Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Broncos POSTCAST: Broncos defense COLLAPSES in second half vs. Chargers

Episode Date: December 20, 2024

The Denver Broncos lost to the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football, 34-27. The Broncos got out to a blazing start, scoring three touchdowns on their first three drives. A late penalty at the end of the first half allowed the Chargers to kick a field goal which essentially switched the momentum of the game. Aniello Piro breaks down the game on tonight's Locked On Broncos POSTCAST. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON today to get 10% off your first month. Hillsdale CollegeAll of Hillsdale’s courses are self-paced so that you can start whenever, and tune in wherever. Plus, you can go deeper with readings, quizzes, discussions - or just enjoy the lectures. Go right now to hillsdale.edu/lockedon to enroll. There’s no cost, and it’s easy to get started.PrizePicksDownload the app and use code lockedonnfl to win $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive your $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLGametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelYou can start the season with a big return on FanDuel. New customers can place a FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - if you win your first FIVE DOLLAR BET ! Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You are Locked-on Broncos Postcast, powered by Mile High Sports, part of Locked-on Sports, Denver, on the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Ooh, that is a brutal way to lose a football game. Welcome on into your Locked-on Broncos Postcast. I am your host, Enelopiro, as the Denver Broncos. so good, so promising there in the first half. But they ultimately collapsed in the second half. Your final score tonight, 34 to 27, as the Los Angeles Chargers steal the victory from the Denver

Broncos. What's going on? Everyone, you can follow me on social media at media by AP. I'm your host, Adela Piro. Do me a favor. Hit that like button, smash that subscribe button. So that way you guys never, ever miss an episode of your Locked on Broncos postcast. But tonight's episode of your lockdown Broncos postcast is brought to you by crossover Thursday

prize picks. Crossover Thursday is presented by prize picks. Download the app and use code locked on NFL to win $50 instantly when you play $5. But man, it looks so good. It looks so good in the first half. You know, the Denver Broncos got out to that blazing start. The charges put up some points out of the gate as well. We know three drives, three scores for the Denver Broncos.

and, you know, the first half, it was a tail of two halves is kind of the simplest way that I can kind of state it. As the Broncos get out to that hot start, but the defense just falls apart, goes soft in the second half. Justin Herbert picks them apart. Gus Edwards runs all over them. His longest rush in over five years, I believe, for Gus Edwards there in the second half, which essentially put the game on ice. Denver unable to convert the onside kick so close to getting the ball back there at the end. but frankly, the defense, man,

just let him down on the second half and also the offense. You know, like I said, it's not just one or the other here. Sorry, I got a text much. I was trying to do a crossover episode with the Chargers, but he's on vacation. So congratulations to Pete. But it's just, you know, the way the game started compared to how it ended, man. I caught a little bit of the post game show here on Amazon Prime.

You know, it looked like the Chargers were asleep. with a wheel to start this game and Denver was fired up. And then once we got to the second half, in particular, the end of the first half, with that gifted three points that the Broncos gave the Chargers, you know, all the momentum just switched. And the second half, the Chargers looked like the team that was fired up, ready to go, try to win this football game. While then we got a bit passive, a bit is a bit soft.

And it is, it is tough. All right, Daniel, we got our first comment of the night. He says, it's time to fire Sean Payton and Vance Joseph. Come on, come on, man. You're not firing Sean Payton or Vance Joseph. It's still a great season. You're still likely going to make the playoffs. Yes, this is a disgusting loss, right?

One that you want to just kind of move on to and forget about short week, whatever might be, but not a fireable offense, in my opinion. Sean Payton's a darn good head coach. And Vance Joseph, you know, is probably going to be a head coach next year in the league. So no, it is not time to fire Sean Payton or Vince Joseph. But, you know, those are the emotions that come out after a loss like this, you know, a game where you had the control. had the lead, you know, a pretty solid lead at that and unable to just kind of close the door

on the Los Angeles Chargers. And I think, you know, this loss also speaks volumes that as fun as this season has been for the Denver Broncos, and it's not over by any stretch. Like I said, they're likely still going to make the playoffs. I believe they still have an 80 plus percent chance to make the NFL postseason. It just reminds you of how hard it is to win on a consistent base in the National Football League. And look, the Chargers had to play a bit desperate tonight. You know, a couple of bad losses in a row for the Chargers. up last week against the bucks. They blew that game. And, you know, it's just one of those situations where, you know, the Chargers just kept their head down and went to work. They kept their head down and went to

work. And Denver just did not respond. They did not respond in a way that they should have, playing with that sense of urgency that they were going to need to win this game. You knew the charges were going to give it their all. And, you know, like I said, the first half looked really good for the Denver Broncos. But, you know, so what made Bo Nix and his offense so successful in the first half was their ability to generate, you know, pretty solid yard is there on first and second down. You know, in the second half, it was Bo Nix, third in seven, third and eight, third and nine, you know, getting pressured more than he wasn't the first half. And he was unable to put the team on his back, you know. And it's just like I said, it's a tail of two halves, an absolute tail of two halves because the first half of this game was great for the Denver Broncos, minus that final sequence there, which led to the gifted three points there. for Los Angeles Chargers.

I've also never seen the free kick formation. And I know they were kind of going crazy about that on the broadcast. I didn't even know that was a rule. Like I don't understand why that's a thing. Like, why is it not just a standard type of field goal formation? Maybe because of the penalty, I don't know. But that right there is where you can sense the momentum shift throughout the course of this game.

Without a doubt as the Broncos man failed to score a touchdown in the second half. They put up 21 points in the first half. Michael Burton scored a touchdown. Audra Guestimated doing his thing. Devon Bailey scored a touchdown. The offense looked great. Good mix of pass and run. Nice balance to this Denver Broncos offense in the first half.

And they just got absolutely trampled in the second half. Only six points collectively for the Broncos, including that final field goal there with about a minute left to play in the game. And that was to kind of set up the onside kick. You know, so they kind of came to prematurely. They were down to score. So you kind of had to do that there for, Patent's hand. Will Lutz makes the kick, but unfortunately, unable to, you know, get the job done here.

So tough loss, 34 to 27. It's a shame, you know, like I said, the Broncos were in control of this game. But, you know, Justin Herbert, we'll get into some of the statistics here in the second half in particular. You know, Bo Nix was not fantastic tonight. He was okay. He was fine. You know, his pass rating was good. Yarders was fine.

but you just saw, you know, cut above was this Chargers offense in the second half. And Denver's defense, which has been the strength of this team for a majority of the season, Swiss cheese in the second half. And that's now a couple of games now where you've had to kind of worry about a few games, right? You got Cleveland, you had the Colts over the weekend. And now you've got this game in the second half in particular where it's like, what's going on with this Denver Broncos defense? I know they're a little banged up, but, you know, they had a turnover there in the first half.

You know, did some good things. mate, you know, a lot of confusion for Justin Herbert. And for whatever reason, the momentum just completely shifted in favor of the Chargers as they go on to win this game 34 to 27, your final score. So a disappointing outcome for the Denver Broncos. But chin up onto the next couple of games left in this regular season, and they still control their own destiny. That's the reality of the situation.

And to kind of put on my optimistic hat, that is the one positive takeaway that you take away from this game, is that the Denver Broncos still control their own destiny. When your next two games, specifically this upcoming game against the Bengals, you can essentially knock them out of playoff contention, as they only had, I believe, a 5% chance entering into this game tonight to make the playoffs. Anyway, Colts, right, less than 20% to make the playoffs. So the Denver Broncos in regards to the playoff hunt are still in good shape, but they could have clinched a playoff berth tonight, right?

Could have not take your foot off the gas, right, but kind of exhale a little bit, right? get to the playoffs, start planning for that. You know, obviously you still worry about your next two games, but you can kind of get that monkey off your back, right? This is a Denver Broncos team that has not made the playoffs since they walked off the field in San Francisco as Super Bowl champions. Super Bowl 50, 2015, 2016 season. The last time the Denver Broncos made the playoffs,

and they were unable to clinch tonight as the Chargers stomp them in the second half, your final score, 3040. 27. But all right, why don't I hit my first break? When we come back, let's dive into some of the statistics tonight in the game, get into some of the X's and O's and talk about why Denver's defense was just unable to get the job done. They had some opportunities. You know, Sean Peyton, Alex to punt there without five minutes left in the fourth quarter. It looks like a good decision at first because they get the chargers to, you know, third down in about 10 yards,

well up against their own end zone. Justin Herbert breaks away for a 15-yard rush. And that's when you kind of knew that this thing was starting to slip away for the Denver Broncos. So go ahead and drop some comments, guys. Let me know how you're feeling out there, Broncos country, as I always like to say, I am the host of the show, but you, the fans, the listeners, the viewers are the ones that help me drive the conversation. So if you're watching live on YouTube, drop some comments, what was your biggest takeaway from the game tonight? Where do you think this thing slipped away? Why do you think this thing slipped away?

Go ahead and drop some comments. Let me know your thoughts and we'll get into it. When we come back right here on the other side on your locked on Broncos postcast. Tough one back in just a moment, folks. Well, this was like a playoff game for the Denver Broncos, but the college football playoffs starts up tomorrow, and you're going to be able to watch the college football playoff on TNT. It's that time of the year.

The college football playoff is back, and with the newly expanded 12-team format, it's guaranteed to be bigger and better than ever bringing you all the hard-hitting and high-flying excitement that you love. TNT sports coverage at the college football playoff begins December the 21st, starting with the college football playoff kickoff. show presented by AT&T at 11 a.m. Eastern leading into our first matchup, the Southern Methodist University Mustangs battling the Penn State Nittney Lions at noon. Then the Clemson Tigers look to

upset the Texas Longhorns in a showdown at 4 p.m. Eastern. Don't miss a moment of the action. Watch the college football playoff presented by Allstate live on TNT, True TV, TBS, and Max. Do not miss out on the basketball playoff. Folks, it's going to be a banger. And let me all. also tell you real quick about our friends over at Hillsdale College, guys, because our sponsor, Hillsdale College is offering more than 40 free. That's right. Free online courses, guys, history, economics, the great works of literature, the meaning of the U.S. Constitution. Did you study these things in school? Probably not, or you need a refresher. Time and technology have changed a lot of things, but they have not changed the basic fundamental truths about the world in our place. And here are just a few of the free courses available at Hillsdale College. Constitution. 101, the meaning and history of the Constitution, introduction to free market economics, the great American story, a land of hope, the rise and fall of the Roman Republic,

that interests me, and a brand new documentary style course on Marxism, socialism, and communism. But all the Hillsdale courses are self-paced so that you can start whenever and tune in whenever. Plus, you can go deeper with readings, quizzes, discussions, or just enjoy the lectures. Go right now to Hillsdale.edu slash

Locked on to enroll. There's no cost and it's easy to get started. That's Hillsdale.edu slash locked on to register his hillsdale. That E, DU slash lockdown. Hillsdale, H-I-L-S-D-A-L-E dot E-D-U slash locked on. Check them out and let him know that Locked-on Broncos sent you. All right. Well, come on back into your locked on Broncos postcast.

One thing I forgot to mention before I went to the break. I want to talk a little bit about the officiating tonight. I know there was a lot of Broncos fans that were upset with the refs and the zebras and the whistles and the lack of flags that were calling the chargers. We'll get into that in this segment here as well throughout the course of the show, rather. But this is your Lockdown Broncos postcast. I am your host, Nilo Piro. You guys can follow me on social media at media by AP.

If you're listening on the Lockdown Broncos podcast feed with my guys, Sarah and Cody, make sure to come over to your Lockdown Sports Denver YouTube channel, though, while you guys never, ever miss an episode of the lockdown on Broncos postcast live and I give you guys the opportunity to interact and engage. So go ahead and drop some comments. Let me know your thoughts here as the Denver Broncos unfortunately losing tonight 34 to 27. And, you know, it was all working in the first half, man. You know, 11, 11 passing plays, 11 rushing plays early on.

Nice split. You know, Sean Payton's playbook was kind of the talk of the town there in the first half, at least from what I saw in social media, he had to run the ball with a couple of exclamation points written on that playbook. and Denver got out to an effective start there in the first half with the rushing attack. And, you know, Audra gets, but like the collective numbers, just nothing to write home about, man. I mean, Adrig estimate nine carries for 48 yards of a touchdown.

A majority of those rushing yards came in the first half. Bo Nix, the Broncos second leading rusher tonight. He had three carries for 25 yards. Javonset Williams only four for 24. Blake Watson, four for 10. Marvin Mims had one carry as well for three yards. So only 100. I shouldn't say only 110 yards of rushing off.

It's not the worst thing in the world. The charges only rushed for a buck 17. But the difference was the chargers, in particular, Gus Edwards, broke through when they needed to most on the ground. Late in the fourth quarter there, you know, after the Justin Herbert scramble for a first down where, you know, it was third and long and the Broncos had a chance there. You know, Gus Edwards explodes for a chunk run that really put this game on ice, you know, followed up there by a touchdown for the Los Angeles Chargers.

and you're starting to think to yourself, wow, like this one really got away from the Denver Broncos. And Justin Herbert made some sick throws tonight, man, you know, some sick throws. That late touchdown pass there in the second half was absolutely phenomenal. Justin Herbert's a great quarterback. He's a great quarterback. And, you know, he's been banged up with the ankle injury throughout the course of the season as well. But it's just one of those situations where I don't know what happened to this Denver Broncos defense. That's what you're trying to wrap your head around.

And I saw we had a comment here earlier talking about that was the worst coach game in Vance Joseph history. Do you remember the Miami Dolphin lost last year, buddy, where the dolphins hung 70 on them? I definitely remember that. But this was definitely, you know, one of the worst performances from the Broncos defense in the Vance Joseph era. You know, dating back to last year, I'm not going to include his tenure as head coach just because it was a much different team, different personnel, whatever might be. But very uncharacteristic of the Broncos today. You know, you had Drew Sanders coming up with a big sack there in the fourth quarter, which made you feel. like some momentum was coming back on the side of the Denver Broncos,

but at the end of the day, it just was not enough as the chargers were able to get chunk play after chunk play after chunk play. Ladd McClachie just gassed this Denver Broncos defense today. He had six receptions for 87 yards. That's an average of 14 and a half yards per reception. I mean, they have, let's see here, the chargers of guys that had multiple receptions, one, two, three, four, five different wide receivers that had an average reception of over 10 yards. Like I said, Ladd-McClocki, average of 14 and a half yards per reception. Joshua Palmer had three for 41, an average of 13.7 yards per reception. Asan Haskins, two for 39, 19 and a half yards per reception. Stone Smart, three receptions for 37 yards. That's 12.5. Darius Davis, two for 31, 15 and a half. I mean, and that's the other thing. There was another two players in Tucker Fisk and Scott Matlock that each had one reception for 10 yards. I mean, just big time plays.

being given up by the Denver Broncos. And look, I know that they've been down Riley Moss now for quite some time. You hope to get him back sooner rather than later because he's obviously going to help out and trying to limiting some of these opposing teams passing attacks. But man, the Broncos, when they needed to get a stop, when they needed to get pressure really outside of that Drew Sanders sacked during the fourth quarter, unable to do so. And, you know, let's talk about the officiating here real quick as well. There was that one play, you know, Marvin Mims run the out and up. Bow Nicks delayed throw, right?

Like he had him wide open. That was probably a touchdown if he hits him in stride. And Marvin Mims has got that blazing speed as we all know about. And that's why you love having Marvin Mims on this roster, even though you'd like to see some more out of him. But he brings that explosive dynamic to this Denver Broncos team. And there was clear P.I. on that play, man.

And I'm not one to ride home about the officiating, right? Like you should be good enough to beat the refs. Like you should are not beat the rep. But beat the opposing team without the help of the refs, right? But that was a clear PI, man. And let me confirm this. I believe the charges only had one total penalty today for, I believe, a total of three yards. Or they ended up having two.

But that second penalty there came at the very end of the game. But only two penalties for eight total yards called on the Los Angeles chargers today, whereas the Broncos had seven penalties for 61 yards that they gifted. to the Los Angeles Chargers in that sense. So, look, that was the only real clear play that I, you know, have a real beef with. I thought that was clear pass interference on Marvin Mims when they slow it down. Yes, it wasn't under throw. Let's get that out of the way.

100%. It wasn't underthrow. But Marvin Mims had his, I think that was his left arm just being held down. He's trying to turn around and make the catch. The defender never turned around and try to make a play on the ball. I mean, that is textbook pass interference. Textbook P.I. And so, you know, there's a lot.

lot of rumors going around that, you know, maybe there was a lot of money on the Broncos in Vegas, right? So I don't buy any of that. But it is interesting, you know, kind of the difference, the discrepancy, rather, in the calls that went for the Broncos versus the calls that went against the Broncos. But the one PI play there, the whole, which was very obvious to be on Marvin Mims, not being called. That is frustrating for sure. But again, the Broncos offense just wasn't good enough. They only put up six points total in the second half, including, you know, essentially a throwaway field goal there to try to set up the onside kick. So, you know, just not enough juice from this Denver Broncos offense in the second half.

The first half was great. You know, three touchdowns and three drives to open up the game. You absolutely love that for Denver. But the second half, man, the Chargers just wanted it more. Bow Nix finishes 29 for 40, 263 passing yards. Two touchdowns, no interceptions. You like to see that. And a pass rating of 106.6.

We went over the rushing attack. I mean, Audrake estimated got out to a good start. But Denver, you know, after they got down in this game in the second half with the charges just kind of ridden up the score there a little bit. They had to abandon the run, and they weren't able to get anything going for the most part. You know, Marvin Nims led the team in receiving this tonight here on Thursday night of football, three receptions for 62 yards, Cortland Sutton 5 for 50,

and Javonte Williams is your third leading receiver tonight, 7 for 29. So look, Denver is a flawed roster, and they're still going to make the playoffs, right? You're feeling pretty good about their chances, but it's clear, especially in games like these, where the deficiencies that this Broncos team has in in regards to a lack of weapons on offense become very, very, very clear. And that's going to become a lot better once we get to the offseason, right? Some Russell West, or Russell Westper, I got to do nuggets after this. I'm in nuggets, but what's the score that game, by the way?

I saw that it was knotted up or close to knotted up there at half. I know the avalanche laws tonight as well. Oh, look at that. The Nuggets are losing to the Portland Trailblazers is 106 to $19. So it's looking like it's going to be a sad night in Denver sports. But, man, the Broncos got some issues. They've got some issues that they're going to have to clean up and do it quickly.

They're still 9 and 6. Like I said, you know, an 80 plus percent chance to make the NFL postseason. So you're in pretty good shape in regards to that. And this season, look, I'm not trying to have my negative Nancy hat on, regardless of how the season ends. You know, it's still a positive in regards to what you've seen with the growth in this franchise and this organization. This is a team that a lot of people thought was going to be one of if not the

worst team in football this year because of their roster. And, you know, they've had some big injuries, right? Riley-Maz's been playing. Alex Singleton's been out for the majority of the year. So they're going to have to continue to kind of face this But tonight, man, they just ran out of gas. And they got out to a good start just looking they took their, not even ran out of gas, they just took their foot off the gas, rather.

And they allowed the Los Angeles Chargers to come storming back to win this game. Your final score tonight, 34 to 27. But all right, I'm going to hit my final break. When we come back, we'll get ready to put a bow on the show. A couple of big picture closing thoughts here. Take a look at the next couple of games here for the Broncos, as we'll have more than a week to prepare for the Cincinnati Bengals with only two games remaining in the NFL regular season for the Denver Broncos.

So you've got any thoughts. Go ahead and drop those. We'll come back and do just that right here on your Locked on Broncos postcast. Back at just a moment, folks. All right, you guys, real quick, let me tell you about our friends over at Fanduel. Get ready to tackle the NFL action with Fandul, America's number one sportsbook,

because right now, new customers can bet $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if you win. The Fandul Sportsbook app gives you everything you need. need to place live bets on the NFL all in one place. So when you get a hunch in the middle of the game, you can check out the latest stats if you live play by play and so much more on the same page where you place your bets. Just visit faddual.com to join today and you'll get started with $150 in bonus bets if you win your first $5 bet. That's fan duel.com.

Never waste to hunch and make every moment more with Fandul an official sportsbook partner of the NFL. And I'll be the first to admit it. I'll live bet the Broncos when they were down in this. game in the second half. I thought they would come storming back. I have the chargers. We're going to charger. That was not the case. But either way, you know, that's part of the fun here with our friends over at Fan Duel. Never bet more than you can afford to lose, right? It stinks to lose a bet.

But it's all in good fun. And I'm an active fan dual user. It is my personal favorite sports, but we're going to get right back on the train. We've got college football playoff. We've got NFL football this weekend as well. So check out our friends over at Fan Duel and let him know that Lockedon Broncos sent you. Okay, well, come on back into your Lockdown Broncos Postcast. I am your host. Anello Piro. You guys can follow me on social media at media by AP. And make sure to hit that like button, smash that subscribe button, guys.

So that way you never, ever miss an episode of your Locked on Broncos postcasts. They unfortunately lose tonight to the Los Angeles Chargers, your final score 34 to 27. And, you know, it's a tough one. It's a deflating loss, you know. Usually I'm all pumped up even after a loss, but it's one of those where you're kind of just sitting here scratching your head. Like, how did this happen? How did the Denver Broncos defense get so soft? I can understand the Broncos often struggling, right?

Rookie quarterback, lack of weapons. We've been talking about that. But at the end of the day, man, that is a frustrating way to lose a football game, especially when you have a spot in the postseason, essentially on the line here. The Broncos could have clinched with a win. But a couple of games here left to end the year at the Bengals

and then at home versus the Chiefs. You're almost rooting for the Chiefs to lock in that one seat because they're not going to play any of their starters in that season finale. but you also hope the Broncos are clinching, I've clinched the playoffs at that point. So now the pressure goes up to perform well and get a dub against the Kansas City, or against the Cincinnati Bengals, excuse me.

And, you know, I thought the Chargers defense, you know, coming into this game, the Broncos, the Chargers, and the Eagles were all tied and the fewest points allowed across the NFL from a defensive perspective. And like I said, the first half, the Broncos offense was kind of flexing their muscles a little bit. They were looking real good, you know,

coming out here, nice trick plays, not trick plays, but just solid play calling and sequencing from Sean Payton, good balance of run and pass. And then it was like the complete opposite there in the second half. It was Justin Herbert's time. It was the Chargers time. It was Gus Edwards time. And, you know, that's how you get to your final score here tonight of 34 to 27 on Thursday night football.

But kind of in closing. Season's not over. Far from over. They got to pick themselves up by their bootstraps, get a little bit of extra rest. And I remember this Sean Peyton quote, because remember this game tonight was flexed in to Thursday night football. It was initially supposed to be the Bengals against the Browns. And I remember Sean Peyton having a quote about how he wanted to put the Broncos in the

situation in particular because he wanted to see how the team and Bo Nix would respond to playing under the pressure. And if tonight is any indicator of how the Broncos are going to play under pressure, you get a little worried. And the one other thing that you get concerned about with this Denver Broncos team is who they've beat this season. A lot of their wins, a majority of their wins, there's actually only one win that they've had this season

against a team that currently has a winning record. And that came in week three against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when Denver was playing a little desperate after starting out the year, 0 and 2. They beat the Jets, no good. They beat the Raiders who are not good. They beat the Saints who are not good. Panthers better, but not good.

Right? You lose to the Ravens, you lose to the Chiefs back-to-back weeks. You beat the Falcons, not very good. Raiders, again, not very good. Browns, bad. Colts middling. So the Denver Broncos have yet to really, outside of the buccaneers early in the season,

they have struggled against quality opponents. And look, I don't know how it's all going to shake out right now, but I know entering into this game, have the season ended before the game tonight. You'd have to go play Mike Tom and the Pittsburgh Steelers. And you're going to be on the road for that game. How is Denver going to respond against teams that play good football?

They should have beat the Chiefs, but they didn't. A loss is a loss. It's in the books. Should have beat the trives. Chargers tonight. A loss is a loss. Should it be the charges of the first time around?

You lost that game too. So it makes you wonder what this Denver Broncos team is going to be like come playoff time if they get that far, which I think they will. They have an 80 plus percent chance to make the NFL playoffs.

But it's just one of those dynamics where you let one get away from you tonight. You let one get away from it. And now we have to see how they're going to respond. You know, good teams in the face of adversity figure out a way to get it going. The Chargers tonight play with their backs against the wall.

a couple of bad losses in a row for them. They had to have this game tonight. They would have been in decent shape to make the playoffs even if they had lost because of the Broncos win last week against the Colts and the Bengals needing a ton of different things to play out in order to make the playoffs. So the Chargers and Broncos are both likely going to make the playoffs.

But you saw tonight that the Charters have an ability when they're down in these games to flip a switch and play competitive football, unlike the Broncos who let their foot off the gas and let this one get away from them. So we'll see. Bowenicks has got to be better. The defense has got to be better.

Sean Payton has to be better. But it's Joseph has to be better if this Denver Broncos team not only wants to make the playoffs, but try to find some success in the NFL playoffs. It's a different beast when you get to the postseason, folks. So go ahead and get some rest. Tough night in the Denver sports team nuggets currently down to the Blazers avalanche bad tonight as well. And do the Broncos not much better as they lose to the Los Angeles Chargers? Your final score tonight, 34 to 27 Denver.

are now nine and six on the year. The Chargers also now nine and six. Denver now 500, four and four on the road. Where do they go from here? We'll find out in a little over a week as the Denver Broncos get ready to take on the Cincinnati Bengals. But all right,

folks, that is going to do it for me. Really appreciate y'all. I'm going to be back live here in just a moment, doing Lockdown Nuggets Postcast as well. So if you're a Nuggets fan and you want to vent about that, we'll talk a little Zach Levine, some trade rumors. Stick around for that right here on your Lockdown Sports Denver YouTube channel. Make sure to hit that like,

hit that subscribe button. You guys can also follow. me on social media at media by AP. That's all she wrote tonight, folks. Broncos lose 3427 on to the Bengals. We'll talk to you guys then on your lockdown Broncos postcast. Have a good one, folks.