State Farm Stadium in Glendale, 4:05 p.m. Eastern on CBS. Denver arrives 4-2 with extra rest after a Thursday night win. Arizona arrives 2-4 and feeling great after stunning the Rams on the final play. Ruth Calder studies the Broncos through the life cycle of their quarterbacks. Neil Carver measures every Cardinals season against the year they reached the Super Bowl.
Neil: Ruth, welcome to the desert. Our roof retracts, and our grass field literally rolls outside to get some sun. Your field just sits there at altitude, gasping.
Ruth: Our field is a mile high, Neil. Visiting teams do the gasping. And we have three Super Bowl trophies to keep us company up there.
Neil: We have the oldest continuously run pro football franchise in America. We were wearing cardinal red before your grandparents were born.
Ruth: And you've been patiently waiting for a Super Bowl ever since.
Neil: We came close once. We'll talk about it again in February.
Last week, Broncos: Denver beat Seattle 17-14 in overtime on Thursday night. Ja'Quan McMillian intercepted Sam Darnold on Seattle's first overtime possession, and Wil Lutz kicked a 53-yard field goal to win it. Denver's defense hit Darnold 17 times, sacked him five times and intercepted him twice.
Ruth: Here's the honest life-cycle report. Nix is in his third season, and right now he's in the frustrating part, the one where defenses sit back and dare you to throw deep. He said as much after the game. Sean Payton said 4-2 could easily be 2-4. I appreciate a coach who can count. But Vance Joseph's defense is the real deal, and Pat Surtain II, Nik Bonitto and Zach Allen are why Denver keeps winning ugly.
Last week, Cardinals: Arizona went into SoFi Stadium having lost four straight and beat the Rams 18-16 on Chad Ryland's sixth field goal, a 43-yarder as time expired. It was first-year coach Mike LaFleur's first win against his old boss, Sean McVay, and Arizona's second win at SoFi this season.
Neil: Six field goals, Ruth. Six. It wasn't pretty, but a win in Los Angeles counts the same as a pretty one. This defense had given up a lot of points in the four games before that. It finally showed up.
The matchup: Neither team runs it well. Denver averages 3.6 yards a carry and Arizona 3.5, and both defenses allow more than that. Whoever gets the ground game going first may control this one. The Broncos' pass rush gets home on 7.9% of dropbacks, and Arizona's on 7.5%. Denver protects Nix well, allowing sacks on just 4.1% of dropbacks, so the Cardinals will have to win with coverage. McBride against Denver's linebackers is the matchup to watch. For Denver, Jaylen Waddle and Courtland Sutton need to make the big plays Nix has been missing.
One more thing to know: Arizona hasn't won at home in more than a year, a run of losses that reached nine straight after a Week 5 loss to Detroit. Both of its wins this season came at SoFi Stadium.
The numbers: Denver has scored 114 and allowed 125. Arizona has scored 126 and allowed 178.
Ruth: So you're telling me you're better on the road in Los Angeles than at home?
Neil: We like the commute. Short flight, big wins.
Ruth: Bring a jacket if you ever visit Denver in October.
Neil: Bring sunscreen to Glendale. It's still summer here.
Two teams that win ugly, two kickers who just won games, and a Cardinals home crowd that would love to finally celebrate in its own building.
My call: Broncos 24, Cardinals 21.