Broncos vs. Saints Predictions, Picks & Odds: Thursday Night Football, 10/17
Week 7 Thursday Night Football features head coach Sean Payton’s return to the Bayou as he takes his Denver Broncos down to New Orleans to take on the Saints. Both teams have work to do in sitting in third place in their respective divisions, and we’ve broken down the matchup to provide our best Broncos vs. Saints predictions for you.
Along with the best bet from our Broncos vs. Saints picks will also be a $300 FanDuel Sportsbook sign up bonus, so we’ll help make it a valuable Thursday night regardless!
Broncos vs. Saints Predictions For Thursday Night Football, NFL Week 7
Just about every fanbase has arguments for how their teams have sent them on rollercoasters this season, and that is certainly true for Broncos fans. From back-to-back losses to blowing out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to another loss this past Sunday, it’s been an up-and-down campaign.
Similarly, the Saints have lost four straight since starting the season with dominant victories. What can be said about both teams is that they are reliant on defense, which is why it’s no surprise that we have a low total set in the Broncos vs. Saints odds for this TNF matchup.
In fact, we’ll be focusing on that market for the best bet from our Broncos vs. Saints predictions coming up!
Denver Broncos: Believing In Bo
The aforementioned losses to begin the season for the Broncos weren’t overly surprising given that they were starting rookie QB Bo Nix from the jump. After some growing pains to start the year, he’s certainly coming into his own.
The former Auburn and Oregon QB even had some swag and self-confidence pointing out defenders on a long scramble against the Los Angeles Chargers this past Sunday where he helped keep things competitive in a one-score loss. It’s certainly not perfect in Mile High, but a .500 record is far from their worst-case scenario.
New Orleans Saints: Tail Of Different Halves
The above headline is true for both last week’s game individually and how the Saints have looked on the season as a whole. There were even talks about being true Super Bowl contenders after their incredible 2-0 start, and things seem even worse than seeing the 0-4 record since then.
They are now starting a rookie QB themselves in Spencer Rattler, but it’s a forced situation rather than a chosen one like the Broncos. He helped New Orleans look solid in the first half against the Bucs on Sunday, but boy did it get out of hand.
The Saints defense looked absolutely defeated when their offense was unable to capitalize, which ultimately led to a 51-27 loss.
Broncos vs. Saints Odds, Spreads, Total & Betting Lines
We mentioned that we’d be focused on the total for the best bet from our Broncos vs. Saints picks, so let’s take a quick look at the latest Broncos vs. Saints odds:
- Point Spread: Denver Broncos +1.5 (-115) vs. New Orleans Saints -1.5 (-105)
- Money Line: Denver Broncos (-102) vs. New Orleans Saints (-106)
- Game Total (Over/Under): Over 37.5 (-105) vs. Under 37.5 (-115)
Broncos vs. Saints Predictions: Over 37.5 Points (-105 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
We also mentioned that these teams were built around their defenses, so it may seem surprising that we’re focused on the over for our Broncos vs. Saints predictions. However, this total has simply been adjusted too much in our opinion.
After originally opening at 42.5 points, it shifted all the way to 37 points before a very slight tick back up. Even still, the Saints defense truly does look totally different than they did to start the year and even last season. We just mentioned their 51-27 beatdown, and they allowed 26 points in back-to-back games prior to that.
There’s no denying that Denver continues to rely on their defense to win games, but again, we aren’t asking for a shootout here. After all, we don’t even need both teams to reach 20 points! Even a single Bo Nix mistake could lead to a touchdown the other way, which is a significant portion of such a low total.
Oddsmakers have also had a tough read on New Orleans since their strong start, as they have now gone over the total in four of their six games by an average margin of eight points! Therefore, we’re making the best bet from our Broncos vs. Saints predictions on the over 37.5 points (-105 at FanDuel Sportsbook).
Broncos vs. Saints Injury Report & Latest News
Playing on a short week is always tough for teams, and we’ve got the injury report following Monday’s practice for you:
DEN Broncos:
- Ja’Quan McMillian - LP
- Riley Moss - LP
- Alex Palczewski - LP
- Pat Surtain II - DNP
NO Saints:
- Carl Granderson - LP
- J.T. Gray - LP
- Taysom Hill - LP
- Alvin Kamara - LP
- Nathan Shepherd - LP
- Alontae Taylor - LP
- Payton Turner - LP
- Cedrick Wilson - LP
- Derek Carr - DNP
- Chris Olave - DNP
- Lucas Patrick - DNP
- Cesar Ruiz - DNP
- Rashid Shaheed - DNP
- Pete Werner - DNP
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Player News
Dolphins signed No. 13 overall pick DT Kenneth Grant to a four-year contract.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that Grant will sign his contract today. The former Michigan defensive tackle is expected to fill a major void left by Christian Wilkins, who left for the Raiders in the 2024 offseason. Grant totaled 32 tackles, three sacks, and seven TFLs in his final season at Michigan and excelled at stopping the run while also generating 27 pressures in his final season, per PFF.
Beat reporter John Hendrix reports that free agent WR Donovan Peoples-Jones is among the 16 players that the Saints will host for their rookie minicamp.
Peoples-Jones last played regular season snaps with the Lions back in 2023, when he caught 13-of-24 targets for 155 yards. He is highly unlikely to return to fantasy relevance at this point but could perhaps sign on as a special teams contributor.
Titans signed fourth-round pick WR Elic Ayomanor to a four-year contract.
Ayomanor will now begin learning behind Calvin Ridley. Although Ayomanor is unlikely to find a meaningful role in year one, dynasty managers should note his status as training camp gets underway this summer. The former Stanford receiver flashed big-play ability in his two college seasons.
Buccaneers signed seventh-round pick WR Tez Johnson to a four-year contract.
Johnson will serve as a rotational deep-threat option for Baker Mayfield. His thin frame (5'10/154) simply does not lend itself to the repeated hits one incurs in a full-time role. Johnson did earn 100-plus targets in his two seasons at Oregon, though. His big-play style make him a better fit in best ball for now, pending any major on-field breakthroughs.
Giants waived DT Casey Rogers.
Rogers was a 2024 undrafted free agent and logged 33 defensive snaps for the Giants in his rookie season. He is credited with zero tackles and/or sacks. He may find his way onto another roster as a practice squad option.
Vikings signed third-round pick WR Tai Felton to a four-year contract.
Felton is quietly in play to challenge Vikings No. 3 WR Jalen Nailor in training camp. Nailor (5'11/190) caught 28-of-42 targets for 414 yards and six touchdowns in his first season as a starter last year, with the latter category buoying his fantasy productivity. Felton (6'1/183), meanwhile, caught 96-of-143 targets for 1,119 yards and nine touchdowns while averaging 2.32 yards per route run in his final college season. Fantasy managers should monitor Felton’s training camp reports this summer, as he could have a matchup-based WR5 role if everything falls into place.