For their Week 7 matchup, the Denver Broncos trek south to take on the Arizona Cardinals. The Broncos have fared well thus far going 4-2 against a tough gauntlet of opponents. In order to achieve their fifth victory of the season, these three players need to show up and make an impact against the Cardinals.
Sunday's matchup will be bittersweet for Zach Allen. It's a return back to where he started his NFL career. He spent four seasons with the Cardinals having the privelege to learn under J.J. Watt and was coached up by Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph.
Flash forward to the present day and Allen has cemented himself as one of the best interior defensive lineman in the National Football League. The eighth year pro is coming off back-to-back All-Pro seasons. Through six games, the former third-round pick out of Boston College is putting up another incredible season . He already has 4.5 sacks, 31 tackles, and 16 quarterback hits.
Finding a way to pressure and rattle Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett will be a huge key to the game. I have a feeling Allen will be playing with a little bit more intensity and fire going up against the team that drafted him all those years ago. I have no doubt he is going to have an impact and help lead the Broncos to a big win.
After spending the first six games on the NFL Commissioner's Exempt List, Jonathon Cooper is scheduled to make his 2026 regular season debut against the Cardinals. With Jonah Elliss sidelined with an injury suffered against the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football , the Broncos will need the sixth-year edge rusher to hit the ground running and make an impact versus the Cardinals.
The past three seasons, Cooper has been one of the most underrated edge rushers in the NFL. He posted at least eight sacks a season from 2023-2025, averaged over 15 quarterback hits a year, and has been a strong defender against the run. His presence in the starting lineup should help Denver's defense be even more formidable.
A lot of fans across Broncos Country were hoping for Denver to make a big splash this off-season to add more juice to their running back group. Instead, the Broncos brought back J.K. Dobbins on a two-year deal. He showed a lot of promise early on last season, but missed most of the second half of the season due to injury.
In six games, Dobbins hasn't made much of an impact for Denver. Quite honestly, he looks like he may have hit a cliff. He has just 270 yards on 81 carries with two touchdowns. Outside of a few runs of ten yards or more, he is really struggling to get quality yardage and sports a paltry 3.3 yard per carry average.
The Cardinals have a bottom ten run defense in the NFL. They've allowed at least 140 yards or more in three contests. If there was any game for Dobbins and the Broncos' rushing attack to finally make a mark, this one would be it. In the event that doesn't happen, I'm not sure what Denver should do.
More carries to RJ Harvey and Jonah Coleman make sense, but perhaps General Manager George Paton might need to get on the phone and inquire about adding a back before the trade deadline. With Chris Ballard out in Indianapolis, perhaps Paton can ask about what it would take to get Jonathan Taylor? Probably too much, but a strong running game will be essential for Denver to be contenders this season.
