Saints' estimated injury report should guarantee a Broncos' victory

The New Orleans Saints and Denver Broncos kickoff Week 7 of the 2024 NFL Season, and the Saints' estimated injury report may make your jaw drop. Neither the Broncos nor Saints practiced on Monday, but both teams have estimated injury reports, which is exactly how it sounds.

If the teams were to practice, the injury report is a good indicator of who would be practice and who would not be. Check out the Saints' report from Monday:

The Saints are banged up to say the least...

Six notable players would not have practiced and another eight would be limited. This is pretty big news for the Denver Broncos. However, Denver lost CB Patrick Surtain II on the first play of the game. He's on concussion protocol and likely does not have enough time to clear protocol before the game.

It does look like Denver should get Alex Palczewski back, though, which would be a nice boost. The team's offensive line wasn't at their best in Week 6, as Bo Nix was forced to make a ton of plays from outside the pocket. Nix hasn't been that great from the pocket, but the poor OL play in Week 6 made things worse.

The Broncos are still 3-3 on the season and have a legitimate shot to get to 4-3 after Week 7. Not only are the Saints horribly banged-up, but they are likely again starting rookie QB Spencer Rattler, who made his first NFL start in a Week 6 blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Rattler threw two interceptions in that game and could throw more picks on Thursday. Even without Patrick Surtain II, Denver's defense should be just fine. The Saints could be without their top two wide receivers in Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed, so that definitely softens the blow of not having PS2 out there.

Still, though, Levi Wallace would likely get the nod in that case, and Wallace is a strong veteran option. What I have noticed is that for the most part, Denver's not really been hammered by injuries. They have lost some players to IR, but guys like Mike McGlinchey and Baron Browning can come back soon.

After winning three games in a row, the Broncos losing one should not be unexpected. This team is still starting a rookie QB and still trying to figure thing out on offense. They should, however, come away with a victory in Week 7. This would get them to 4-3 on the season and an additional two days of rest in before their Week 8 game at home against the Carolina Panthers.