. Arizona parted ways with head coach Kliff Kingsbury, replacing him with Jonathan Gannon from Philadelphia, a first-time head coach. The Broncos opted to bring in veteran head coach Sean Payton, and while he has a lot to figure out with this roster, he doesn’t have anything to prove. However, it’s not unreasonable to expect him to leave the starters out there for quite a while. In 2021, he featured his then-first team quarterback, Jameis Winston, in both of the Saints’ preseason games. Winston stayed in the game for four drives in Week 1 and three in Week 2.
We know the Broncos will deploy the high-end talent necessary to put points on the board early. We don’t know how the Cardinals will cycle through their quarterbacks, but we’re likely to get a heavy dose of Tune at some point. If Gannon decides to use Tune later in the game, he could get a chance to exploit Denver’s second or third-string defense. The total opened at 36.5 but was bid up to 37.5 by Monday and hasn’t moved since. I’m surprised we haven’t seen any more movement. Even if you weren’t an early bird, you can still get the worm for this game.
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Broncos-Cardinals Preseason Betting Pick: Over 37.5 -110 at FanDuel
