Denver Broncos at New Orleans Saints: What to watch for

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Who: Denver Broncos (6-3) at New Orleans Saints (4-4)

What: NFL Week 10

When: 11 a.m. MDT, Sunday, Nov. 13

Where: Mercedes-Benz Superdome

TV: CBS

Announcers: Jim Nantz, Phil Simms

Radio: KOA (850 AM), The Fox (103.5 FM)

Odds: Saints -3, O/U 49

Notable:

• The Orange & Blue are 8-2 all-time against the Saints, tied for the franchise’s second-highest win percentage (.800) against another team. Denver’s 8-1 (.850) all-time mark against the Cardinals tops the list.
• The Broncos are an AFC-best 15-4 against NFC foes in the regular season since the start of the 2012 season. The Saints, meanwhile, are 8-11 vs. AFC foes during that same span, including a 1-2 mark this season with a win at San Diego (35-34) and losses to the visiting Raiders (35-34) and host Chiefs (27-21).
• New Orleans QB Drew Brees is 2-7 in nine career starts against the Broncos, including 0-2 (both in Denver) while with the Saints. Brees only has five TD passes in those nine games to go along with six interceptions and 1,738 passing yards (193.1 per contest).
•  The Saints are 4-1 since starting the season 0-3 while the Broncos are 2-3 since starting 4-0.

What to Watch For

• Points needed – During the Sean Payton/Drew Brees Era (2006-present), the Saints have averaged 29.6 points per regular-season home game, which ranks second only to the Patriots’ 30.3 average during that span. This season, that New Orleans average is 33 points per contest, including 25 two weeks ago against the Seahawks, the league’s third-ranked scoring defense (and league leader each season from 2012-15) at 16.8 points allowed per outing. With the help of three defensive TDs, Trevor Siemian and the Broncos are averaging 23.8 points per contest (13^th in the league) but that average is 20.6 over their last five outings, three of which were losses. New Orleans currently surrenders the NFL’s third-most points per game at 29.8, but then again, the Broncos have been unable to take advantage of the sub-par scoring defenses of the Falcons, Raiders and Chargers in their three losses.
• Rushing yards differential – A week ago, the Raiders rolled up a whopping 218-33 rushing-yardage advantage in their 30-20 win in Oakland. Earlier in the day, the Saints did the same across The Bay, outrushing the host 49ers 248-93 in a 41-23 road win. The 249-yard total, which featured a combined 245 yards and two TDs from RBs Mark Ingram and Tim Hightower, represented the best ground effort by a Saints squad since Nov. 4, 1990. That’s bad timing for the banged-up Broncos defense, which will be without defensive end Derek Wolfe and top cornerback Aqib Talib and has surrendered an average of 160.3 rushing yards per game over their last three outings while slipping to 30^th overall against the run (128.6 yards allowed) on the season. Even at 37, Brees remains the most feared offensive weapon in the Big Easy, but over the last two games, the Saints actually have three more runs than passes (77-74), so expect the hosts to test the Denver run D early and often Sunday morning.
• Turnover tale – The Orange & Blue rank fifth in the league with 16 takeaways and have turned those turnovers into an NFL-most 80 points. Denver also has won a league-most 27 straight games when coming out on top in the turnover battle. But the big problem in Oakland last Sunday night is that the Broncos failed to force a single turnover – snapping a streak of 14 straight games with at least one fumble recovery or interception. The Saints, meanwhile, only have nine turnovers (four interceptions and five fumbles) this season, including only one the last two weeks. The Broncos must find a way to take the ball away a couple times Sunday in order to avoid heading into their bye week on their second two-game losing streak of the year.