We’ve got one heck of a Week 1 matchup on our hands as the defending AFC West champions the Denver Broncos play host to perennial playoff threats in the Baltimore Ravens.
Will the Broncos’ first-year head coach Gary Kubiak prevail over his team from last season, or will Ravens offensive coordinator Marc Trestman prove that he’s a much more suitable offensive guru than Kubiak was during his stint in Baltimore?
Read on as we take a closer look at this showdown between these two AFC juggernauts. For Week 1 coverage on some of the hottest matchups out in the NFC, check out our previews for Saints vs. Cardinals and Giants vs. Cowboys.
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Baltimore Ravens vs. Denver Broncos Betting Preview and Prediction
Where: Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Denver
When: Sunday, September 13, 2015 4:25 PM ET
Line: Baltimore Ravens (+5) vs. Denver Broncos (-5); total: 49.5 – view all NFL lines
TV Broadcast: CBS
Betting on the Baltimore Ravens
The John Harbaugh era in Baltimore is entering its eighth year now, and the Ravens show no signs of slowing down as one of the top teams in the entire league. The Ravens have not had a losing record under Harbaugh yet, with an 8-8 slate in the 2013 season being their worst outing.
[sc:NFL240banner ]This season, Harbaugh will be accompanied by newly-minted offensive coordinator and “quarterback whisperer” Marc Trestman, who will look to turn Joe Flacco from a Super Bowl-winning quarterback with a good defense behind him to a full-fledged elite QB.
Flacco needs to be on top of his game in Week 1, especially going up against Denver and the ninth-best defense against the pass from last year. One of Flacco’s most defining moments of his career was actually played in Denver during the 2012 AFC Divisional Round of his Lombardi Trophy-winning season – a 38-35 thriller of a victory where he went for 331 yards and three TDs. The game against the Broncos will also be a good test for rookies Breshad Perriman and Maxx Williams as Flacco’s new targets downfield.
The daunting Baltimore D has got to be rock-solid in the first game of the season as well. In 2013’s season opener at Mile High, the Broncos stampeded over the Ravens, 49-24, with Peyton Manning torching them for 445 passing yards and seven(!) touchdowns.
If Baltimore’s secondary can’t contain Manning in Week 1 (the team merely ranked 23rd last season against the pass), expect the stout front seven to do the heavy lifting instead to shut Denver’s decorated QB down. Baltimore had 49 sacks last season, good for second-best in the league.
The total has gone over in the Ravens’ last four games against the Broncos.
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Betting on the Denver Broncos
Four-straight AFC West titles and still no Super Bowl ring to show became head coach John Fox’s undoing in Denver. As such, the Broncos are now looking for some magic from Gary Kubiak, who helped Joe Flacco put up career numbers last season as Baltimore’s offensive coordinator.
Kubiak doesn’t really have to worry about Denver’s passing game, thanks to the immortal Peyton Manning. Although Manning is already 39, he’s certainly not playing up to his age just yet. Last season even marked the fifth-consecutive time that he reached 4,500 passing yards and 33 touchdowns or more in the regular season.
What Denver’s new head coach excels at is revitalizing rushing attacks. He had great success with Arian Foster back in his days with the Texans, and also did wonders for Justin Forsett last season. Running back CJ Anderson will likely see his 849-yard, eight-touchdown numbers from 2014 spike up. But more importantly, an even stronger running game from last season will hopefully divert the opposing defense’s eyes away from the big target on Manning’s head.
The Broncos are monsters on defense, both in the air and on the ground, thanks to stud linebackers Von Miller and Demarcus Ware operating on both ends of the midfield coverage. Denver’s defense ranked third in the league in total yardage given up last season, fifth in number of plays allowed per drive, second in rushing yards allowed, and seventh in interceptions with 16.
Denver is 8-2 straight-up in its past 10 games, but only 4-6 against the spread.
Writer’s Prediction
The Broncos take care of business on both sides of the ball with an impressive 35-14 win over the Ravens.
