It is fitting that the New Orleans Saints will be wearing their throwback jerseys tonight. Not only will it be Sean Payton's return to NOLA, but the Saints will also be inducting Drew Brees into their Hall of Fame. The Denver Broncos made last week's game against the Los Angeles Chargers interesting. After going down 23-0 heading into the fourth quarter, the Broncos scored 16 unanswered points to pull within a touchdown. They fell short and sit at 3-3 on the season. Meanwhile, the Saints got embarrassed by the division rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers 51-27 to drop to 2-4.
Date: Thursday, October 17
Start Time: 8:15 EST
Location: New Orleans, LA
Stadium: Caesars Superdome
TV Info: Prime Video (Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit)
Uniform Info: Saints will wear throwback black uniforms
Broncos Statistical Rankings (2023)
Pts/Gm: 18.7 (29)
Pts Allowed/Gm: 16 (4)
Yards/Gm: 278.2 (29th Overall, 27th Pass, 23rd Rush)
Opp Yards/Gm: 284.3 (4th Overall, 5th Pass, 14th Rush)
3rd Down Conv: Offense 25% (31)/ Defense 38.4% (19)
Red Zone Conv: Offense 50% (19)/ Defense 33.3 % (1)
Saints Statistical Rankings (2023)
Pts/Gm: 27.8 (5)
Pts Allowed/Gm: 24.5 (23)
Yards/Gm: 319.8 (18th Overall, 21st Pass, 13th Rush)
Opp Yards/Gm: 395.8 (32nd Overall, 29th Pass, 20th Rush)
3rd Down Conv: Offense 47.1% (3)/ Defense 40.7% (20)
Red Zone Conv: Offense 71.4% (3)/ Defense 38.1% (2)
Broncos Injury Report
Patrick Surtain II (DB) Out
Alex Palczewski (T) Out
Baron Browning (LB) Questionable
Mike McGlinchey (T) Questionable
Saints Injury Report
Chris Olave (WR) Out
Rashid Shaheed (WR) Out
Cesar Ruiz (G) Out
Pete Werner (LB) Out
Derek Carr (QB) Doubtful
Taysom Hill (QB/RB/TE) Doubtful
Lucas Patrick (G) Questionable
Khalen Saunders (DL) Questionable
Denver Broncos
The Broncos offense has been a little up and down this season, as expected with rookie Bo Nix at the helm. He has been better at protecting the ball recently as he has five touchdowns to just one interception over his last three games after starting the season with four picks in the first two. Nix has also spread the ball around well, targeting eight different receivers at least 12 times this season. His rushing ability gives defenses something extra to think about. Nix has run 37 times for 180 yards and three scores and has yet to fumble.
Denver's defense has played well and should give the depleted Saints offense fits tonight. The Broncos have 22 sacks and are led by outside linebackers Jonathon Cooper (4.5) and Nik Bonitto (4). Despite being without Patrick Surtain tonight, the Broncos still boast a solid secondary with Brandon Moss, Riley Jones, and P.J. Locke leading the team in solo tackles. With Olave and Shaheed out for the Saints, the loss of Surtain shouldn't hurt.
New Orleans Saints
Saints fans have to wonder what the f*#$ happened. After scoring 91 points in the first two games, they scored just 76 over the last four games. With Shaheed possibly done for the season and Carr unlikely to play against the Broncos, things don't look promising for an offensive turnaround. Spencer Rattler fell apart in the second half of last week's game. After going 10-for-15 with a touchdown in the first half, Rattler went 12-for-25 with two picks in the second half. He was getting pressured all game and was sacked five times. The offensive line will have to do a better job this week, and they will be without Cesar Ruiz.
On the flip side, the New Orleans defense also had a miserable second half, allowing touchdowns on four of six Tampa Bay drives. It's a trend that they will look to stop. The defense has allowed 103 points in their last three games after allowing just 44 in their first three. The Saints will be without linebacker Pete Werner and will depend on Carl Granderson and Bryan Breese to get to the quarterback as they have accounted for seven of the team's 15 sacks.
Prediction
This is shaping up to be a low-scoring game as DraftKings has the Over/Under at 37. Even though that total is low, I would still take the under as the Broncos will be keying on Alvin Kamara and making Rattler beat them while throwing to Bub Means and Mason Tipton instead of Olave and Shaheed. Nevertheless, the Saints will pull this one out.
Final Score: New Orleans Saints 13, Denver Broncos 10
Main Image Credit
Comentarios