After their first six games of the 2026 season, the Denver Broncos find themselves in familiar territory. They sport a 4-2 record—just like last season. It wasn’t good then and it’s never been that good. However, more wins than losses is always a good thing.
The strong defensive performances and penchant for fourth quarter heroics continued for the Broncos this year. This weekend, they face the Arizona Cardinals who are currently 2-4 and coming off an impressive victory over the Los Angeles Rams. Even though the Cardinals have a losing record, the Broncos aren’t overlooking their Week 7 opponent.
Every game provides an opportunity for every team in the National Football League. For the Broncos this Sunday, it’s a chance to get a crucial fifth win of the season. Moreover, it can be a streak starter. A battle on the gridiron—if won—that will give them confidence and momentum as the second half of the season approaches.
Yesterday after practice, Head Coach Sean Payton touched on a variety of topics. However, finding a way to improve and consolidate more achievements to run [like last year] is a point of emphasis.
“The 4-2 mark a year ago, we’d come off of a real good defensive effort in London. It just can’t be a yo-yo. Any team that I can think of, there are runs. I think more importantly the last thing I just said to them was, ‘We have to be ascending, improving.’ I think they understand that,” Payton said.
The Broncos haven’t played a complete game yet. It’s remarkably similar to 2025. The main exception is the matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals without star quarterback Joe Burrow. There is no doubt that Payton is right. Denver needs to continue to move forward and make the necessary adjustments to become a more complete team built to compete long term.
A big part of this is finding a practical recipe for offensive success. Broncos Nation has gotten used to slow starts on offense over the past few years, only to find relief in the second half of the season when things finally started to click. While there will be a little extra preparation for their Week 7 matchup, the team hopes the spark will come sooner rather than later.
The Cardinals may not have much star power on defense and rank in the bottom half of most metrics overall. However, they put together a quality outing against the Los Angeles Rams last weekend. They provide a lot of different looks and switch a lot between Cover 3, Cover 4, and Cover 6 coverage looks—zone principles that Bo Nix and Denver’s offense haven’t found ways to beat.
To make the offense better, Payton recognized that it would be critical to be able to decipher and adequately respond to their unique defensive packages.
“Our defense, we see the base-look, kind of Okie structure. There’ll be some similarities. Then they have a nickel package, a dime. Their penny—and we also have a penny—may be a little blurry. One of the important notes this week was Communication ID,” Payton mentioned.
“Usually there’s someone in the crowd watching, and Bo walks into the crowd. They say, ‘Nickel, nickel,’ or ‘Base, base.’ Then I’ll say multiple times, ‘Hey Bo, this is base defense here.’ When we’re game planning, if you want to run a game against their base defense, there are a few things to know that you’re getting on base. Nothing is 100 percent. That’s an important thing this week,” Payton added.
How the Broncos choose to battle Arizona’s defense will be interesting to watch. Everyone expects Nix to see it through the air, but the Cardinals’ biggest defensive weakness is stopping the run. They have given up more than 140 yards in three contests so far.
I think a big part of their game plan will be a healthy dose of JK Dobbins, RJ Harvey, and giving reps to Jonah Coleman who is expected to play on Sunday. If Denver can develop a heavy rushing attack, that will bode well for Nix and the offense, which thrives on play-action principles and deep shots when the running game is clicking.
Can Denver’s offense find a recipe for success on Sunday? You just have to tune in and find out.