Commanders vs. Broncos Point Spread: NFL Week 2 Odds, Prediction
The Washington Commanders and Denver Broncos meet in a big spot for Sean Peyton’s Broncos who remain in the hunt for their first victory. Washington squeaked out a Week 1 win over lowly Arizona, while the Broncos fell 17-16 for their second straight season opener. So the pressure remains on in Denver and Washington continues to play with house money while trotting out 2022 fifth-round pick Sam Howell at quarterback.
Kickoff at Empower Field at Mile High begins at 4:25 p.m. EDT with the Broncos getting over a field goal on the spread. Denver is currently -3.5 and the total’s at 39 on the NFL odds.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Washington and Denver shared their Week 1 fates when it came to not covering their spreads and having their season openers finish under the total. Neither team hit over 20 points in Week 1, which is a lot of the same for these two bottom-nine offences from a season ago.
The Commanders dropped to 1-5 ATS in their last six outings overall. Denver is 2-5 ATS in their last seven home games but are 6-1 outright in their last seven times hosting Washington. Seven of Denver’s last 10 meetings with NFC opponents have finished under the total, as have seven of Washington’s last eight clashes with an AFC team. Washington is 1-8 ATS in their last nine September outings.
Washington Commanders
With 210 yards allowed the Commanders gave up the fourth-fewest yards in Week 1 and their defence got some huge plays down the stretch, recovering a fumble with under five minutes remaining to keep their one-possession lead and seal the win. The Commanders entered the final quarter trailing 16-10 but scored 10 unanswered points as Sam Howell’s six-yard touchdown run ended up as the game-winning score. Howell also threw a touchdown pass to Brian Robison Jr. in the first quarter.
Robinson Jr. saw a ton of the workload in the backfield, carrying the ball 19 times for 59 yards compared to Antonio Gibson’s three carries. Washington still failed to reach 250 yards of offence themselves, a task that will likely be harder to come by at Denver.
Denver Broncos
Russell Wilson’s stat line wasn’t anything impressive in Week 1 as he had 27 completions for 177 yards, but where the franchise pivot did improve is in his touchdown-interception ratio. Wilson tossed two touchdowns in the loss and didn’t turn the ball over. But 177 yards of passing is still nowhere near Wilson’s standards, nor is a 16-point losing performance. To be fair the Broncos did miss a field goal and extra point in a one-point loss.
Courtland Sutton led all Broncos receivers with 32 receiving yards, which again is way too low. One bright spot for Denver was free agent addition Samaje Perine, who led all pass-catchers with 37 receiving yards and added 41 rushing yards on eight carries. Javonte Williams still saw the majority of carries with a team-high 13 rushes and 52 rushing yards. The stat don’t matter though. For Denver it’s all about winning football games. With Peyton leading the charge and Wilson in year two in Denver, losing more than winning is unacceptable.
WAS
DEN