Will the Broncos’ defence hold against Philly?
Do the Broncos complete the destruction of the NFC East or do the Eagles, of all teams, get revenge on the hated Cowboys? That question will be answered Sunday night in the Mile High City in Colorado.
The Broncos are coming off a convincing 30-16 away win in Dallas, while the Eagles were beaten by the Chargers in the last second. Denver therefore brings the slightly better form into this game.
However, that doesn’t mean much in this balanced league and especially with two teams as close in terms of squad as these two, it all comes down to form on the day. In addition, the Eagles are clearly stronger away than at home.
For Broncos vs. Eagles, our prediction is a duel of equals that can tip in either direction. What is likely, however, is a low-scoring game, as Denver has only had one game with over 46 total points in its repertoire this season.
Kickoff of the game is at 10:25 p.m. in Denver, Colorado. The match will be broadcast live on DAZN’s Redzone.
Denver Broncos – Statistics & current form
This display of power by the Broncos came somewhat out of nowhere. After their only previous wins came against teams with negative records, they dismantled the 6-1 Cowboys at will on Sunday.
Midway through the fourth quarter it was already 30-0 and it smelled a bit like a white wash before the Boys put 16 points on the board in trash time. However, this should not diminish Denver’s excellent defence work.
Defence even without Von Miller strong as hell
There was a lot of talk during the week about the Miller trade to LA and how it would weaken the Broncos defence. Think again! Substitute Jonathan Cooper fitted in splendidly with three tackles and two sacks.
The Broncos are still second in the NFL in terms of points allowed. Only the Bills, with 14.8, concede fewer points than Denver (17.0). It’s almost reminiscent of their Super Bowl defence of 2016 again.
Offensive still too inconsistent
That leaves just one small weakness, but one that could turn into a bigger one depending on the game: their offense. While it worked again against the Cowboys, before that they stayed under 20 points of their own in four of the last five games.
Especially when it comes to winning space through the air, they have a hard time. QB Bridgewater is at 240.3 yards, which is only 18th best in the league. When their running game falters, it becomes very difficult to move down the field.
That could also be their undoing against the Eagles, who have a top 12 defence against the pass. For Broncos vs. Eagles, a bet on Denver is therefore a risk we would avoid if possible.
Key Players:
QB: Teddy Bridgewater
RB: Melvin Gordon
WR: Courtland Sutton
TE: Noah Fant
K: Brandon McManus
Philadelphia Eagles – Statistics & current form
Philadelphia have been close to taking an important step towards the playoffs a few times this season, but then they lost narrowly each time – most recently 24:27 to the Chargers. Nevertheless, the team made a better impression than many experts had assumed before the season.
Many key players had left the team and the franchise had accumulated draft picks. Currently, the Eagles would have three picks within the first 15 picks in 2022. That promises a lot for the future.
What do the Eagles do with Hurts?
Jalen Hurts is likely to remain one of the most exciting personnel matters. He is slowly stabilising and after there was little hope at the beginning of the season that the future franchise quarterback would already be on the team, the perception is slowly changing.
Against the Chargers, he went without an interception for the third game in a row, leading his team to a balanced game against a team that was actually superior. Now he just needs to up his touchdown production a bit and he has few weaknesses.
Hurts + running game = success
With only eleven touchdowns thrown, however, he ranks only 17th in the league. So there is still plenty of room for improvement. In the games in which he also functions as a passer, however, the Eagles are strong as an ox. Their running game is one of the best in the NFL.
136.6 yards mean a top-7 value in the league and their strength is that the load is distributed on many shoulders (Howard, Hurts, Scott, Gainwell). Against a good Broncos run defence, however, it could be difficult now.
So we can already see that neither offense has the perfect matchup for Sunday. This also means that we expect few points. For Denver vs Philadelphia, this makes the odds on subpar points better to play than handicap bets on a winner.
Key Players:
QB: Jalen Hurts
RB: Boston Scott
WR: DeVonta Smith
TE: Dallas Goedert
K: Jake Elliott
Denver Broncos – Philadelphia Eagles Head-to-head / H2H record
Of the last five direct duels, the Broncos won three, the Eagles two. However, the last comparison was more than four years ago. A time when both teams looked completely different.
It is also noticeable that the last duels were always very high-scoring. However, we can hardly count on history here either, as both teams have significantly improved their defence in recent years (although the Broncos’ best was 2015/16, but there was no duel with Philly then).
Thus, we can still risk a bet on under points for Broncos vs. Eagles, as both teams’ recent results simply point in that direction, especially the Broncos’.
Denver Broncos – Philadelphia Eagles Tip
Games involving the Broncos are the lowest-scoring of all this season. Only 37.8 points are scored on average on both sides of the field – negative value in the NFL.
Since we have a hard time determining a clear favourite in win bets, the odds on sub-par points are our clear No. 1 betting recommendation for Denver vs. Philadelphia. The set 45.5 points should be difficult to achieve.
An alternative bet on this matchup is a Melvin Gordon rushing touchdown. If anyone is scoring regularly for Denver, it’s the running back who has been doing so in back-to-back games.
