Broncos @ Cardinals
Final Score: Broncos 30, Cardinals 13
Writer: Christian Otteman (@COttemanPL on Twitter)
Two Up
- Jonah Coleman – In his first game off of IR, Coleman led the Denver backfield in snaps and opportunities. One of the top waiver targets of the week.
- Bam Knight – Looked like the most explosive Cardinals back once again.
Two Down
- Michael Wilson – Wait, no, you were supposed to get MORE opportunities with Marvin Harrison Jr. leaving town, not less!
- Tyler Allgeier – A second straight week of being outplayed by Bam Knight.
Denver Broncos
Quarterback
Bo Nix: 15/29, 222 Yards, TD | 7 Carries, 73 Yards, TD
Just when I thought I was out, he pulls me back in. Well, kind of. Nix’s highlight play of the afternoon was obviously his 62-scramble for a score during which there wasn’t a single defender in the frame for about 40 yards. Nix’s deep ball is still lacking, and nearly 25% of his yards came on RJ Harvey‘s 52-yard screen pass that he took for a touchdown. Personally, I didn’t see anything from Nix in this game that would give me confidence in starting him in single QB formats, but you might not have a choice in Superflex leagues.
BO NIX 62-YARD TOUCHDOWN RUN
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Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/sxC4uWF33r— NFL (@NFL) October 25, 2026
Running Back
Jonah Coleman: 9 Carries, 54 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 15 Yards
RJ Harvey: 3 Carries, 6 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 54 Yards, TD
J.K. Dobbins: 6 Carries, 23 Yards, TD
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the most headache-inducing backfield this side of the Mississippi! With rookie Jonah Coleman back in the fold, the Broncos now have three viable running backs, and choosing who to start each week will be like playing rock-paper-scissors blindfolded. It’s still mostly luck, but it feels somehow harder. If I’m placing my bets on which back will be most productive the rest of the season, though, I’m putting my money on Coleman. In his first game back from IR, Coleman played as many snaps as Harvey and Dobbins combined and also was the most efficient back with his carries. Dobbins may still have the edge on goal line touches, which will suppress Coleman’s value slightly, but I can see a second-half breakout for the rookie being in the cards. If he’s on waivers in your league, make him a top priority this week.
Oh, and as for RJ Harvey – he’s still a great asset for Denver in the passing game. We’ve seen some pretty extreme highs and lows over the past month, but when you’re able to take a screen pass to the house, you’ll have some weekly FLEX appeal while navigating bye weeks.
RJ Harvey takes the screen pass 52 yards for a TD!
DENvsAZ on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/symyT3Qo6D— NFL (@NFL) October 25, 2026
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Jaylen Waddle: 7 Targets, 4 Receptions, 48 Yards
This was Waddle’s second game this season with over 35 receiving yards. Waddle left the game late in the fourth quarter with a chest injury, so it’ll be worth monitoring practice reports ahead of Week 8’s tilt against Kansas City. Even if he suits up, though, there just isn’t any chemistry between him and Nix that would suggest a boom game is coming against one of the league’s stingiest defenses.
Marvin Mims Jr.: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 53 Yards
Mims had a pretty impressive catch-and-run to close out the third quarter but was otherwise quiet in a game the Broncos led for most of the afternoon. If Waddle misses any time, Mims could be one of the biggest beneficiaries in terms of playing time, but Troy Franklin would also likely see a bump in snaps and routes. If you’re starting Mims, you’re hoping for a deep touchdown and fully embracing the possibility of a goose egg.
CHUNK PLAY MARVIN MIMS JR.
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Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/o13qfZGfzC— NFL (@NFL) October 25, 2026
Courtland Sutton: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 45 Yards
The Broncos’ inability to throw the deep ball has been a huge problem for the veteran’s value this season, and yesterday’s contest was no exception. Sutton led the team in snaps for all pass catchers, so there’s potentially some value here if Nix can remember how to throw the ball further than the distance of two pool tables, but there’s nothing to suggest that’ll happen anytime soon. Feel free to plug Sutton in as a risky FLEX if Waddle misses Week 8, but it feels more like Fool’s Gold than anything.
Lil’Jordan Humphrey: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 5 Yards
Evan Engram: 3 Targets, 1 Reception, 2 Yards
Adam Trautman: 1 Target, 0 Receptions
Troy Franklin: 2 Targets, 0 Receptions
Arizona Cardinals
Quarterback
Jacoby Brissett: 27/48, 272 Yards, TD | 7 Carries, 16 Yards
Brissett threw it 48 times for 272 yards, which works out to 5.7 yards per attempt, and that number is the entire scouting report on Arizona’s offense right now. He didn’t turn it over, which matters coming off five interceptions in his last three games, but he completed 56.3% of his passes for his worst rate of the season while getting sacked three times for 13 yards. Four of his incompletions were throwaways with no receiver credited, three of them with a Bronco in his chest. His legs were actually the useful part of his day, converting a fourth-and-one, a third-and-one, and another fourth-and-one on quarterback runs in short yardage. Then the last drive happened. Arizona got seven snaps from inside the Denver 5 with two minutes left, including two defensive pass interference calls that handed them a fresh first and goal at the one both times, and they walked off with nothing. The volume keeps him usable in deeper leagues, and nothing is changing at the position, since LaFleur confirmed after the game that Brissett is still the starter. Just understand that could change.
Running Back
Bam Knight: 7 Carries, 48 Yards | 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 15 Yards
Tyler Allgeier: 8 Carries, 19 Yards | 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 30 Yards
It’s becoming increasingly apparent that Knight is the more explosive running back in the Arizona backfield sans Jeremiyah Love. Allgeier “started” the game and Knight was on the field for the very next snap, and after Allgeier took the first quarter edge Knight played more snaps in each of the last three quarters and finished ahead in both playing time and rushing yards. The split in production isn’t close either. Over the last two weeks Knight is at 5.8 a carry to Allgeier’s 2.2, and 22.7% of Knight’s runs pick up a first down against 7.7% of Allgeier’s. Knight ripped a 29-yarder to set up the first field goal and averaged 6.9 for the day while Allgeier ground out 2.4 behind the same line. Neither of these guys is a confident start in Dallas, but Knight is the one worth a claim, and he’s the one who keeps the job if Love’s ankle drags on.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Trey McBride: 13 Targets, 10 Receptions, 111 Yards, TD
Thirteen targets, ten catches, 111 yards, and the only touchdown Arizona scored. That’s the ninth 100-yard game of McBride’s career and his best all three ways this season; the catches and the yards are season highs, and the 13 looks tie his Week 1 mark. He’s up to 78 targets in seven games, which is a number almost nobody at the position gets to touch. He churned out a 12-yarder on third and eight and an 11-yarder on second and 16 in the middle of the field, took a 27-yarder down the sideline to open the fourth, then went and got a 26-yarder on third and 10 two drives later. The seven-yard score in the third came two plays after he drew a 25-yard pass interference call that put Arizona at the 5 to begin with. Nothing about the usage has changed, and nothing is going to. Start him everywhere, every week.
Notes
- He also drew both of Barron’s pass interference flags at the goal line on the final drive, which is three DPIs in his direction for the day.
- Arizona is 1 for 10 in the red zone and goal to go situations over the last two games. His touchdown on Sunday is the one.
Missed Opportunities
- His facemask penalty in the first turned a second-and-three at the Arizona 13 into second-and-eight at the 8, and the drive punted from there.
- Replay took an eleventh catch off the board in the third, a first and 10 grab at the Denver 45 that got changed to incomplete and helped kill that drive.
Michael Wilson: 8 Targets, 4 Receptions, 55 Yards | 2 Carries, 11 Yards
The line reads like a perfectly fine WR3 day, and the carries were the first two handoffs Wilson has taken all season. He moved the chains on all four grabs: the 14-yarder over the middle, the 14-yarder on the opening snap of the second half, the 11-yarder on third and seven, and a 16-yarder in the fourth that came with a facemask attached. Here’s the part that bugs me, though. Trading Marvin Harrison Jr. didn’t change his snaps at all, and his target rate per route has gone the wrong way, from 26.1% over the first four weeks down to 17.2% over the last three. He’s being used; he’s just not being featured, and that’s a hard thing to roster at a position where volume is everything.
Notes
- His 7-yard run in the second got Arizona inside the Denver 25 on the 14-play field goal drive.
Missed Opportunities
- Brissett went to him three times in that seven-snap goal-line sequence, and he came down with none of them. The fourth down ball with 56 seconds left was the game.
- A deep left shot in the first drew pass interference instead of a completion, and a deep right one in the fourth came out with Malcolm Roach in Brissett’s face.
Jalen Brooks: 6 Targets, 1 Reception, 35 Yards
One catch for 35 on six looks, and the catch was a beauty, a middle-of-the-field dagger with 2:09 left that put Arizona at the Denver 1 and should have won them something. The 35-yarder is his longest of the year, and the looks keep coming, so the trust is real even if the production isn’t. The other five all fell incomplete, three of them deep, and he’s at five catches on 17 targets through seven games. He’s handling the kickoffs too, so the snaps aren’t the question. The hands are.
Missed Opportunities
- Two deep balls his way died in the third and another in the fourth, with Riley Moss on one of them.
- A first and goal throw from the Denver 8 in the second got broken up by Ja’Quan McMillian, and Arizona settled for a 26 yard field goal.
Elijah Higgins: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 17 Yards
That’s five straight weeks of Higgins catching everything thrown at him, and he’s now 14 for 14 on the season without a single incompletion charged to him. The 14-yarder on the first snap of the 65-yard field goal drive was his best moment. With Tip Reiman out and the team waiving Shawn Bowman on Wednesday before stashing him back on the practice squad Friday, Arizona went into this game with three tight ends on the roster, and Higgins locked in behind McBride. Perfect catch rate is a fun stat, and three targets a week is not a fantasy asset, so this is a name for your watch list and nothing more until the volume shows up.
Missed Opportunities
- His only look inside the 20 was a first and goal catch at the Denver 8 that went backward for two yards, and the drive ended in a field goal.
Kendrick Bourne: 6 Targets, 3 Receptions, 9 Yards
Nine yards on three catches. Bourne had put up 47 and 70 in the two weeks before this, so the targets haven’t gone anywhere. They were just all short throws this time. His one useful snap was a four-yard catch on third and five in the fourth that set up the fourth and one; Brissett ran it in himself. Seven games in and he still hasn’t scored, and a 25-catch, 234-yard season at this pace isn’t going to get him into anybody’s lineup. He’s the third option behind McBride and Wilson on a team that can’t finish drives.
Missed Opportunities
- On fourth and 13 in the fourth, he caught one a yard behind the line and lateraled to Knight, and the whole thing came up seven yards short.