NFL 2026 · Week 3
Away
LA
Los Angeles Rams
@
Home
DEN
Denver Broncos
Kick-off
Mon 28 Sep, 10:20am AEST
Sun 27 Sep, 8:20pm ET
Venue
Empower Field at Mile High
Spread
DEN +2.5
Total
45.5
LA ML
$1.71
DEN ML
$2.20
AU consensus as of 24/09/2026, 4:05:59 pm

Power Comparison

LARating +6.2
Off EPA/play
+0.113
Def EPA/play
+0.001
Exp points
22.4
Offence by zone
-.12
+.29
+.10
+.06
+.04
+.05
-.09
+.06
+.07
-.01
+.03
-.07
+.04
Defence by zone (EPA allowed)
-.06
-.18
-.29
-.04
-.16
-.13
+.03
-.03
-.04
-.08
-.04
+.05
-.00
DENRating +0.6
Off EPA/play
+0.068
Def EPA/play
+0.056
Exp points
19.6
Offence by zone
+.14
-.20
-.02
+.12
-.05
-.13
-.04
+.03
-.01
+.01
-.03
-.12
+.06
Defence by zone (EPA allowed)
-.30
-.41
-.07
+.14
-.16
-.15
+.04
+.08
+.05
+.14
+.05
-.00
-.09
Zone cells are EPA/play vs league mean, left to right in model order. Green = better for that team. Hover a cell for the zone name.

Matchup Edges

LA offence vs DEN
short-left passing
+0.20 EPA/play
LA offence vs DEN
inside runs
+0.14 EPA/play
DEN offence vs LA
short-left passing
+0.07 EPA/play

Market

Spread (DEN)
Open +2.5 Now +2.5·Move 0.0
AU best
DEN +3 @ $1.75 PlayUp
AU best (other side)
LA -2.5 @ $1.90 PointsBet (AU)
Global best
DEN +3 @ $1.75 PlayUp
Total
Open 45.5 Now 45.0·Move -0.5Moved toward model
AU best over
Over 44.5 @ $1.90 TAB
AU best under
Under 45.5 @ $1.88 TABtouch
Global best over
Over 24.5 @ $1.02 Courtside
AU best LA ML
$1.71 Bet Right
AU best DEN ML
$2.20 Ladbrokes
11 AU books · 33 total · 9 snapshots

The Call

No edge
Model DEN -2.8 · total 42.0
Spread · Analysis
DEN +3
$1.75 PlayUp
Edge +0.2PASS
Total · Analysis
Under 45.5
$1.88 TABtouch
Edge +2.5PASS

Both markets fall short of the model's bar this week. Denver +3 with PlayUp is the best AU line, and the model's edge there is just 0.2 points, nowhere near the threshold. The total gets more attention: TABtouch has Under 45.5 at 1.88, and the model projects 42.0, a 2.5-point edge that's still under the early-season Lean floor of 7 points, so this sits as noted and nothing more. Denver's rating still leans heavily on last season's numbers blended with the market's post-offseason view of each team and scaled by roster continuity, and with only 3,666 plays of 2026 football banked so far, that sample stays largely outweighed by the prior. The season record sits at 1-0 against the spread and 0-0 on totals through week 2.

On last year's charting, Stafford averaged 0.408 EPA per dropback when clean but dropped to -0.334 under pressure. That gap doesn't translate into a market edge worth acting on here, and neither market clears the bar this week.

Why · LA short-left passing (+0.20 EPA/play vs DEN)

Situational

2025 season · FTN charting via nflverse · min 40 snaps per cell (25 for box counts)
LA · 617 dropbacks
Matthew Stafford
Clean pocket EPA/db+0.41 (468 snaps)
Under pressure EPA/db-0.33 (149 snaps)
Pressure rate faced24%
Int-worthy rate2%
Drop rate (catchable)6%
QB-fault sack rate2%
League: +0.26 clean · -0.46 pressured
DEN defence: pressure 35% · blitz 32%
DEN · 638 dropbacks
Bo Nix
Clean pocket EPA/db+0.26 (466 snaps)
Under pressure EPA/db-0.38 (172 snaps)
Pressure rate faced27%
Int-worthy rate3%
Drop rate (catchable)6%
QB-fault sack rate1%
League: +0.26 clean · -0.46 pressured
LA defence: pressure 32% · blitz 20%
LA offence vs DEN coverage
ShellDEN usageLA EPA/dbLeague
Cover 131% (215 snaps)+0.09 (149 snaps)+0.06
Cover 323% (162 snaps)+0.26 (166 snaps)+0.06
Cover 216% (112 snaps)+0.24 (114 snaps)0.00
Cover 49% (61 snaps)+0.34 (65 snaps)+0.07
2-Man7% (50 snaps)+0.07
Cover 07% (45 snaps)+0.10
DEN man coverage 45% · LA vs man +0.12, vs zone +0.28
DEN offence vs LA coverage
ShellLA usageDEN EPA/dbLeague
Cover 328% (184 snaps)+0.09 (205 snaps)+0.06
Cover 224% (160 snaps)+0.06 (182 snaps)0.00
Cover 118% (116 snaps)+0.26 (120 snaps)+0.06
Cover 411% (75 snaps)+0.11 (70 snaps)+0.07
Cover 68% (52 snaps)-0.03
LA man coverage 26% · DEN vs man +0.25, vs zone +0.07
LA tendencies
Play action rate35% · +0.31 vs +0.17 EPA (216 snaps)
RPO rate1% (5 snaps)
Screen rate7% (45 snaps)
Personnel11 60%, 13 31%, 12 9%
Def pressure / blitz / man32% / 20% / 26%
Box vs run, EPA allowedlight -0.08 (265 snaps) · neutral -0.09 (115 snaps) · heavy +0.12 (25 snaps)
DEN tendencies
Play action rate24% · +0.06 vs +0.13 EPA (163 snaps)
RPO rate9% (95 snaps)
Screen rate11% (76 snaps)
Personnel11 65%, 12 14%, 22 8%, 21 8%
Def pressure / blitz / man35% / 32% / 45%
Box vs run, EPA allowedlight -0.09 (238 snaps) · neutral -0.17 (102 snaps)

Model Form

Spread
1-0
Total
0-0
Units
+0.8
2025 season, weeks 6-17, V3 at best available line: 29-18, +17.8% ROI
Weeks 1 to 5 are published analysis-first. Only 3,666 plays of 2026 play-by-play exist so far (weeks 1 to 2), so ratings are still mostly last season's numbers blended with the market's post-offseason view of each team and scaled by roster continuity, with the 2026 sample phased in as it grows. The model alone cannot see coaching, roster or scheme changes - only the market anchor, roster continuity and the manual override tables capture those. In last season's backtest the same approach went 32-46 against the spread and 41-37 on totals over weeks 1 to 5; 53% on totals is break-even at -110. Only edges of 10 points or more are staked (Play) before week 6; a 7-10 point edge is analysis only (Lean), not a tip.

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savvyplays.comPublished 24/09/2026V3.2