Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - BRONCOS SQUAD SHOW: Are the Broncos READY for the Seahawks?

Episode Date: October 13, 2026

Get ready for a special edition of the BRONCOS SQUAD SHOW as we dive deep into the Denver Broncos’ Thursday Night Football matchup with the Seattle Seahawks! Are the Broncos truly ready to bounce back on the national stage? We break down key matchups, injury updates, what to expect from Bo Nix and the offense, and why this game could define the rest of Denver’s season.  From the latest on the Broncos’ inconsistent offense to how Denver’s defense matches up against Sam Darnold and the Seahawks’ explosive attack, Aniello Piro, Sayre Bedinger and Nick Ferguson have you covered with analysis, hot takes, and bold predictions. Don’t miss our keys to victory, players to watch, and what the Broncos need to prove on TNF. Drop your score predictions in the comments and tell us—are you confident Denver will show up on primetime? Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Tempo For a limited time, Tempo is offering my listeners SIXTY PERCENT OFF your first box! Go to http://TempoMeals.com/LOCKEDON60. Quo Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months when you go to http://Quo.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Odoo Great organizations win because operations matter. And that’s why you should get Odoo. Try for free today at https://Odoo.com/lockedon. Butcher Box If you're looking for an easier way to get great meals on the table, give ButcherBox a try. Go to https://ButcherBox.com/LOCKEDONNFL to get $20 off your first box, plus your choice of free ribeye, new york strip, or filet mignon in every box for a year — with free shipping always. Apple You can earn up to 3% unlimited Daily Cash back on every purchase you make with Apple Card using Apple Pay. Apply in the Wallet app on your iPhone today. Subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank, USA. Salt Lake City Branch. Terms and more at apple-card-dot-com. https://learn.applecard.apple/unlimited-daily-cash?cid=apy-318-2000008800000-400000000000039&itscg=2030032&itsct=srvs-crd-P3004756-C3004897&mttnagencyid=c1a&mttnsiteid=133087&mttnpid=LockedOn%20%28Audio%29&mttnsubad=srvs-crd-P3004756-C3004897&mttnsubplmnt=&mttncc=US PrizePicks Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFL and use code LOCKEDONNFL and get $150 if you win your first $5 lineup! KALSHI Today's episode is brought to you by Kalshi. For a limited time, Download Kalshi and use code Locked On to get $25 when you trade $25. Kalshi. Trade what’s next. Gametime Today's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. FanDuel Get three hundred fifty dollars in Bonus Bets — GUARANTEED — when you bet five dollars every day for seven days. Join all the action at https://FANDUEL.COM 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.

I'm Anilo Piro and the Denver Broncos are gearing up for a primetime fight on a short week. I'm Sarah Bedinger. Hey, they're putting the throwbacks to the test this week. Why lose now? You haven't done it yet. I'm Nick Ferguson and I love defense. Let's talk about it all on today's Lockdown Broncos Squad show. Let's go, fellas.

From the South Stans, it's the Broncos squad. Everything Denver Broncos every week. Covering all the big hits and game changes. plays from the Mile High City, the way only the locked on podcast network can. Gear up and squad up. The Broncos squad show starts now. It is you are locked on Broncos squad show. Hope everyone is doing well out there in and around Broncos country.

We're back on our normal day for our second show of the week, but we usually tend to look forward and spin it forward on this show. But, you know, this game is right on the doorstep here with the Denver Broncos, ready to take on the Seattle Seahawks here on Thursday night football. So we'll go ahead and break it down. We'll preview it. It will give you everything you need to know leading up to this matchup. But Elop Piro, Sarah Beniger, Nick Ferguson, the three amigos here today on your Lockdown Broncos Squad Show.

And today's episode is brought to you by our friends over at Calci for a limited time, download Calci and use code lockdown to get $25 when you trade $25. Calci trade what's next. Okay, fellas, the dust has settled. They're three and two. They've got a big test coming up this week against Seattle, who's coming off a loss, which maybe adds a little bit more intrigue to this one. And as Sarah alluded to,

a pretty fabulous uniform matchup going to be on display here on the gridiron on Thursday. Big game, fellas. What's up? Big game, obviously, you got both teams rocking the throwback. So this is the uniform matchup that everybody has been anticipating all year long in the NFL. And, you know, somebody's got to come away from this game four and two. So why not the Denver Broncos, right? Obviously, there's not a ton of confidence in the offense right now to say the least.

I've been doing my best to stay off the old Twitter machine guys other than, you know, watching Nick's run game breakdown and watching some content from other friends around there. But it's dark times when it comes to the perception of this Broncos offense, the perception of Sean Payton, the perception of Boe Nicks, right? So going up against a Seattle Seahawks team with Mike McDonald calling the defense, number one in the league and takeaways. It's not exactly feeling like everybody in Broncos country is like, man, we're going to go out there and upset the Seattle Seahawks because they are home underdogs.

So, you know, what I think it is. I feel like it's time for the old overdogs to make an appearance here on Thursday night. Yeah, that is going to be very interesting. and I know, I mean, Empire Field is going to be loud. And if it was anything in the Nello, you were there, and just kind of to describe it to say, I mean, it was very difficult to hear. Now, that was in the fourth quarter.

The first three quarters, oh, you can hear almost anything, right? You can hear a rat piss on cotton. You can also get fans booing as well. But when you think about what this game has to be for the Denver Broncos, both teams are three and two. Both teams are desperate for a win. especially the Seattle Seahawks because they feel as though they had that game in the graphs last week against a 49ers. So now 5 and 0, another team that the Broncos actually played and they played well based on their defensive prowess,

but they're often still struggled downstretched to make plays. And then special teams, you know, it presented somewhat of an issue. Now, when you think about what's on Darren Rizzie's mind because there's no Talanoho Fungo's playing in his game. So this means Devon Kee now has to. step into that row next to Brandon Jones. And he was the number one special teams player for the Denver Broncos. So that means someone else now has a step into his row. And you could see a drop off in the Denver Broncos special teams unit.

But this is going to be one heck of a game. I'm predicting very baseball type score type game for this uniform, I guess. What do you want to call it, Sarah? The uniform. Like the, this is like the uniform Super Bowl. This is like anybody who loves uniforms, man. This is the top tier matchup. Well, I mean, hopefully, you know, we want to get a high point total like a Super Bowl,

but we're not going to get that. So enjoy the uniforms. Yeah, and look, I'm going to sit here and say the Broncos uniform is better than the throwback Seattle, but I got a lot. I can't lie, dude, it's close, man. Those Seattle throwbacks with the silver helmet, those things are crispy. So it's going to be a very aesthetic. pleasing matchup here on Thursday night football. And look, I feel like we were all pretty

critical of the Broncos on our Sunday show reacting to their win against the Chargers. Quite frankly, I think we were supposed to be, right? It was a win. Don't complain about that. It was ugly, though, at times, right? And you're looking for more from this Broncos team. But my initial thought after the Chargers game, and I got to be honest with you, like, because Seattle was on at the same time playing San Francisco, I was kind of in and out of that one. so I didn't get to watch at a time, but obviously you see the highlights. But point being, like, after the Broncos beat the Chargers, I was kind of like, oh my gosh, they're going to get stomped, right?

Like, that was my first initial thought. And now that I've had a little bit of time to sit on it, I don't really necessarily feel that way. Like, I'm not going to come out here and say I'm over confident in Denver to win the game. I think it's going to be tough either way. But I think I was a prisoner of the moment with what happened in that game against the Chargers. And I'm curious how you give yourself a little time away.

Seattle, I forget who brought it up. in the chat, but someone mentioned it, like Seattle lost to Washington earlier this year. I think Denver's got a better chance than I thought after the Chargers game initially, fellas. Well, here's the thing is that I think a lot of folks want to be as objective as possible when it comes to the Broncos. A lot of folks want to rely on analytics. A lot of folks want to rely on whatever predictability that you can possibly lean on when

the reality is, is that every single Broncos game is isolated when it comes to the way that it has to be approached from a prediction standpoint. You can't really use trends to say, well, the Broncos are going to play like this against Seattle because what have we seen in recent years? I mean, I don't remember the exact timing of these games. So somebody might have to look this up and find out. But remember when they had back-to-back games last year against Houston and the Raiders, where they scored, I think, a combined like 28 points in two victories in a row.

And the game against the Raiders was, I mean, what we've seen offensively this year is bad. that game on Thursday night against the Raiders last year might be the worst offensive performance this team has had in the law in the Sean Payton era you know much less the last couple of years but it wasn't long after that that they then exploded against the Green Bay Packers you know with Boenick's throwing four touchdown passes and so I just think every single game is living in isolation with the Broncos when it comes to the matchup when it comes to can they win this game there's no way the Broncos team that saw play against the Chargers should have beat a team like the Jacksonville Jaguars guys. Am I right about that?

Or even the Los Angeles Rams the way that we saw. So it's just difficult to sit here and say, and I know people don't necessarily want to hear it because I think people teeter on the line of like, I need somebody to keep it real for me and I need somebody to inject, you know, positivity into the situation. The reality is, is that those two are kind of one and the same for the Broncos. Like the reality is they haven't been good enough to this point, but also the reality. is they could put up 30 plus points against the Seahawks and we won't see it coming because they haven't done it up to this point this year. But just because they haven't done it doesn't mean they

won't, doesn't mean they can't because they have. So that's where I feel like, okay, yes, we could lean on realism or we could lean on trends or we could lean on what we know about each of these two teams when the reality is it doesn't matter in any given week that the Broncos are playing football. You know, for me, I like living in the world of optimism because I'm an optimistic person. And I just point out things based on how I see them. And it's a week to week thing, just like you said, Sarah, it changes from game plan based on an opponent that you're playing offensively defensively. So for me, when I look at this week's Thursday night football game, I look at the matchups, you know, because I go back to this Seattle dark side defense playing against the Patriots,

not just in the Super Bowl, but to kick off the season and how much trouble the tackle Will Campbell had for the New England Patriots. And then I look at the Broncos offensive line. There's a lot of glaring issues that were kind of hidden by the fourth quarter comebacks that everyone somewhat ignored, but they continue to show up time and time again. So you have to figure that Mike McDonald is going to find ways to exploit that. And it would be safe to say, well, it's just one guy at one side, But we've seen that it's not one guy, not one side. There are three guys, and that gives you a multitude of opportunities to attack. Now, here's what I hope that the Broncos change, because whether it was Davis Webb,

I'm giving you air quotes here, or Sean Payton, the one thing the Broncos did consistently, which I thought was problematic offensively for the way that you want to deploy your wide receivers, is that they ran a lot of condensed formations. And usually when a team runs condensed formation, you think it's going to be cracked tall. or something like that. And also, you could also use the condensed formations to expand, but the Broncos really don't do that. And I'm going to tell you, because we saw against the Patriots,

both in the Rugger season and the Super Bowl, if you condense your formation and you bring your guys tighter to the formation, you can expect the nickel blitz, it's coming, right? So the Broncos need to kind of flex out their wide receivers. I don't mean do what they did a couple of weeks ago against San Francisco where they took two wide receivers and put them plus four outside the numbers, eliminating them from any kind of past concept or screen concepts. Don't do that crap anymore.

No, just kind of flex them out, maybe four yards away from the core, and now you can spread things out so Boe and I identify where the blitz is going to come from. Here's the one thing I will say, too, about Seattle is they got off to a really impressive start. right. Their 13-10 win over New England on opening night, and then they handled business against the Cardinals who were one of the, you know, bottom-tier teams in the league. But defensively since then, man, I mean, they lose to Washington. I understand it's in Washington, but what, no Jaden Daniels in that game as well, right? That was Marriota and company, I want to say. Yeah, he was balling. Yeah, they gave you a 33 points on the road there to Washington, and we just saw Washington tie with

the New York Giants for crying out loud. They beat the charge, but the Chargers make it a game. they're late in the fourth quarter, hang 23 points on them, does L.A. And then last week, they gave up 32 points to San Francisco. Like, if you would have told me that through, you know, I guess it's only two games, but to see this Chargers defense, you know, look vulnerable, right? And I think we're not Chargers defense. Seahawks defense look vulnerable is a bit surprising. And I understand they have some players to replace from what they were last year, right? But they haven't looked as dominant as a unit so far early in the year outside of those first two games as maybe we had expected.

So I think Mike McDonald is going to have something geared up. And again, I think the idea of Seattle coming in here off a loss is definitely not something to roll over here. But let's see what version of Seattle's defense we get here on Thursday because they haven't been as good as their reputation, maybe makes them seem. Right. They are one of the best in terms of just execution, situational. Obviously, they're proven when it comes to winning the Super Bowl last year.

But we've talked about it on our regular shows this week. They are 27th in the NFL when it comes to. red zone efficiency right now. And yes, they've given up points, but what do they do better than anyone else? So far this season, it's taking the football away. The issue is that they've had dating back to last year. And you can look up the numbers on this. They had 31 giveaways offensively last year. So that offense has kind of continued that trend in four games this year. And I say four, that's generous because Sam Darnold barely played in the first game of the season. But in four games this season, Sam Darnold has five interceptions. And the season,

The Hocs offense has given the ball away a decent amount once again. So part of the reason why their defense is giving up points is because the offense is giving the football away. Now, they're third in the NFL in third down defense. So what do we know about Mike McDonald and his defense? They can disguise things really well. They use defensive backs as weapons from all angles. And they've got a really good interior defensive line led by Leonard Williams and

Byron Murphy the second. So those guys know how to get off the field. but any defense, as we've seen in Denver, we've seen like, hey, you give up the ball enough. Your defense is going to go from Ben, don't break to shoot. I mean, we have no choice but to break in this instance because you're giving the other team the ball so many times. So that has been the problem that the Broncos have to exploit.

Everybody wants to talk about, well, Bo Nix is weather is going to impact this game. Mike McDonald's and the defense. Well, what about Sam Darnold? And what about the Seahawks offense that gives the ball away? more than almost anybody else in the NFL over the last two seasons. And yes, they were able to win the Super Bowl despite that fact. However, that is something on an individual game basis that you can exploit. So the Broncos defense, they need to keep that takeaway train rolling.

Yeah, if you are Broncos fan, you should be very optimistic about this particular game, you know, albeit it's against the reigning Super Bowl champs, because some of what Sarah just said, when you look at Sam Darno, Like Sam Darno got a chance to go to Disneyland with Kenneth Walker. And I'm like, for what? You were not the reason they won. It was because of Kenneth Walker. And the Seattle Seahawks, they don't have that Judarian Price, their first round draft pick.

He's now on IR. So on Thursday, you're going to see a heavy dose of Emmanuel Wilson. He's going to be the bailout back. And when you compare his stat to J.K. Dobbins, who is the Broncos leading Russia, a lot of those stats are comparable. Both of those guys are averaging about 3.6 yards on the ground. And, Sarah, you brought up something that's really interesting. The weather is going to be a factor. So hopefully the Broncos are paying attention to what the weather is.

And no one is shocked and surprised because when you think about Will Lutz, Will Lutz hasn't been as clutch as he needed to be as far as extra points and field goes in the past. And we know what happened in that Patriots game. No, we're not going to get snow, but the grass is going to be really slick. that leather football is going to be slick as well. And the Broncos, they haven't really done well as far as running the ball and passing the ball. So it's going to be really important that Vance Joseph preaches to his guys. Hey, wet ball, punch out on every single possession.

And this is going to come down to being a field position game. Which team can actually sustain drives and hold on to the ball? Or if your team is turning the ball over, giving your, Offense or opposing offense, another opportunity to kind of work on the short field, you lose a football game. No doubt, no doubt. Let's hit our first break. When we come back, let's talk about this matchup from Denver's defensive perspective. We'll kind of keep the conversation going.

And there's one matchup with Seattle's offense that, frankly, has me terrified. We'll talk about that next. When we come back right here on your lockdown Bronco Squad Show. Today's episode of Lifetime Bronco Squad Show is brought you by our friends over at Cal. She a new football season brings some big questions. Who makes the playoffs? Who wins their division? Who takes home the title? Kalshi, America's number one prediction market platform lets you trade those predictions in a live market. And guys, look, we know we've got a big game coming up here on Thursday. Denver versus Seattle. It's going to be an absolute banger. And despite Denver being the home team in this matchup, the odds are in favor of Seattle. So if you're believer in Denver and you think Denver's going to be able to get the job done here, you're going to be able to more. than double your money on a $100 trade if Denver wins this game. You're looking at a $100 trade at a 44% chance right now in Cali. If Denver wins the game, that $100 would net you

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Get your friends together. Get your tickets and tell them it's game time. Down the game time app today, create an account and use code locked on for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account and use code locked on for $20 off. Be sure to check out our friends over at Game Time, guys, and let them know that Locked on Bronco sent you. All right, we're going back into Lockdown, Bronco, Squacho, AP, Sarah Bedinger, Nick Ferguson. I hope everyone is doing well out there as well. In Broncos country, we're previewing the matchup coming up this weekend against the Seattle Seahawks. Let me ask you this.

where does JSN rank in your current ranking of best wide receivers of the NFL? I think he's obviously one of the biggest game changers in the league, right? I mean, when you talk about doing literally everything at the position, he's up there with guys like Jamar Chase, Justin Jefferson, you know, all the best. The best receivers in the game, he's at the top of that list. And rightfully so, right? I mean, like I said, he does everything. He can win short.

He can win intermediate. He wins after the catch. He wins deep down field. he's got great ball tracking skills. He's got great hands. He can do everything. He's just, he is that guy. And so it's a shame that we're not going to get the opportunity to see him go up against

Pat Sartan in this game, which I assume is the matchup that you are dreading, Anilo for this game. I will go against the grain on this one. I wouldn't say I'm dreading it. I wouldn't say I'm excited for it. But I am looking forward to players like Jada Baron getting that opportunity that he otherwise wouldn't get, right? This game is not a playing with house money game by any means.

This is not an inconsequential game by any means. However, I will say with Jaday, not really getting much work in the first two games of the season, I feel like he's played pretty well over the last handful of weeks. And he's obviously getting this opportunity kind of handed to him, even if Riley Moss does come back for this game for the Broncos. I want to see what Barron can do in that sort of matchup. I want to see how he responds to maybe getting beat a time or two. Like, what do we see in the Rams game?

Devante Adams versus Pat Sertan. Pat kind of got cooked in the first half, made some adjustments at halftime, kind of shut him down in the second half when he got opportunities. So how does Jadae fare against one of the league's best receivers? How does Riley Moss fare when he gets opportunities against him? And you kind of use a committee approach to stopping him. The Broncos don't have to rely on just one guy to follow him around all game. I think Vance can, you know, kind of stay into what.

his game plan is instead of saying, hey, Pat's going to follow JSN the whole game. It's going to be a group effort. And I'm intrigued. I'm intrigued to see how the Broncos approach that. Well, to the original question about JSN and where he ranks as far as, you know, receivers, he's number one. I mean, when you look at his level of production, not even Chase Higgins, Devonte Adams, or even Justin Jefferson, actually compare because it's about volume.

And when you think about the possible matchup, of Chris Abrams Drain or Jody Barron, you're not really going to get that, right? It's not like we're seeing, you know, throwback Dion Sanders against Andre Risen, man-and-man or Jerry Rice, or even Michael Irvin, for that matter, all across the field. That's not what we're going to get.

It's about trying to defense the formation. Figure out where JSA is and make sure everyone is on the same page with how to defend them. Because when you look at how the Seahawks deploy their offense, he is the number one target. Okay, so 49 targets on the season, he's pulled in 37 of those, 583 yards. So you know he can fill up the stat sheet. But here's the thing that's glaring.

When you look at the number of big plays that he's been a part of in comparison to the Broncos wide receivers, he's had nine on the season. The Broncos best receiver has three, and that's Jaylon Waddle. And JSN's biggest or longest play, 82 yards. Waddle, 49 yards. So the idea is the key to the offense is finding JSN. And any officer coordinator worth their salt, you're not going to put your wide receiver on the ball.

No, that makes absolutely no sense. You get him off the ball. Why? You can move him around. Sarah, you brought up the whole matchup between Devonte Adams and PS2. You never go. going to win a lot of those battles. Why, they're getting that guy off the ball so they can run him from one side of the field to the next and you're in Chase mode the entire time. That's how you nullify

good pass coverage. In the case with the Denver Broncos, they run a lot of zone coverage. And you can expect they're going to run a lot of zone coverage on Thursday night against these Seattle Seahawks. So it's not the guy on the side where JSN is a line you need to worry about. It's the guy opposite him. What the hell is he looking at? Right? And there's a way to influence that guy by dangling a little carrot in front of him with a guy in the flat because they want to throw the ball behind you. But JSN is really dangerous on this double move.

Like there was a route against the 49ers last week. Should have been an explosive for both Sam Donald and JSN, but JSN dropped the ball. Yeah. It was a post corner post. No, it was a post corner. I'm sorry. And the reason he dropped that pass was because he took his eyes off the ball. And I'll tell you this.

I'll ask you guys, how do you catch a football? How do you catch any ball? Tell me how you do that. Well, I mean, it depends on how it's coming at me. But I'm going like this if it's coming out my face or I'm going like this if it's coming over my shoulder. Okay. So both of you guys put up your hands. hands. And most people think, well, you catch a ball with your hands. No, you don't, right? A great wide

receiver coach asked me that same question. And the first thing I said was, you catch it with your hands. And he's like, no, you catch it with your eyes. Because if you never see the ball, you can never use your hands to catch it. So with JISN, his case of the drops have been tracking. Now, let's translate that to the Denver Broncos. The issue with those guys, when the ball is thrown in that direction, it's the same thing. They're not looking the ball into their hands. And also, Bow is struggling putting the ball where his offensive guys can get run after catch. So all of those things I'm going to be paying attention to because that ball, once again,

it's going to be slick on Thursday night. Well, you also got to make sure you're rushing the quarterback really well in this game, Nick. I think when you're talking about the Broncos playing a lot of his own coverage and the Seahawks, obviously, they're going to be wanting to exploit the fact that PS2 is not in this game. I mean, how much more pressure is on Zach Allen, Nick Benito and those guys up front to be able to get home as quickly as possible. And that's going to be pivotal in this matchup. The blitzing from the linebackers is going to be huge and just making sure that those are well-timed. And winning first down, once again, I mean, the Seahawks, I don't think Jadarian Price is playing this game.

I think he's on injured reserve. Obviously, Zach Charbonnet. I think his window opened maybe two weeks ago. I don't know that he's going to be playing on a short week. So it's going to be like George Halani out there, who I think he's done maybe a little bit better than expected in terms of some yards after contact stuff. But once again, he fumble.

So, hey, this is what I'm saying. The Seahawks Achilles heel is exactly what the Broncos need right now. Like their offense will give the ball away. I think that because of JSN, there's a pretext. perception that included, like you mentioned this earlier, Nick, I think this is an important detail. Because of JSN, I think the Seahawks offense is sort of perceived as this juggernaut, but really was the key to that whole operation, Kenneth Walker. And I think the answer to that question is absolutely, yes, he was. And so now you don't have that guy to deal with. The Broncos

still have to be tough against the run, but you want this game to be in Sam Donald's hands. You want to put the ball. And if Sam Donald will beat you, like, that's something that you just have to live with. Playing at home, playing in cold weather, obviously an offense like the Seahawks, that's turned the ball over a lot. And I'm not trying to make them out to be a bad team, but also Daryan brought it up in the chat. They also don't have Clint Kubiak anymore. He's with the Raiders. There were so many elements to their success last season that are no longer present on that roster or on that

coaching staff. And so to me, I'm looking at that and saying, on a short week, everybody thinks that this favors Seattle going on the road instead of the Broncos. I really don't. And I know that there's not a lot of confidence amongst the fan base right now about this offense. And I don't think there necessarily should be other than the fact that, like I said before, what they have done in the past, the ceiling that they have shown us in the past, and what they've been able to do against some of the best teams in the NFL, I think it's an

interesting at the very least matchup for this Broncos team. short week against a team that turns the ball over a lot, mile high magic. You've got an offense that for all intents and purposes, guys, what do people say about teams that are winless all the time? They're backs up against the wall. They're going to get off the Schneid. Like the Broncos offense for all intents and purposes is like a winless team. Like they have, they have not had a game where you could say, hey, the offense responsible

for that win this season. I think they're going to take that personally and turn it around at some point. We just don't know when. I know that people don't like to be told, well, it's going to be now against the Seahawks because I can't guarantee that. But you never know when it's going to be. And I think it's going to happen at some time. So once again, why not now? Why not wearing the throwback uniforms?

You know what? Can I throw an X factor in for Seattle? And it's a guy that no one really talks about a lot and they use him in a multitude of different ways. And that is, Rashid, like, I mean, I watched him against the charges about a week ago. they used him in the backfield, sort of like the Broncos have tried to use Jaylon Wado and how they try to use Marvin Mims, and this guy ran like a,

I think it was like a 32-yard touchdown from the backfield. But also his big impact is on special teams. And this is where the Broncos have to be great in Darren Rizzy in coverage. Because when I say that this dude can go get it, he can go get it. Like I played against Devin Hester.

And I'm not putting him in that Devin Hester a category just yet. But when you look at a guy who can flip the field like a Devin Hester, he definitely can do that for the Seattle Seahawks. Yeah, they've got a lot of weapons, right? And I think if we use the Rams game as any sort of example, like you kind of alluded to it, Sear, like Devante Adams ran wild in that game. He had seven receptions for 137 yards in that game and Denver still figures out a way to win. JSN this year offensively, has more than 100 yards receiving in every single game except one. So we've seen Denver be able to kind of absorb that.

You bring up good points about the rushing attack. And I think, again, like for as critical as we've been about Bo Nix, I was one of those guys last year. Once I found out Seattle was playing the Patriots, I like Seattle in the game, but I always thought like the ghost of Sam Donald was going to show up again, right? And I still kind of think that guy's still in there. Like, he's certainly proved me wrong.

But you're talking about their turnovers and all that kind of stuff. And obviously, his floor is a lot higher. but I would say Denver's home field advantage is comparable to that of Seattle's right and Seattle's like I'm trying to think like San Francisco doesn't have that crazy

of a home field the Rams is like a road game every week Arizona has no home field I'm trying to think of teams they play consistently on the road where they're going into a hostile environment this is probably as hostile as it gets for Seattle who's used to having that advantage

when they play at home and look Broncos country you brought it up earlier in the show is second to none when it comes to passion and energy and the ability to influence a game. We saw that on Sunday night football against the Rams. So all that being said is to kind of bring it back to where we started the show. I felt down to the dumps about the team

despite the win on Sunday, but as I kind of peel back the curtain a little bit and unravel the onion, I actually feel pretty good about Denver's chances, all things considered. Well, Anillo, see, here is where the home crowd factors in. If you're giving them something to cheer, about. If you're not giving them anything to cheer about to feed off that energy or create that

energy based on what they're seeing, that can work against the Denver Broncos because we know this offense has a tendency to start slow. So if you start slow and you allow that Seattle defense to get after bow and create their own turnovers and create the short field, now you can take the crowd out of it. You have to figure that that is Mike McDonald's kind of game plan. We have to take the crowd out early. If Sam Donner turns the ball over and he's still living with the ghost in the machine because I'll never forget when he was sitting on the

sideline, he was saying that he was seeing ghosts. Hopefully that is the case. And if the Broncos, edge rushers can get to him and create and bring out that Sam Donald, the Broncos have a massive opportunity to win regardless if the Broncos' offense don't do anything.

That's the thing, man, is again, like we saw it with Devante Adams, like one receiver can pop off and like if I had to put money on it with calci I think jsn's probably probably over a hundred yards you're going to have more than 100 yards right but I don't think that necessarily means the Broncos are cooked in this game absolutely right about the past rush and disrupting the rhythm and flow here for Sam darrell all right let's hit a break when we come back let's take a look at this game from the broncos offense perspective who needs to step up running game conversation bow next conversation as it pertains to this game against the

seahawks all that more when we come back right here in your lockdown bronco squad Show. Today's episode of your lockdown, Brocko Squad Show is brought to you by our friends over at Odu. Running a business shouldn't feel like you're trying to connect a bunch of systems that were never designed to work together. One app for accounting, another for inventory, another for sales, and somehow none of them talk to each other.

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the best start to the season for Denver, but because of their organizational and operational structure, they've been able to overcome some bad moments in these games, right? Everyone's in line from owner Greg Penner down to head coach Sean Payton, general manager George Payton, the rest to the coaching staff and Bo Nixon company along with all the defensive players. And so basically, if you want to be like the Denver Broncos, it would be a really good organization, but for your business,

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Appreciate everyone in the YouTube chat for hanging out with us here on this preview show for Seattle on Thursday. You guys are the absolute best. Hit that like button, smash that subscribe button if you have not done that already, all of our audio listeners, we appreciate you guys as well, wherever you listen on the go and everyone on YouTube that watches after the fact to. Anilo Pieroz here, Beninger Nick Ferguson here for today's lockdown. on Bronco's Squatjo. Okay, let's talk about the offense. Here we go, fellas. We understand it's been subpar. I think that's kind of the best way to put it, right? They've had some moments

late in games. And ultimately, I think the expectation we had for this Broncos offense was a lot higher than what we've seen and what it's yielded through the first handful of games this season. I think we've been pretty clear about play calling not being, you know, the primary issue as to why this team has struggled. We spent a lot of time on the last show. If you want to check that out about why we think Bo Nix may or may not be struggling. But ultimately, fellas, Seattle's defense is vulnerable, right? Not as bulletproof. We've seen them be at least going back to last year. You know, I talked to my guy, Philip Lindsay about this all the time. And I'm like, what do the Broncos need to do. He's like, start fast. They're never starting fast, Phil. I think that's what I always tell him, right? It's like, I think we all want this Broncos offense to start fast. I don't necessarily. see that changing at any point this week, if it does great. But I think it's just about not putting yourself to behind the eight ball fellows here. Yeah, it really is.

Like we've talked about this all year and people perceive this as, well, you're just making excuses for Bo Nix. Well, you can look at it however you want to. Like you can diagnose it however you want to. But the reality is whether you view it as an excuse for Bo Nix or whether you view it as a reason or reasons why the Broncos offense is struggling as a whole, This team has way too many penalties, especially of the pre-snap variety. They have way too many missed blocks.

They're not creating yardage after contact in the running game. They're struggling with dropped passes. They're not always getting open on scramble drill, things like that. And then obviously, yes, like Bo is playing his part in that. Bo is, you know, stepping into pressure. Bo is being a little too reckless with the football. Bo is not being accurate at all times. So there's equal criticism to go around.

But I think obviously all of these things contribute. to each other, right? When Bo makes a throw, well, Jalen Waddle has to catch it. You know, like we talked about the lack of explosives. Jalen dropped, has dropped at least one explosive almost every game. If memory serves me correctly, fellows, especially in the yak department where he had an opportunity to help out his QB, make a catch and make a play after the catch. And then you also have issues with, you know, Nick posted a great breakdown on his Twitter page of just the first play of the game, which I remember watching that play. And I remember thinking to myself, that was the dumbest play you could have possibly started off a game with.

You fake a screen out to the side. You allow the defense to push up field like they're rushing the passer. And you hand it off to J.K. Dobbins, who simply hasn't been explosive this year. But then when you diagnose and you put it under the microscope, you see Ben Powers whiffs on his block opportunity. So people want to blame everything on Bo Nix. But when you're getting into second and long, third and long situations constantly, that is, that is something that's difficult for any quarterback to have to face. And so it is up to everyone on this offense to really get this thing, as Sean Payton called it,

buttoned up in the details. Yeah, you know what? When you think about it from a coaching standpoint, how many hours that they are putting in every single week that's keeping them from their kids and their families, watching the kids play soccer games and all of that? And then you get to Sunday and you see guys fail to execute. It makes you want to pull your hair out. I'm surprised that Sean Payton doesn't look like Lex Luka Luther now when you got to fall in because I would have pulled my hair out because that particular play, Sarah, when you first look at it, you're like, that doesn't look great. Why would they do that?

But when you really diagnose it, it was designed perfectly. If Powers stays with the double team and comes off at the right time, because. because he now gives Bowles control over the interior defensive line. Guess what? J.K. Dobmas is still running right now. But these are some of the small minutia that's taking place with the team is from the offensive line standpoint. And it comes down to sheer fundamentals.

It's like, well, how is it that you can't do your job on everyday basis? But here's the bigger question. See, now people are now starting to look at it and they're looking at the office of line as a hold. They're looking at last year's PFF numbers and said, well, this offensive line was rated number one. Well, maybe that ranking was a little premature. And you're looking at different players. And you have to wonder, when will this coach and staff make the tough decisions and start swapping guys out? Because it's not all just on both. It's not just on the running backs. Hell, it's not just on the play calls. And get me, some of these two-man routes, I get sick.

tired of it myself. But you got to give you a quarterback an opportunity. And when everyone is saying, I'm listening to from Tim Jenkins to other quarterbacks to Dan Olowski, my former teammate, well, Bo is not seeing the field. Well, you know why he's not? He's taking a little out of Sam Donald's book. Yeah, man, he's seeing goes. He's seeing uniforms. He doesn't feel comfortable. And I don't care who you are. And you can take all the screenshots you want or whatever and say, well, this guy's open. Well, let me put you back there behind that offensive line and tell me how well would you do standing behind that offensive line and not having a lot of confidence?

And this is, I'm not taking things off of both. Bose definitely has to get better. But I think there was a guy who works for the four letter network, Ben Slovic, was just talking about, well, Bo should step up. I say step up to what? He's going to get smashed. Did you not see that guy come across Ben Powers' face? So we just have to judge every single play as an individual play because every single guy is making mistakes.

And this team from an offensive standpoint, they are not good enough right now to have that many mistakes on every given possession. There's no freaking way. Yeah, I think obviously, I agree with everything that both of you guys just said. I just think ultimately a lot of, one, Beau hasn't been good enough. but there's also other reasons as to why the offense has struggled, right? And I think just because of the scrutiny that comes with playing the quarterback position, I mean, look at what Josh Allen did last night, right? Like running left and right and two falls from James, right?

Like, like, yeah, the crazy game last night. What? But I think that's ultimately why, like, there's a lot of scrutiny, right? And you guys correct me if I'm wrong here. I think there's general frustration with the Broncos offense, but in a game like this coming up on Thursday, it doesn't matter, you know, use the fast and the furious line. Intramal, right? Go out there and win the game, right?

Like, the Broncos can win ugly. I think a lot of the frustration with the Broncos offense as it stems from Sunday's game is against a perceived lesser opponent, right? It's like, it's one thing if you have to go into a slug fest and went ugly against the Rams and the come from behind against the Jaguars, those are good teams. I think a lot of the frustration from Broncos country, especially with that game against the Chargers, like, well, they're banged up, they're injured, they're this, they're that, they're winless, like, why can't our offense look good against a subpar unit? that's ultimately I think where a lot of this frustration maybe comes from from the fan base as well, fellas.

Well, we have to look up the numbers here, but I think the Chargers, I'm pretty sure the Chargers are still, you know, pretty good defensively. Like they didn't have all their personnel out there, but I think even in an 0 and 5 start, let's see, they are seventh in takeaways. They are sixth in passing yards allowed. They are ninth in yards per carry allowed. They are second in time of possession per drive, second in plays per drive, fourth and and yards per drive, fifth and third down defense, 10th and red zone defense. So I think those people can honestly just like learn ball. Like that's what I would say is like understand that you don't know what you're talking about all

the time. It's like there's that play in this game against the Chargers in which a lot of folks after the game were criticizing Bo for not throwing to a wide open Adam Troutman over the middle of the field. He's kind of wrapped around by three defenders. And I watched the Tim Jenkins breakdown. that Nick alluded to. And I thought, okay, here we go.

Here comes the play. The Adam Troutman play. He's going to talk about how Bo miss Adam Troutman. But what he said is that Bo actually missed a double move to Jalen Waddle on the far side of the field. And that's the whole problem in a nutshell right here. I'm not saying Tim is 100% right on every single thing and about every what's the number one in the progression. What's two?

What's three? Where's both supposed to go? Where is he manipulating with his eyes? Where's he? Et cetera, et cetera. What I am saying, however, is that everybody thinks, like, to Nick's point, everybody thinks these things are just so black and white when you're going up against a legitimate NFL defense that has a good game plan, even from a rookie defensive coordinator, even with young corners. Look what the Broncos defense did to Justin Herbert with no whofanga, no Pat Sertan, no Riley Moss, no Jonathan Cooper. Like, you can play it both ways.

And they played him exceptionally well. He had two fumbles in the game. We had an interception in the game. And so I just think when you look at these things and you say, hey, it's black and white. Bo should have thrown the ball to Adam Trotman on this play. Sometimes it is black and white. Other times it's, hey, actually,

we wanted Bo to throw the double move to Jalen Waddle. And you actually have no idea what you're talking about. Troutman was like the third guy in the progression here or whatever. All I'm saying is it's not always so black and white. You want the quarterback to let it rip. Absolutely. But more than anything, more than missed reads or more than not seeing the field well, we need Bo Nix to get back to being Bo Nix.

I said it on the last time we all gathered together. I need 25-yard scramble to set up a game-winning field goal in Houston, Bo Nix. I need four total touchdowns in the fourth quarter against the Giants, Bo Nix. I need four touchdowns against the Packers, Bo Nix. I need that guy because Bo is near the bottom of the NFL right now when it comes to quarterbacks scrambling. That's one of his biggest weapons. If you're not making plays deep down the field, one of your best weapons,

Bo is running with the football. And I hope that the play that Tony Jefferson tweeted about and posted a picture of that he got penalized for, I hope that play is the turning point for Bo Nix this season. The play that Tony Jefferson thinks, oh, it was such a clean, good hit. It wasn't rough in the passer, blah, blah, blah. Well, it might have been the play that Bo Nix realized, oh, I'm not going to get hurt out here. I've seen some other people pointing that out on Twitter as well. Maybe that was the turning point for Bo to say, okay,

maybe that was the last mental hurdle that needed to be cleared. And if it was, I don't know, boys, I hope we're getting ready to see that guy return because it's the eye black, right? The people are saying, bony's to put the eye black on. Like, that's really where it's at right now is we need that Bo Nix back. You know, when I watch several games this weekend, especially that Giants' commanders game,

and I watch, you know, J. and Dan, he's a guy who had two elbow, you know, injuries. And everyone thought was, you know, his career was over. And you watch out of that game. kind of closed out. Not the fact that of James landing on the ground, allowing the time to kind of dissipate. But watch what led up to that. Well, he looked at the defense.

They were man coverage. He said, screw this, man. I'm getting that, picking up the first down. I'm going to go ahead and run it. And I'm sure, you know, Adam Peters and Dan Quinn told him, hey, look, man, you need to protect yourself. And I feel as though, that's kind of what's happening with Bo. Someone got in his ear and say, look, man, hey, well, we need.

need you to stay between the tackles. We need you to play quarterback because the idea that you play quarterback in today's game by staying between the tackles. Yes, that's about 20% of the game fellas. But when you look at what I just described or what Jay and Daniels did, we look at what happened last night with Josh Allen. And I know Josh Allen is just that dude, but you're telling me that Bo Nicks can do that. And think about what we saw in the charges game. For the first time all season long, we saw a design quarterback run. And I'm not talking about Bo breaking the pocket because Mike McGlitchie couldn't block his guy. So he had to, he had to run. No, it was a design quarterback run and they moved the pocket. We haven't seen that all season long. But I got a feeling

that someone is telling him, stay in the pocket. In order to see the receivers down the field, we need you to play quarterback. Because if they're not telling him that, my next, inclination is to think, is there something wrong with his foot that they're not telling us? Because usually when the pocket starts to break down, 10 is running. He is definitely running, which is what led to pro football focus, giving the Broncos offensive line a number one ranking because Boe wasn't taking sacks. So you're saying, well, why is 10 not running the ball? Hell, we saw another 10 for the charges who went to Oregon rush for 54 of the 150.

55 yards for the charges. You telling me, our number 10, can't do that? Yes, he can. So we just got to figure out why he's not. Yeah, man, look, it's still early in the year, right? I know we live in this instant gratification society. And look, frankly, we expect this Broncos offense to ultimately take a step when this season, a step forward, that is, when it's all said and done, right?

But we need, and I think that's interesting, too, is the tone of voice from Sean Payton about Bo after the game. Like it kind of looks like he's trying to build up his confidence again, right? Like he dropped the line about we wanted it rip, but also like, you know, you're the guy we wanted here, which I think are things that we all know, and I'm sure Bo knows that too, but sometimes it just seems like the conversations around Bo from those inside the organization is maybe a quarterback who's playing a little bit less confident than we've seen him play in years past. So yeah, we'll see what happens with Bo here on Thursday. Obviously, we haven't had a great Bo Nix performance for a complete game yet this year. And they've probably,

find themselves at three and two with a couple of wins here over solid teams in the Jaguars and Los Angeles Rams and obviously what happened with the Chargers here last week. So let's hit a quick break. When we come back, we'll put a bow on the show and go over some more keys to victory here for Denver as they get ready to take on the Seattle Seahawks here on Thursday night football. Today's episode, Rockouto, Rockville, is brought to you by our friends over at Fanduel. Welcome to your most rewarding NFL season ever only on Van Duel. How rewarding are we talking?

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And now it's your most rewarding season ever with our friends over at Fanduel. Again, make this your most rewarding season. awarding season ever with Fanduel. Visit fanduil.com to get started. Be sure to check out our friends over at Fandual, guys, and let them know that lockdown Broncos sent you. All right, we'll come on back into your lockdown Broncos squad show. Hope everyone is doing well out there as we're getting ready for the Broncos to take on Seattle here on Thursday. Should be a good game. Sare kind of mentioned it at the beginning of the show as well. The Broncos find themselves as underdogs at home in this game, right? So we'll see if they can play the overdog card. This is actually

like where the stars I feel like like this is all things considered like in my thinking this is the type of spot it feels like where Denver comes out and surprises a lot of people right I saw this stack going across my timeline earlier today as well bo nix is six and two in these prime time games so he's got a good record in scenarios like this home underdog something to prove chip on shoulder all of those motivational factors, I think, are working for Denver for the most part. I think the one thing, the one factor that's working for Seattle is coming off a loss against the division opponent, right? They've got something to prove. They're not coming in here fat and happy. But then gets to win against the chargers. But I think a lot of the narrative is it in a way kind of feels like a loss,

because they have a lot of things to prove, fellas. Yeah, they do have a lot to prove in this game. And it's a great litmus test sort of game, right? I mean, like we talked about earlier, it's not exactly that this is an inconsequential game, but it is an interconference game, and it doesn't necessarily have the biggest impact on the overall playoff seating and things like that. Obviously, the Chiefs, though, being 4 and 0 at this point, playing the 0 and 5 chargers on Sunday,

that does change the equation a little bit. You do need to win these games. But at the same time, like, this is one of those games where you can just go out there and it's on a short week. Obviously, you're banged up, they're banged up, They're coming off a loss. Like I'm not saying you're playing with house money, but I am saying like,

let's see maybe the problem is that this team's been playing a little too tight, right? Let's see them play a little bit loose. One of the things that we noticed early in the year and what was kind of disturbing about the offense is at times, like obviously it's not fun to go three and out constantly, but they didn't look like they were really having much fun out there. It looked like there's a little bit of the mojo loss from this offense.

So I definitely want to see those guys out there having some fun. And I think you can, And like we talked about starting fast, that is key, but it's not just starting fast. It's finding sustainability. I think that's really where this Broncos team is struggling. They've, I think they've scored first a couple of times where they've fired back in the early stages of games twice. Like they scored right away or close to right away against the chiefs after their first

drive. I think it was seven to seven. And then they obviously scored first against the chargers and it didn't end up leading to anything. So they need to find some consistency, sustainability. They need to find something like that. and what is it that they can lean on? Hopefully in a game like this, it is your running game.

Well, you know, we all talk about starting fast. And Anilo said that he's had conversations with Philip Lindsay on his radio station. And Phil has said that very same thing. So it got me to thinking, you know, we hear those same things with, you know, starting fast or running the ball. But the conversation is not moved along. And here's what I mean. If you're going to say, hey, they need to start fast, define what that actually means. How is it they start fast?

So I'll tell you, so we're talking about positive yards on first down, right? And now is like how many first downs can we, I guess, acquire on any given possession? That's how you start fast because if you're getting positive yards on first down, you know what that means? Now you're in second and short. And that also means no darn penalties because every time the Broncos take 10 steps forward, they take 152 backwards because some guys got a holding penalty. Someone is a false start.

And now whatever positive yards you just made, now it's 30 and 8. And then all of a sudden, it's 30 and 20. You're like, how do we get here? So when we talk about starting fast, that's the first thing we need to look at. Positive yards on first down, even if that means you're running. If you don't feel confident that the opposite line can hold their blocks enough to create space so the Broncos running backs can get five yards, okay, start out throwing the ball. But don't start off in the shotgun because the Broncos have a running tendency, right?

It is hearing everyone talk about, hey, the Broncos not running the ball or Broncos not running the ball. Sean saying, I'm going to take over. Guess what the first three players were? Running the ball, right? Don't try. to lie to me in my face. That's not who you are, right? You're just trying to appease us. Play to your quarterback. Put him under freaking center because I'll always go back to this as a defensive player. When a quarterback is under center, we don't know what the play is. We have no idea. I mean, we have a play sheet with all this analytical stuff that we studied before games, but we're still or not sure. So then you can use that as a disguise to now,

When you run play action, the defense actually steps up because the Broncos are running play action. I'm like, why are you running play action and you haven't even established a run? And now you get the line back is not stepping up. That dropping back in coverage versus a two-man route. I'm like, well, you know what? I'm not a genius, but I know that doesn't look like it makes sense to me. So when we talk about starting fast, it's doing the small things right. Everything they practice, the first 15, 20 plays, run those first first first,

15, 20 plays, but instead of running them out of shotgun, you run them from under center. And how big is it to be able to be playing this game at home when you're dealing with small things being an issue for the offense as opposed to having to play this game in Seattle? I think there is something to that, right? I mean, this week in the Mile High City, we saw how badly it affected the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night football a handful of weeks ago. And I think that the Seahawks are going to experience it as well. well when's even the last time Seattle came to Denver?

I don't even remember when that last time. I think the Broncos have played them in Seattle, the majority of the last handful of times. I think it was a Case Keenham game back in 2018, if memory serves me correctly. So it's been a long time since the Seahawks have been to Denver. Obviously, they've had the Broncos number. There's no question about it.

Bo Nix's first career game was a loss to this Seattle Seahawks team in Mike McDonald's head coaching debut. So we know that the Broncos are at least someone, familiar with these guys and I think they were hoping to be getting ready to play against them in the Super Bowl last year and we have the whole drama with you know Mike McDonald kind of calling out Sean Payton's accusations of training camp video stealing and all those sorts of things. I just I feel like all these little factors are part of this story of this game that are kind of getting, you know, flown under the radar because everybody wants to say, well,

Bo Nix is terrible. The Seahawks are going to dominate. That's kind of what, that's my perception of what everybody thinks this game is. And so I just think, hey, you know, not so fast, my friends, as the late great Lee Corso would say, let's just wait to see how it plays out. And then after this game, shoot, I don't want to get ahead of myself here, boys. But if we're talking about the four and two Broncos, we might be talking about the potentially four and two Broncos getting back Jonah Coleman against Arizona Cardinals, maybe Jonathan Cooper against the Arizona Cardinals, maybe Pat Sertan in the next game or two.

I mean, so if you can win. this game and get to four and two and exceed the expectation of well three and three would be nice after the first six games if you can get to four and two get all those guys back i mean shoot you might be cooking with bean at oil four and two would be great man i'm a guy who's been preaching three and three right like if they do get to four and two that's a massive win in my book despite some of the returns you know maybe not being the most settling and and ultimately i think again like it's it's a winnable matchup right i think i need to see this defense as we've talked about in depth here They've got to get after Sam Darl.

You've got to make life miserable. We know that Seattle plays this too high safety look as well. So I do think getting their running game going is imperative, but maybe not essential because they've been able to win in spite of that previously. But it would definitely, I think, go a long way in helping the Broncos win this game. And so ultimately, man, I think what I'm banking on more than anything is obviously the execution of the couple of things that I talk to. But I think there's a level of, like, I hope there's some more fire and passion from this team. right? I think we've seen it defensively, but offensively, like, at what point is enough enough?

So that's what I'm kind of looking towards here as well for this Broncos team is just, you know, play with little emotion, play with their heart on their sleeve and go out there and show that they do belong as one of these best teams in the NFL, least in those circles and conversations. You know, I'm glad Sarah brought up the Mike McDonald's Sean Payton thing because I kind of forgot it. Both coaches have been, you know, exchanging pleasantries as it pertains to, I guess, the leak audio from Mike McDonnell, which he said that it wasn't for public consumption. But we're all competitors.

And I know Sean is a real competitor. Some people would use a different word to describe him. But that word they would use to describe him, he's going to be that guy for this game. Because he wants this more than anything. He wants to be able to walk over after Broncos victory, find Michael McDonald, shake his hand, look him into that in his eyes and said, I own you such and such. But that is going to make for this game being very interesting on Thursday night

because I want to see how both coaches react to adversity. That's going to be the biggest thing. How does Sean react to adversity if McDonald's just say, you know what? The first eight plays, we just going to send all blitz, right? Because they're capable of doing that. Ryan Flores style. Hey, just to send a man. message to say it is going to be that type of game and see what that gamesmanship is like.

I want to see if it's going to be chirpy on the field, which guy's talking trash or which guy is being talked to and not responding because that's how this game works, right? If someone is in your face, you don't have to respond to them like clapping back at him in that way, but how are you going to address it from a physicality standpoint on the field? that is what I'm going to be watching as an extra player who's going to pee down their leg or who's going to say you know what hey my mama taught me when someone hit me I hit him back that's what I'm not advocating for fisting cuffs no that's not what I'm doing I'm just saying from a physicality standpoint that's what I want to see I want to say one last thing as well I

know that we've talked about well it's not Davis Webb's fault or you know it wasn't the fact that he was doing such a bad, like the play calling wasn't necessarily the issue, right? It was obviously Sean Payton wanting to take back control of the operation. And I think that there's a huge distinction to be made between the two, although some people don't agree with that. I liked having Sean back in kind of control of the game. Like I liked when the camera would cut to him on the sideline.

And he's, he's way more involved as opposed to seeing him with his, you know, his hands tucked behind his back. And he's kind of just like, you know, glaring off into the distance and kind of just like observing. I prefer it the other way. I prefer him like what people are in the comments.

You're talking about running over to Vance Joseph before the last play. I prefer him being next to Bo Nix. Like I don't know. There's just something about his experience and what he brings to the table in terms of a Super Bowl winning coach and what we've seen in this team winning in tight games and clutch situations. I just, I don't know. I like that having that in this specific.

instance, especially when you're going against the reigning Super Bowl champs, I think that competitor that you mentioned, Nick, is going to really come out when it comes to Sean Payton in this game. Look, man, it's going to be a banger. It's going to be a banger. I don't think it'll be a blowout one way or the other. I think this is one that close quarter time. Yeah, it's going to be a close game.

Like I said, I think the Broncos got a, got a puncher's chance, right? I think they've got a lot to prove. They've got a lot to improve upon. I think Seattle's going to come in here pissed off. And ultimately, I think it's going to be a get your popcorn ready type of scenario. I'm sure there's going to be some ugly moments, but I also expect there to be some triumphant comebacks from this Broncos team. So it'll be a good one.

Cody and Sarah will have you cover with some additional content leading up to this game on the Lockdown Broncos podcast. And we'll be here late night on Thursday. So for everyone watching live or after the fact, we'll talk to you after the game a little while after. I'll be there. Cody will be there. Nick, I'm assuming you'll be there as well.

So we'll give you Yeah, where else would I be? I don't know. Sometimes, you know, you never know what I be. So we'll break it down after the fact here on Thursday night. But for Nick Ferguson, Sarah Bedinger, I am Anilo Piro.

Thank you guys for tuning into the program. And we'll talk to you guys Thursday. Have a good one, y'all. Beedip, beep, be, be, be, be, be, be.