Today at TheRX, we take a look at Sunday’s late Football game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Denver Broncos.
So far in their short campaigns, points have been in short supply, as both teams have gone 50/50 in their opening two weeks, but equally, both franchises would have been pleased to get their first wins of their Super Bowl LVII campaigns on the board in week 2 after a poor NFL Week 1.
San Francisco 49ers vs. Denver Broncos
Sunday, September 23, 2022 – 11:20 PM at Empower Field
- • Spread: San Francisco 49ers +2 – Denver Broncos -2
- • Total: Over/Under 43
San Francisco 49ers Team Analysis
The San Francisco 49ers would have been relieved to get their first win on the board for their 2022/2023 campaign with a comfortable home-field victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
Will Trey Lance’s Awful Injury Be a Blessing in Disguise for the 49ers?
It was sickening to see the San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Trey Lance, suffer a broken ankle in week 2 of the NFL season on Sunday. It does beg the question, will the injury be a blessing in disguise for the San Francisco 49ers who have the ablest deputy in the NFL, Jimmy Garoppolo?
No franchise has the strength in depth for the pivotal quarterback position that the San Francisco 49ers do, and that combination took the West Coast side close to a second Super Bowl berth in recent years, which would have been Garoppolo’s second Super Bowl after 2019.
Garoppolo’s presence in the starting lineup this week will bring Deebo Samuel’s wide receiving skills into full view as they have formed a great understanding over the years.
There can be no doubt, that head coach Kyle Shanahan is one of the best young coaches in the NFL, bringing a renewed sense of hope to the 49ers in recent years that great days are ahead for the West Coast side since his 2017 appointment. Shanahan will be keen to build some early season momentum, after last season’s stuttering start.
Denver Broncos Team Analysis
Similar to their opponents, the Denver Broncos would have been pleased to get their season’s opening win at the expense of the Houston Texans after an opening week reverse against the Seattle Seahawks.
Broncos Will Need to up Their Game
Funnily enough, I was not keen on the Broncos’ opening week chances with the irony attached to star quarterback, Russell Wilson’s debut on a road trip to his previous franchise where he spent many happy years before his acrimonious departure.
That leads me to easily forgive the week 1 effort from the Broncos and we’ve yet to see Wilson’s best.
Despite the lack of points scored, there has been promise in the way both new wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton have settled in while forming an understanding with Wilson.
There is room for optimism in Denver if head coach Nathaniel Hackett can embrace the attacking tactics required to fit his new players.
That’s where there is a little concern at the Broncos, because scoring points has been a problem for a while under Hackett.
How Do the Teams Match Up?
This looks like a case of the away franchise having the better attacking options through a head coach whose inclination is to put points on the board.
In contrast, Denver Broncos head coach, Nathaniel Hackett has yet to prove he’s offensively good enough for the NFL, but there are no such concerns for the home side’s defensive capabilities.
49ers vs. Broncos: Our Betting Picks
With Jimmy Garoppolo back in the San Francisco 49ers fold, it may take a week or two for his prodigious throwing arm to settle back into routine and an away trip to Denver is hardly the best place to visit when in need of match practice.
With that in mind, the team who looks likely to be the highest scoring of the two over the season, may not be at their potent best this week.
That will fit nicely into Nathaniel Hackett’s remit because the last thing the Denver Broncos head coach wants, is an open attacking game of football.
For those reasons I’m leaning toward two bets that I like for this Sunday Night Football match. The first is that the Denver Broncos will grind out a low-scoring victory and Unibet has a great price of -120 available.
As we mentioned, it often takes Jimmy Garoppolo a few weeks to find his best game and if I’m right, we should go under the total points of 43.5 at Caesars Sportsbook’s price of -110.
NFL Pick: Broncos ML (-120) at Unibet
NFL Pick: Under 43.5 Points (-110) at Caesars Sportsbook
