Royce Freeman and Phillip Lindsay are value bets for touchdowns

Sky Sports Action, 1.20am Thursday night

The last nine night games in the NFL have yielded an average of nearly 57 points each as dynamic offences have held sway.

However, it looks likely that Denver's trip to Arizona will buck that trend in the first offering of Week Seven. To say they haven't been firing is a bit of an understatement.

The Broncos and the Cardinals have posted just three victories between them in their opening six matches and the boys from Colorado have proved they cannot be backed with any real confidence when they are on the road.

Quarterback Case Keenum has failed to have a great impact after enjoying the best season of his career at Minnesota last year and while they covered the handicap for the first time this season when they went down by three points to the unbeaten Los Angeles Rams last week, they needed a garbage-time touchdown to do it.

Having beaten Seattle and Oakland in the first two weeks, both of whom have proved no great shakes in the opening six weeks, Denver head to the desert having lost their last four games.

The problem for the Cardinals is that their start to the campaign has been even worse.

It looked like being a transitional season in Arizona following the departure of coach Bruce Arians and first-round pick Josh Rosen is slowing getting to grips with life in the pros.

However, only Buffalo have a worse average points tally than the Cards' 13.7 per game and their 220.5 average yards of total offence is the worst in the league.

Their sole victory over San Francisco, who are trying to cope without injured quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, has been the only time they have scored more than 20 points.

Going under a 41.5-point line is likely to be a popular move and this match looks a trappy encounter from a betting perspective.

But it is worth noting that no team have conceded more rushing touchdowns than Arizona's ten, so it is worth taking a chance on Denver's Royce Freeman and Phillip Lindsay, who have been sharing the carries, going over for touchdowns.

Recommendations
R Freeman to score a touchdown
1pt 2-1 Betfair
P Lindsay to score a touchdown
1pt 12-5 Betfair

The lowdown

Venue State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
Surface Grass
Weather Roof likely to be closed
Vegas handicap Denver -1.5
Vegas points line 41.5

Team news
Denver
Guard Ron Leary is out after tearing his Achilles tendon. Linebacker Shane Ray is struggling with an ankle problem while safety Dymonte Thomas (chest) is rated questionable. Receiver Jordan Taylor is out with a hip issue.

Arizona
Guard Justin Pugh has a hand injury and is rated questionable. Tight end Jermaine Gresham (Achilles) and veteran wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald (back) were limited participants in practice on Tuesday.

Key stat
Denver have covered the handicap in just one of their last 12 matches.

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