Broncos fans in orange jerseys cheer and hold up a homemade sign in a crowd at Super Bowl 50.

Broncos Beat Cardinals 30-16: Jim vs. Harry Fight Over Whether Bo Nix’s Legs Are Ready for the Chiefs

ByJim Balz
Broncos fans cheer with a homemade sign at Super Bowl 50, for our Broncos beat Cardinals recap.
Broncos fans at Super Bowl 50. Orange crowds will be back at Mile High when the Chiefs visit Sunday. Photo: Steve Jurvetson / CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Broncos beat Cardinals 30-16 in the desert on Sunday, and now the Chiefs come to Mile High. Meanwhile the Buffs fell apart in Stillwater, and the twins can’t agree on which Colorado headline matters more. Jim and Harry each say they’re the brains of the operation. The scorecard says Harry. Jim says the scorecard is rigged.

Round 1: Broncos Beat Cardinals on Big Plays

JIM: Final score: Broncos 30, Cardinals 16, and Denver is now 5-2. The play everybody’s going to replay all week: Nix’s touchdown run was the longest of his career, a 62-yard sprint. A quarterback running away from a defense like he’s late for the bus. Beautiful. So much for last week’s Panic Button.

HARRY: Don’t skip the other big one, Jim. RJ Harvey turned a short screen pass into a 52-yard touchdown in the third quarter to make it 20-6. Arizona answered with a Trey McBride touchdown, so Denver went right back down the field on a 76-yard drive, with a 47-yard strike from Nix to Marvin Mims Jr., to push it to 27-13.

JIM: Fine, I’ll give you Harvey. Also, Wil Lutz drilled a 48-yarder to get the scoring started and went 3-for-3 on field goals, because the man is automatic. And the defense hit Jacoby Brissett 12 times. On the injury front, Malcolm Roach got checked for a concussion and came back, and Zach Allen was shaken up late but said he’s fine.

HARRY: For once that’s the responsible take, and I’m writing down the date. I’ll be honest though: yes, the Broncos beat Cardinals on the road, 30-16, but Arizona is now 2-5, so that doesn’t prove much. The real test is next week.

Round 2: Buffs Collapse, and the Rest of Colorado

HARRY: This one hurts. The Buffs led 24-23 at halftime, then Oklahoma State scored all 34 second-half points and won 57-24. Drew Mestemaker threw for 386 yards and four touchdowns, and Sam Keltner went 5-for-5 on field goals. Boulder deserves better than watching a good first half disappear like that.

JIM: Here come the tears. The numbers are rough, though: Colorado didn’t score a single point after halftime, and that’s five straight losses. The Buffs are now 2-5 and 0-4 in the Big 12. Remember Deion’s bye-week fix-it list? Still a work in progress.

HARRY: The rest of the Colorado weekend was mixed. The Nuggets, fresh off our season preview, won a wild one Saturday, beating New Orleans 141-135 in overtime to even their record at 1-1. The Avalanche weren’t so lucky: Nashville beat them 6-2 on Sunday, a week after that shootout loss, with Artturi Lehkonen and Devon Toews scoring for Colorado.

Round 3: Around the NFL

JIM: Here’s the Sunday scoreboard.

WinnerScoreLoser
Broncos30-16Cardinals
Steelers16-10Saints
Falcons29-2049ers
Rams35-21Raiders
Bengals35-13Ravens
Browns27-24Titans
Giants (OT)27-21Texans
Dolphins28-25Jets
Buccaneers43-13Panthers
Vikings16-10Colts
Lions20-17Packers
Seahawks20-3Chiefs

HARRY: Biggest story: the Vikings overcame another sluggish start and stayed unbeaten with a 16-10 win over the Colts, so they’re 6-0 and the last undefeated team in the league. In Detroit, the Lions edged Green Bay 20-17, and Miami got past the Jets 28-25. And keep an eye on this one, Broncos fans: Seattle held the Chiefs to three points in a 20-3 win, right before Kansas City comes to Mile High.

JIM: You left out the 49ers losing in Atlanta, which I’m sure is a coincidence since you rode them all October. For the bigger picture, check The Hairy Times sports page.

Round 4: Prime Time This Week

HARRY: Tonight’s Monday Night Football is Cowboys at Eagles, kicking off at 6:15 p.m. MT (8:15 p.m. ET) on ABC and ESPN, with the ManningCast on ESPN2. Both teams are 2-4, and Tanner McKee starts at quarterback after Jalen Hurts went on injured reserve. It’s the Eagles’ first four-game skid since 2020.

JIM: Thursday, Oct. 29, Week 8 begins with a Thursday showdown between Carolina and Green Bay. NFL.com lists Thursday games at 8:15 PM ET, so that’s 6:15 p.m. MT, and Thursday Night Football has been streaming on Prime Video this season. After that, the big one: Chiefs at Broncos, Sunday, November 1st, 4:25 PM, CBS, which is 2:25 p.m. MT.

Picks and Banter (Opinion, Not Betting Advice)

JIM: Dallas has the arm, and Philly is missing its starter. Jim’s pick: Cowboys. Jim’s pick: Packers on Thursday.

HARRY: You’re underestimating a hurting home crowd that needs this one. Harry’s pick: Eagles. Harry’s pick: Panthers, my bold call, because a team coming off a 43-13 beatdown has something to prove.

Scorecard Check

JIM: Last game we both picked was Oct. 19: 49ers 23, Commanders 17, and we both had San Francisco. Before that, Oct. 17, Utah beat Colorado 27-24. I picked Utah and Harry went with his heart and picked the Buffs. That’s my W2, and I’m 8-9 overall.

HARRY: And I’m 8-6, on a W1, and a perfect 5-0 in the NFL. I’m leading the season series, Jim. Your 3-5 college record is something the Buffs might actually feel sorry for.

Your turn: Think Jim or Harry got it wrong? Make your case in the comments (join the Balz Fan Club free to comment and like the best takes). Want the bigger picture beyond the box score? Read The Hairy Times, our sister paper.

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