At least the Denver Broncos will have the attention of all Colorado sports fans on Monday night.
With the World Series ending in a sweep,'Monday Night Football' has the stage to it self (and will start at the normal 8:30 p.m. ET) when Denver hosts Green Bay Packers, with the Broncos -3 at WagerWeb.com.
Denver is 3-3 and had a possible season-saving home win over Pittsburgh last week. The Broncos are averaging 130.7 rushing yards per game (ninth in the NFL), mostly behind Travis Henry.
However, Henry, the NFL's sixth-leading rusher, is iffy for the game. He injured his ribs last week against Pittsburgh. He will take a painkilling injection, and then warm up to see if he will be able to play. The Broncos are saying he is a game-time decision, although Henry claims he will play: "most definitely."
If Henry isn't able to go, rookie Selvin Young (139 rushing yards, 10 receptions) would receive the bulk of the backfield work.
No Henry could put the burden of the Denver offense on the passing game and QB Jay Cutler. Cutler (1,406 yards, 7 TDs, 8 INTs) has been inconsistent but is coming off a 22-of-29 game for 248 yards and a career-best three touchdowns against the Steelers.
Green Bay, coming off a bye week but entering a stretch of six games in 32 days, is giving up 100.2 rushing yards per game (11th overall) and has allowed just one opposing running back (Minnesota's Adrian Peterson) to eclipse the century mark.
Four of the Packers' six opponents have failed to rush for more than 3.6 yards per carry, and only two teams this season have topped 100 yards rushing against the Packers - the Eagles (103 yards) and the Vikings (155).
“Their defensive line is exceptional,' Denver coach Mike Shanahan said.
As good as the Green Bay rushing defense has been, that's how bad the Packers' rushing offense is.
They have just 394 rushing yards on the season, fewer than 19 individual players, and are last in the NFL in averaging 65.7 yards per game.As a result, the offense has turned to QB Brett Favre, passing the ball 68.1 percent of the time this season, the most in the NFL.
"The run game is something we've addressed over and over again," McCarthy said. "I think there needs to be more of a commitment from myself, the play-caller, and we need to do a better job of fundamentals."
However, Denver's defense is yielding a league-worst 176.2 rushing yards per week.
Behind Favre, the Packers are No. 2 in the league in passing offense, averaging more than 273 yards.
Favre (1,715 passing yards, 9 TDs, 6 INTs) got off to a fantastic start but has struggled a bit lately, throwing four interceptions and only one TD in the past two games.
The three-time league MVP, however, is looking to bounce back from his worst game of the season.
Favre was 19-for-37 for a season-low 188 yards with two interceptions in Green Bay's 17-14 win over Washington on Oct. 14.
“Brett Favre is Brett Favre,' Broncos safety Nick Ferguson said. “It's hard to have a negative comment about the guy. He's great. He's done so much and proven so many people wrong.'
Denver could be missing premier cornerback Champ Bailey on Monday night, which would be huge. Bailey has been hobbled by a lingering thigh injury, and isn't sure if he'll miss his second straight game.
Bailey is a big reason the Broncos allow the second-fewest passing yards (164.7) in the league.
“I feel better than last week,' he said. “It's still up in the air.'
The lowdown: Denver has a 5-4-1 edge in its all-time regular season series with Green Bay. The home team is 9-0-1 in the all-time series, and Green Bay is 0-5 in Denver all-time. Favre is 17-15 all-time on Monday nights, but has lost his five appearances. This will be Cutler's first start against Green Bay and first Monday night game, and the Broncos, with Henry and Bailey, will cover.
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