Saints Broncos Odds
The Denver Broncos host the New Orleans Saints on Sunday September 21, 2008 and will be looking for their third straight win to start the season. If the Broncos are able to do so, it would be the first time in five years. Meanwhile, the Saints will be looking to get to 2-1, avenging last week’s loss to the Redskins. The NFL odds makers have listed the home Broncos as 5.5-point favorites and have set the total at 51.
The Denver Broncos may have benefited from a blown call by official Ed Hochuli in the closing moments of their last game, but it was a gutsy call by coach Mike Shanahan that gave Denver a big win over division rival San Diego. The Broncos will have momentum on their side this week after a 2-point conversion with 24 seconds remaining gave them a one-point win in week 2. QB Jay Cutler connected with Eddie Royal, fitting the ball into a tight space to get the job done. It was only the third successful 2-point attempt from a team going for the win instead of a tie in the waning seconds of a game since the 2-point conversion was added in 1994. Shanahan called it a gut decision.
The Broncos have been the most prolific offense in the NFL through the first two weeks, averaging 463.5 yards per game. QB Jay Cutler leads the league with 650 passing yards and is tied for the most touchdown passes with six. Cutler went 36 of 50 last week for a career-best 350 yard performance. If he continues to put up these type of numbers we may start to see some John Elway comparisons being made.
Wide receiver Brandon Marshall caught a team-record 18 passes for 166 yards and a score in his season debut last week as Cutler welcomed the talented receiver with open arms.
The Saints are the team we have been used to seeing racking up big yards over the past couple seasons. They ranked first and fourth in total offense in 2006 and 2007 respectively. The Saints currently rank 10th in the NFL after two weeks as the Redskins held the offense to just 250 yards in a 29-24 road defeat last week.
The Saints must have a very sour taste in their mouths following last week’s loss as they took a nine-point lead into the fourth quarter before giving up a pair of touchdowns in the final six minutes.
While the Saints made many offseason moves to bolster the defense, the loss showed us that this is still a team which needs its offense to play well to win football games.
QB Drew Brees was 22 of 33 for 216 yards in the loss with one touchdown but with two interceptions. The Skins didn’t give New Orleans anything on the turf, holding the Saints to just 55 yards on 19 carries.
Brees is confident that he will play better this week and that his team can bounce back. The Saints bounced back from an 0-4 start to go 7-5 the rest of the way out last season. Getting to 2-1 with a win this week puts New Orleans in a much better position than it was in a season ago.
