Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - BRONCOS SQUAD SHOW: Bo Nix’s RESILIENCE Has Denver Atop AFC West

Episode Date: November 4, 2025

The Denver Broncos are in the midst of a six-game win streak following their latest victory over the Houston Texans. Sitting at 7-2 and atop the AFC West, the Broncos are playing well as the November rolls around. Joins Cody Roark, Nick Ferguson and Aniello Piro on the Locked On Broncos Squad Show as the fellas break down all the news and notes for the great fans in Broncos Country. From Bo Nix and the offense to Sean Payton’s game management and the defense’s continued dominance, Cody, Nick, and AP break down everything Broncos Country needs to know ahead of Thursday Night Football against the Raiders. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!   BILTTurn your rent into rewards and start earning points around your neighborhood by going to https://joinbilt.com/lockedonnfl. Supply HouseJoin the free TradeMaster program today and score serious perks like priority shipping, lower prices, and a dedicated support line. Visit https://SupplyHouse.com to sign up for free and use promo code SHNFL5 for 5% off your first order. PelotonLet yourself run, lift, flex, and push forward. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ today at https://www.onepeloton.com. PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFL GametimeDownload 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. FanDuelRight now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app. 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.

The Denver Broncos are streaking with six consecutive wins. They'll look to let the good times roll when they take on the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday night football. Bo Nix's resiliency is an underrated factor that has this team in a position to win their seventh straight game on Thursday night football. Can this offense consistently be a fourth quarter team or do we need to see more from the first three quarters? All that and more on today's Locked on Broncos squad. show. Let's ride. It's the Broncos squad.

Everything Denver Broncos every week. Covering all the big hits and game changing plays from the Mile High City. Who wait only the Locked On podcast network can. Year up and squad up. The Broncos squad show starts now. Ah, yes, it is your maiden voyage of your locked on Broncos squad show live currently on the Locked on Broncos YouTube channel. Do us a favor.

hit that like button, smash that subscribe button that we guys never, ever miss an episode. So we've got a bit of a cast of characters here. I know you guys know Cody. I know all of y'all probably know Nick Ferguson from his time with the Denver Broncos, and you've probably seen me in and around the channel on the Locked-on Broncos postcast. And very happy to do this maiden voyage. Sarah is on assignment, as we like to say, he'll be a part of the family when he's back from his assignment. But yeah, Cody, myself, Nick Ferguson, Sarah Bedinger, when he's back,

We're going to be bringing some extra Denver Broncos content to you guys a couple of times a week after the games. And I believe Tuesdays will be our secondary day as well. So fellas, how we doing? Welcome to the show. Fantastic. Great to have Nick here. I mean, I get to see Nick all the time. Nick and I have done so many shows together.

But, you know, we bring that defensive back perspective to the show. You know, this could be a defensive show. It definitely could consider the fact that so many people both, locally and nationally are just uplifting the offense. And there's nothing wrong with that. They do their part, but we know what side the bread is buttered on, and that's defense. Amen.

Well, thankfully the Broncos got one of, if not the best defense in the NFL. And guys, we're going to talk about a myriad of topics today. So be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comment section. Go ahead and get involved in the program. Looking forward to breaking it down with Broncos country and my fellows here throughout the rest of the season. But yeah, on the defense to kind of set the table, man. They have been carrying this Denver Broncos team to a certain extent.

Nick, I know on your little open there talking about fourth quarter offense versus a full game offense. We'll break that all down on today's program. But before we really kind of dive into some minutia, seven and two, six game win streak, Thursday night football going up against the Raiders. Cody, we'll start with you. Give me a little gut check on where the Broncos stand so far this season. Hey, if you would have said at the beginning of the season that the Broncos would be tied for the best record in the NFL right now, and I said, you're crazy.

I mean, you look at the standing. is Colts, Patriots, Broncos, Nick, are we back in 2005 here with the division leads at this point? I mean, wild turn of events here. I think this is a resilient, gutsy team. We saw a gutsy win obviously on Sunday, but what a spot for them to be in right now. They are in control of their destiny. Yeah, they are in control of their destiny. And I like the winning streak because it wasn't like that last season.

It's been a long time before the Broncos put consecutive wins together. It doesn't look like it should look at this particular point of the season. But you definitely applaud the fellas for what they're doing on the field. But if this team is going to make a punch a hole in the playoffs and make a huge impact, they're going to have to change some things offensively. Yeah. And it's weird. I was going to say this for later than the show, but let's go ahead and get it out there right now.

Like at 7 and 2 with a 6 game win streak, and you guys tell me if you feel differently, Like I personally don't feel as good about the Broncos as I feel like I should with that record and with the wind streak. Like I feel like they've left a lot on the table. Like yes, obviously you're very happy about the wins. Like Houston was great. Will let's walk off field goal. Dismantle the Dallas Cowboys. Beat the Giants in epic fashion.

Take care of business against the Jets. But like when you think if you would have told me seven and two before the season started at this point in the year, I would say, oh my gosh, Bo Nix is playing crazy. RJ Harvey Harvey's dynamic. Pat Bryant doing his thing. Marvin Mims. Cortland Sutton. it really hasn't been that on offense for the most part for the Broncos this season.

The defense has been shielding the load. So do you guys think this is, I don't want to say a phantom seven and two record, but do you think the Broncos, for lack of better phrase, are what their record says they are? I think there's credence to it. Look, I think you could say that the offense has been inconsistent all year. And I think we can all maybe agree. The offense hasn't played their best yet, right? And if they can figure out how to do that, they have a defense that we have seen that can, you know, suffocate guys.

Offenses inside the red zone. I mean, two goal line stands from the Broncos D this past week against that Texans offense there, stuffing them on the one yard line multiple times. They have a defense, I think, that can carry them very far. Can the offense put them in a position to where they can get a lead in a game? And then that defense can just pin their ears back and go. That's the formula for this team being successful.

Can they get to that point of consistency, though? I think that's the bigger question. It's a cliche saying that defense wins championships, even though it is true. but at some point you're going to need your offense to stand on business because we know as you get deeper into the playoffs, you're going to play better defensive teams and better offensive schemes as well. So we have yet to see this offense just kind of take charge and say, you know what, defense? Just sit on the sideline. We got you, dog.

We haven't seen that yet. No. So I'm waiting. So I understand Broncos country just kind of biting their nails and said, well, when are we going to really see this true shopping? Sean Payton's offense that we were told that was going to be so bloody brilliant. We haven't seen it yet. Yeah, that's just the reality of the situation. Look, I like Sean Payton as a head coach.

I think obviously he's worked wonders since taking over the organization, just kind of getting them back on track. But yeah, you know, a lot of outside pressure placed on this team from Sean Peyton. If you listen to the postcast, you know, I talk about this endlessly about the comments from training camp about how Bo Nix is going to be a top five quarterback in this league soon enough about how he's coached a handful of teams in his career that he feels like can win a Super Bowl. And he said on the record that he thinks this year's Broncos team is one of them.

And so, yeah, I think when it comes to Bo Nixon the offense, like, I'm not surprised at how up and down they've been. I understand that Bo played a ton in college, but it's still going to take some time for this offense to come together. Lo and behold, they have this brilliant defense that has kept them in these games. And it's interesting, like Nick, you're talking about, you know, kind of shoulder the load, like the offense needs to have a game. And it's not just the Broncos, but two interesting games like in the last few weeks with the Broncos beating the Giants in fourth quarter comeback fashion. And you saw what happened to the Bengals and the Bears last week as well. So two kind of corky games that are similar in that dynamic as well.

Well, I'll say this. When there was something you said that's very telling the comments that Coach Payton made at the beginning of the season that Bow is going to be a top five quarterback more sooner than later. You know what that translates to now watching the team, looking at all the passing attempt and going away from the run game? because now with him saying that and making that statement, you now have to speak truth to power.

So you have to make it happen as a play call. And what suffers is the continuity in the offense because going back to the Texas game, run the ball and look at J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey, how both of those guys contributed. But it was still throwing, throwing, throwing because you got to make yourself right when you talk about Boe being a top five pass in his lead. The thing that stands out to me, Nick, we saw them open up the game. J.K. Dobbins, what?

I think on his first three carries had around 21, 24 yards. They had six total rushing attempts in the first half and 17 passing attempts, seven minutes time of possession. You want to know why? It's because they threw the ball and they were throwing in completions. That right there is just not sustainable here. And we knew coming into it, D'Amico Ryan's, that defense was the number one defense in NFL and yards allowed.

They're the number one scoring defense in terms of limiting their opponent. and we knew their top four, top five against the run in the past. So the idea was like, okay, we're going to come out here. We're going to throw. Okay, they made things difficult for Boe early on. Bo's accuracy wasn't there. They had some really unique pressure looks. And ultimately, he was what, one of seven for three yards and an interception to kind

of start this game. And it's like, all right, why are the Broncos trying to force it versus just, hey, the run game was going? Why not stick with it? It's too exactly what you said. Sean wants to prove that, hey, Bo Nix is going to be the, top guy. But I think when you put your quarterback in that position where you put too much pressure on him and you don't do the other things that can support him and help the offense sustain themselves,

then I think you're kind of setting that him up for failure in a sense. I agree with you. Yeah, I think it's interesting. And we're going to do a deep dive on the offense coming up here in the next segment. And so we can kind of talk about Bo Nix and just that dynamic. You know, I think we've seen some bright spots from the offense this year. Troy Franklin's been coming on as of late. We can kind of break that down as well. But what was your guys as big takeaway, Nick, I'll start with you from that Texans game because I don't know about y'all. And maybe this is me just being a little cocky. As soon as we got to the fourth quarter, and I saw the margin and kind of like where the Broncos were at, I was like, they're probably

going to figure out a way to win this game. And it's a good trait for the Broncos to be resilient and play good football when their backs are against the wall. And so you saw that come out once again for the Broncos. But what was kind of your overarching theme, Nick, from this win against the Texas? Why can't you do this in the first three-quarters of the game? Why do we have to wait until, oh, my God, the house is burning. There's a bare loose in the building. That's what it seems like what happens with the play call. And I'm going to say this, guys, what we're seeing with Bo like last year and this year,

was reminiscent to what we've seen when Russell Wilson was a quarterback. And here's what I mean. Because the Broncos would struggle with their play call and execution penalties. And then in the fourth quarter, when they need it, it's like, you know what? You turn over that restaurant menu of players. and it says not run the ball, but let the quarterback do them. That's exactly what we saw at Russell Wilson, and we're seeing the same thing wildly enough with Bo Nix.

And I know people don't want me to say Russell Wilson and Bo Nix and put them in the same senses. But if you see anything that's different, please tell me, because that's what I'm saying. Yeah. We've seen those memes going around about comparing Bo to Tebow a little bit, and I don't subscribe to that personally. But like point being, like, you know,

fans are going to fan. I'm never going to tell a fan how to fan. But like the eye test, right? Like it's not a passing great. And I, Nick, tremendous amount of respect for you. You played in the league, Cody. I know you've played a long time as well. You know, my five foot six Italian jeans did not allow me to play football on a high level. But I've always been a fan of the game. And, you know, like, Bo, like once again, I agree with you, Nick. Like it's like fourth quarter, lock it. Here we go. Like here's the pass over the middle. We're going to get the dynamic play action going boom, boom, boom. But like the first three quarters of the game, I don't know if it's like mental overload and the processing. from the play calling or, you know, second year in defense is getting different looks at Bo. But he doesn't look completely comfortable out there.

Now, the Broncos have been able to win in spite of that. But you want to see Bo Nix just kind of look the part, I think, a little bit more in the second half of this season, Cody. Yeah, here's what I like about Bo, right? And I talked about this a little bit earlier in the week. You know, the resilience. I think he's got a great mindset to him, right? Because when you're struggling and you're going through the ups and downs and you're making mistakes, like through the course of a game, as we saw.

I'd say in the first half against the Texans, his body language, he never, he never looks overly bothered or worried, right? Sometimes you see guys make mistakes and then all of a sudden their body language changes and then all of a sudden it impacts how they play. I think a great example would be before Cortland Sutton's touchdown, right? Evan Ingram's up the left sideline, bow overthrows it, throws it a little too high for him, and Evan tries to body adjust as high as he can with one hand, can't haul it in. The very next play third and ten, all right, we're going to take another shot.

and the throws exactly where it needs to be to Cortland Sutton. I like that he's kind of got this gunslinger mentality to shake off a negative play and to keep going out there and playing. And certainly he said after the game, he says, I'm not where I want to be yet. I'm hoping I can maximize myself here at some point and get to where I need to be. But he just forget one negative playing out there and make the next play a positive one there.

I like his mindset and his mentality. But also I think there's maybe some credence to it as well. Nick, you watch the games like we're all in the press box during the games at home. and we're going to be there on Thursday night. How many times have we maybe looked at Bo coming off the field? And, you know, obviously Sean is there. He's trying to talk to him. How many times are we looked at it?

It looks like Bo at times is frustrated with Sean. I can't be the only one that sees that. Yeah, he is. And you can, the body language says a lot. And most people don't pay attention to players' body language. And for me, I feel the reason being it because Bo feels as though, hey, man, he's being handcuffs. The training wheels are still on.

And I know I go. back to what Sean said during the pre-draft process. The reason they fell in love with Bo, because how well he processed information, they loaded him up and he was able to go out there the next day and process it. So if you know that, well, you have that trust in him that he can go out there and he can make plays because I think some of the plays that Bo is making the start-out games where he's throwing the interception or he's throwing off his back foot, that's Bo pressing to be what Sean wants him to be.

Sean is not allowing him to be who he is. And how many times do we have to say, Bo Nix is not Drew Brees. Can he get to that point? Absolutely. But you have to allow him to be him. And here's the other thing, fellas. The play sheet is too massive.

It is too massive. Why not reduce it to almost by 8 by 10 or 8 by 11 and say, well, here's what we do well. And the reason I'm saying is because tell me, what is it that this team do? What is it that they do well? Now, what they're being known for doing now is being a fourth quarter comeback team. Trust me, that's great in all. I love it.

I applaud that Broncos win. But once again, man, once we get to, I guess, the back end of the season, you can't rely on that. That can't be your saving grace. You can only rely on your defense and Will Lutz so much. Yeah. Yeah, I think it's well said. And you know, you're not going to be able to continuously win games in that manner.

Like you take them as they come. Like I agree with you 100%. Nick, like you love that they're able to have that resiliency. But that's not, you know, a winning proposition moving forward for this Broncos team. They got to play a complete four quarters or at least even just a good half, right? Because they've been saving all this juice for the last 15 minutes. While it's been great, it's just not sustainable. So that's where we're at with the Denver Broncos right now.

Okay. We're going to hit a quick break. Welcome on into your maiden voyage of your locked on. I see you guys are fired up in the comment section. Keep them coming. We'll hit this quick, quick break. We'll come back and continue along with the conversation. Anilo Piro, Cody Wark, Nick Ferguson, locked on Broncos back in just a moment, folks. All right. Ladies and gentlemen, if I could find my lower third, here it is. Let me tell you about the fine folks over at built because nobody likes paying rent. I just paid mine the other day. Trust me, I don't like

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All right, get the fellas back in here. Welcome on back into your Lockdown Broncos Squad Show, our Maiden Voyage. Neil Lopiro, Cody, Work, Nick Ferguson here on the program today, talking all things Denver Broncos, as we will, throughout the rest of this season and maybe even into the off season. So subscribe and like that way you guys never miss any content. But, okay, so we kind of unpacked the state of the Broncos off the rip, right?

Good win against the Texans, six wins in a row, playing really good football. for the most part in regards to the wind column. But let's kind of do that deep dive into the offense right now, Nick. And I want to start with you because I completely agree when you talk about just Bo Nix and that dynamic with Sean Payton and the menu. I said the menu. I meant to say the playbook because I was going to say the playbook, it looks like a cheesecake factory menu with just how big and wide and long

and everything that's on it. And what was it last year even? You saw Sean Payton in the highlighter put run the ball in like all caps and exclamation points at one point. It was on it this week, too. It says run it. Yeah. So clearly Sean Payton is conscious of that. Clearly, you know, we've seen it in spurts, but we haven't maybe seen that balance from the offense as much if we wanted to.

Do we ever think, and Nick, I'll start with you, that Sean Peyton will be more 50-50 or closer to 50-50 with run-pass? No. Now, he can shock and amaze me, but at this particular point, no, I don't. And here's why I say that. Sean is a former quarterback. and Sean is like a surgeon because surgeons want to cut. He said it himself, how can he make Bo Nix a top performing quarterback statistically?

He's not going to get that using his feet. He's only going to get that throwing the ball. I mean, there was a game this season. I believe it was the Giants game where Bo had 50 attempts. Obviously, the Broncos were trawling. They needed to get back into the game. But 50 attempts, man, that's entirely too much. And then here's something else that I would have you guys take.

a look at. When you look at how the Broncos open up games and open up the past couple of games, it starts with running the ball with J.K. Dobbins. And then what happens? Then on the next possession, now, Bowes in a shotgun and then throwing a freaking ball. And I'm like, wait a minute, wait a minute. You just established at least three to four point yards a carry with J.K. Dobbins. Why not feed him and use play action to open up the field? Now, Sean knows more about offense than I would ever know. But you know one thing that I do know, I know defense. So I look at the Broncos offense as, how can I stop this if I was a coordinator calling plays against this team? And that's how I look and diagnose this offense. Yeah, I think it's well said. And it's not like the Broncos

running back room is how it was last year. And I understand Javonte Williams is balling out for the Dallas Cowboys this season. He wasn't doing that last year for the Denver Broncos. But like, to your point, like we've seen RJ Harvey have some explosive runs. We've also seen him be dynamic in the passing game to Sean's liking. But, you know, J.K. Dobbins was a late signing in the offseason for the Broncos. And, you know, the concern with J.K. was the injuries and knock on wood. So far, he's been healthy for the entire season.

But this is the guy that's currently fifth in the NFL and rushing yards was 695. And J.K's come out and said, I forget if it was at practice or after the games. Like he himself is a running back that he feels like gets better as the game goes along. More touches, more opportunities, just kind of the opportunity to build some callus in the run game as well. And so sometimes, Cody, it just feels like the Broncos aren't playing to their strengths, which could be a balanced offense to help out a young quarterback because of Sean Payton and who he is as a play caller. There is a level of stubbornness that Sean has. And certainly, look, Sean, as Nick has said, he's 25th.

He's in the top 25 of wins all time in NFL history. A lot of respect for him. He's very good at knowing what to do offensively. It's just, okay, do you have the personnel to execute some of these crazy designs that you certainly have? I like that he wants to be able to get his quarterback, you know, as a top guy by airing it out. But you know how you help him do that. You stick with the run game. And that opens up.

I'm going to go to my roots as a defensive player. And Nick, you know exactly what I'm talking about here. If we're on defense and all of a sudden, we're going against a running back that's gashing us, what are we going to adjust to do? We're going to tighten up defensively to kind of plug those run gaps. And then what happens? They hit you with play action. They hit you, you know, with different quick passing options, Aaron.

And it's like, all right, now they're attacking us from this. So now we got to adjust here. When you do that, then they go back to the run game. Like that's how you need to attack defenses. And certainly, I think the Broncos offensive line, I've been very impressed with Alex Paucheski stepping in. I think he's done a terrific job at left guard. The Broncos protection for the most part has been really good in the last handful of

week since Paucco was stepped in at left guard. But those guys have also done a really good job of opening things up in the running lanes, I think, for the running back. So the idea, it's like you run with JK on two plays, any pull him out, and Tyler Badee comes in. I don't like that strategy here. If JK has got a four-yard run and then a five-yard run and then a nine-yard run, I'm keeping JK in. JK's a durable guy. He's in good shape.

He doesn't want to come out. Why go away from the hot hand just to sprinkle in another mix of personnel? That to me, I think, is what holds this offense back sometimes. And if they could find a way to master it and be efficient, I see the vision and why Sean does it. but it's not working. And so what is the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Hold on for a second. I want to go back in the wayback machine for just a second because you brought up Javonte Williams. And I know the knock on Javonte was, well, the Broncos are not running the ball because he's incapable of carrying the low. Well, he's not staying on track. And I'm just like, no, that's not the case.

Sometimes we have to understand and see what was hiding and playing sight. Because there's no way Javante leaves Denver. Go to the Dallas Cowboys with Schadenheimer, and he's being featured in that offense, and they're handing the ball off to him. The whole thing about this gentleman is, I don't care what position that you play,

but when you talk about the offense, it's about establishing a rhythm. You can't, as a running back, go in for three to four carries and then take you out. To me, I mean, look, I've been around Kyle Shanahan Mike Shanahan and Gary Kubiak. That's not how they operate. They want to run the ball because they're setting up things,

not in the first quarter, but for the fourth quarter, but they want to see how you adjust to it. And I've talked to Tatum Bell. I've talked to Clinton Porter's and I've asked them, even Mike Anderson, playing for Mike Shanahan and being running backs, how many carries did you need to get and kind of get lathered up and get involved? They're talking about a series, right? Mike will leave them in for that.

that series. If you didn't perform well on that series, the next guy is in. But we got to leave you in, so now you get a feel for it. The guys who are blocking for you, they need to get a feel for you because J.K. Dobbins and R.J. Harvey are running backs, but they have two different styles. J.K. Dobbins, because he's a veteran, he's more patient. R.J. Harvey, not to say there's a knock on but it happens with a lot of young running backs. You want to get the ball and go. But you got to set it up. You got to set it up and let the pulling guards get out in front of you. So that's the biggest concern. Can Sean Payton, or is he willing to be patient enough to allow those running backs to get into the quote? That is the million dollar question.

Well, you use the word that I was going to use. It requires patience. And I'm not sure that Sean Payton has a lot of patience, right? I mean, like the time to do that would probably be early in the season at home against Tennessee, right? And that was a 20 to 12 win. another, they won, but a funky game for the Denver Broncos to open up this season. And, you know, I know he got hurt, but like, look at what Cam Scatabu, a young rookie running back was able to do for a rookie quarterback in Jackson, Darden. What do? You know, and obviously we all hope that he is, you know, getting rested and hopefully we'll be back and ready to go for next year because he's an electric player. But like, there's so many instances, and I love the Shanahan comparison of just what a quality run game can do for the Denver Broncos.

I know we brought up Javent Javons. Last year is different than this year, right? And good for Javante, he's eaten and whatnot. But I think what you're seeing is the frustrating part for Broncos countries, you have two guys in Dobbins and R.J. Harvey that could be shoulder the load type of guys. I mean, we've seen Dobbins rush for over 100 yards already in a game this season. I don't know why, Cody. I mean, I guess I do know why because of Sean Payton.

But like, it just seems logical to just continue to feed that machine to take pressure off of both. Yeah, the best thing. And how many times have we heard Sean in a press conference tell us specifically, the best allies to a young quarterback is a strong defense and a good run game. So what is the deal? The Broncos got. They have a strong defense. They have shown that they can be a capable and good running football team.

They just got to stick with it. I like the approach personally that they had on Monday night football where they gave J.K. Dobbins an entire series. And then the next series, they gave R.J. Harvey a series, right? You get both of those guys in a machine, you know, in a little bit of a groove as Nick was talking about. And all of a sudden, now you have a well-oiled.

running machine offense there. And we saw them open things up. Not only with JK going over 100 yards in that game, but then RJ Harvey, not only impacting things on the ground yards after contact, but also he was getting involved in the past game. He's become that past catching weapon that Sean Payton has been looking for at the running back position.

Imagine if they can get him going on the ground game as well. And the only way to do that is just give these guys more reps and more touches. I hope that's the case this week against this Las Vegas Raiders team, because even though that those guys are two and six, sitting at the bottom of the division, you know what they're going to do. They're going to send Max Crosby after Bow Nix, find a way to counteract that by running the football.

That's going to be a fun thing to watch. Obviously, as Denver has a short week turnaround on Thursday night. And you know what's kind of ironic about this conversation is, I know a lot of people are obsessed with the running back room. I am as well. Like, why don't they utilize the running backs more? But like there's some rumors, right, NFL trade deadlines today

about like, will they go after a wide receiver? You know, maybe they will. They don't even use the guys they have in the passing game all the time. Like, Corlin's son has had some nice games, right? And he's your de facto number one wide receiver. But all I was told and all I heard, I was at training camp like every single day this summer. Oh my gosh, Pat Bryant this. Oh my gosh, Pat Bryant that. And this is not a slight to Pat Bryant whatsoever. But it's like, where is Pat? Like we've seen it in a couple of games, a couple of catches and whatnot. But Troy Franklin against the Cowboys, like that was his first kind of breakout game of the season.

Evan Ingram, another guy that we were just talked about like this is the Joker. Like this is the guy that's going to unlock this offense. So we'll see if the Broncos make a trade for wide receiver. But Nick, I'm still sitting back and saying, like, I don't know if they've reached max value with the guys that they currently have. I'm right there with you. Why give a draft capital to go out and trade for a guy like you said that you're not going to utilize? Like one of the guys I heard was Jacoby Myers who was just traded from the Raiders to Jacksonville Jaguars. His name and then it was Jaylon Water. And it's like, it really doesn't make a difference, gentlemen, because why bring those guys in if you're not utilizing them? Because we were told, right?

It was force fed down our throat so much to a point where I even hate to use the word to refer to Evan Ingram because we haven't really seen him. So what's going on with that? Can he not process the offense? Are we over, well, not we, but is Sean Payton overthinking this as far as his utilization? Because it's like, no, that was the big talk of the offseason, how he was going to change the Broncos from a past catching standpoint. And I'm being a defensive guy, I was so excited. I was like, man, yes, because remember National Titans Day last year, Adam Troutman went off.

And I'm like, if you add, man, shoot, this thing is about to pop off, but we haven't seen it. So the idea of giving up draft capital to bring in another wide receiver that you're not going to really use, don't do it, because Marvin Mims, you know, didn't play last week because of concussion. He is one of the fastest players, in my opinion, as far as a vertical threat we've seen, but guess what we normally see him running parallel to the lines image in the green place and i tell you i want to pull my hair out every single time and i'm saying what are we doing yeah agreed they

they have they have the personnel that's talented anything i love about what denver's young guys have and we talk about them not distributing enough is i mean pat bryan blocks his tail off and obviously he's shown that he can be clutch that catch he had on third and eleven this past week Fantastic. Recognize that it was zone coverage, dropped right behind Aziz, Al-Shayor, sat there, hauled it in to move the chains for a first down. Troy Franklin, we know what Troy could bring to the table. He's a guy, I think, is very effective across the middle. We haven't even seen Troy yet. The Broncos use him on those deep balls, the way that we saw him kind of designed up last year as a route runner. Same thing with Marvin

Mims. As you mentioned, last year, final what? Final handful of games, he had six touchdowns in the second half stretch of the season. There's more to Marvin. And I like that they use them in the backfield to isolate them against inside linebackers. I'll take that every day. But I want to see more Marvin downfield. I want to see that. And the only way you can open that up is by running the football and then you get to play action.

Then you can allow those longer developing routes where Marvin can get behind defenses. And if he's not getting behind, if he's getting behind them, he's drawing them away, guess what? You have the underneath stuff that you can attack to that we certainly haven't seen consistently enough here with this offense. They got the pieces. I think they got the young guys there. And look, there's some growing pains.

with these young guys trying to figure out their role here. The idea of going out and trading for another guy right now, I agree with you, Nick. It doesn't make sense. You know, and I think the what? The rumor is Jalen Waddle. Jalen's a great player. But right now the Broncos have an issue getting their playmakers the ball enough. Anyways, especially with Cortland Sutton seeing double teams,

maybe a guy like Jalen Waddle could come in and maybe take some attention off of Cortland in that regard. Okay, that's great. But what's the point of adding another guy right now? I think Denver's going to be more aggressive in free agency than they are going to be at the deadline. You know, I want to add this really quickly. It's like if life is kicking you in the teeth and you can barely feed the number of people in your family,

why would you go out and have another baby, right? So adding another Y receiver to a room where you can't really get everyone the ball, once again, why would you do that? You can't really feed him. And if you were to trade for a guy like Wado or whatever receiver, and then now that person starts getting the bolt of the targets, I'm like, well, could you not have done that same thing with the guys that you already have? So I don't understand it.

Yeah, I don't know if they'll get max value in regards to the on the field production if they do trade for like a big time wide receiver like a waddle just with what we've been seeing. And we'll hit a break right after this. But like I see some discourse going on in the comments about like Ingram and play calling versus Bo missing him wide open at times. Guys, Evan Ingram has 26 receptions in 215 yards in one touchdown on the season. He has less than 300 yards receiving. And that's not a slight at Evan Ingram whatsoever. But for a guy that was built up to be like this dynamic playmaker in the offense, to have less than 300 yards receiving this far into the season,

I think that just speaks to Cody's point of like, let's spread the wealth a little bit, share the sugar and get these guys involved because I do think the Broncos have plenty of playmakers on offense. They just haven't quite cracked that code. Also, John Payton, since he's been a head coach, dating back to 2006 in New Orleans, has never traded for a wide receiver at the NFL trade deadline. That's not going to change.

I don't think now, but you know what? Maybe we'll all be surprised. They traded Devon Bailey. Like if they were looking for another wide receiver, they had one that they liked in training camp. So again, that's beyond the point. We'll see what happens with the Broncos here with the trade deadline. But it seems like we're all in agreement that the Broncos have the pieces on offense.

They're just not putting them together the right way. So let us know your thoughts in the comment section. Let's hit a quick commercial break. When we come back, I know Cody and Nick have been chomping at the bit to talk about this Denver Broncos defense. Boy, oh, boy, did they show why they are one of, if not the best unit in the NFL last week against the Houston Texans. All that more when we come back right here on your Locked on Broncos squad show.

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Also hit that like button, smash that subscribe button. That way you guys never miss any content here on the channel. Okay, good conversation about the offense, good kind of table set up with the season as a whole. But let's talk about where the bread is buttered for this Denver Broncos team. And that is on defense. Oh, my goodness. Look, we knew coming into the season that the Broncos had one of the better units in the NFL.

But the Broncos do not win six games in a row. The Broncos are not seven and two without the efforts of this defense. Pat Sertan, who we know is hurt right now, but Nick Benito, Zach Allen, Jonathan Cooper, Jonathan Franklin Myers. I mean, these guys are dogs, Cody, absolute dogs. They got everybody. And look, Drake Greenlaw is getting back in the mix. I was so excited just to see Dre.

Look, and he played 27 snaps against the Texans, and he had eight tackles, one sack, one quarterback hit. You felt his presence when he was on the field. And I wanted to ask, I wanted to go to. to Nick here on this one. That goal line stand. There were two straight plays. First down, second down, Drey Greenlaw, stuck the running back. Nick Chub on one, Woody Marks on the other. What is it about Drey that you see? And obviously, you spent time coaching in San Francisco. You know, you know, the Domeco Ryan's coaching tree. You know, obviously, you've been around him.

You've been around Robert Sala. You've been around Fred Warner, Drake Greenlaw. What is it like seeing him on the field here? Well, it starts with something Robes-Salle used to talk about before every meeting and every practice, every game, which is part of this normal vernacular. It's juice. You want guys who have juice. And that's the great thing about playing

on the demons of the ball. You want to be reckless. Like, it seemed like offensively, you need to be more restrained and more control. But on defense, you just cut it loose and you play like your hairs on fire. And it was one of those plays, I think, the last stop that Greenlaw just kind of,

kind of launched his body, just sacrificing his body, not even caring. That's what we do as defensive players. We really don't care. We just throw our body into the mix. And that's what I've been anticipating and wanting to see from Dre Greenwald because once again, he has a lot of energy. He's like one of those kids that you get hyped up on sugar and the teachers got to put him in the side of the room and tie him out.

He's that kid, but I want that guy on my football team, right? It's sort of like he is Vance Joseph version of Akeed to lead for Wade Phillips, right? That guy that you could just cut him loose and you can say, hey, listen, this play, this game is on the line and we need someone to make a play. I need you to make a play. He's almost like that guy a little from what was the movie, the football movie, the program. Yeah. Linebacker. What's your assignment?

Yes. turn to Dre Greenlaw. And if there was a dial, you know, like you can like warm and hot. No, no, no. We want him on furnace, right? And that's what you get when you get a guy like that. I love to watch and play.

Hell, I wish that I could play right now so I could just back him up. Right. It's just running there and just smash people in the face. He and Hufonga together. It's scary. The vibes that they give each other, the way that they play off each other. Hufonga, I mean, look,

we could talk about Pat Sertan being the, defensive MVP for this team, 110%. He's so valuable. Hufonga is having such a pivotal impact on this team that I don't think a lot of people are talking enough about. I completely agree, dude. And he's as close as we're going to get to that throwback style of football, Nick, that you played in the NFL. Like, that's what I grew up with, with the Ray Lewis's of the world, the Troy Palomali, who's just like guys that would straight up invoke fear in the opposing team if you dared run a slant route over the middle. And I mean, Hufanga, you know, plays as violent in a fair way as.

you can in the NFL this season. I think it's really just added an extra edge to this Broncos defense because like, you know, with Pat Sertan, it's kind of like he's a quiet kind of guy, right? Like a lead by example. He's not going to jaw or chirp or anything like that. And you kind of see Nick Benito kind of coming into his own last year. But now Nick Benito's as good as he is. Zach Allen at the contract extension playing well, JFM Jonathan Cooper.

You added Dre Greenlaw and now a Talanohu Fonga into this mix. You're taking an already stout defense. And to use your word, Nick, giving him some juice and some extra. bite on that side of the ball. Yeah, you want that, that bite and you actually need it, right? It's almost like, you remember, Colonel Jessup, Fugerman? You want me on that wall. You need me on that wall. You need those types of guys. And listen, I get it. Every once in a while, they may be a penalty. And Brandon Jones, you know, receive one because some of those plays are bang, bang, right? I mean, you can't coach a guy to say, well, I want you to go. And

out there and play physical. It's almost like training a tack dog to attack, but they get mad when he bites someone, right? No, I want a bunch of biters on my team. I want people to be aggressive, set that tone, and the idea is that we want to play fair. We want to play fair, but we want to play fast. And that's kind of what you get from Afung and Brandon Jones.

Yeah, man, Brandon Jones is another guy. It's so hard because, like, there's so many good players on this defense that I feel like guys get overlooked. And I say that to say this. Two guys have been picked on from Bramon. Broncos country online. Alex Singleton and Riley Moss. These are guys that get a lot of, don't get me started on Riley. No, I know. But the point being is, and again, like, this isn't a bad thing. Like, Singleton and Riley Moss are good players. And I think sometimes they get exposed in the

minds of fans because of just how dominant everybody else is on that defense. Like when you've got a reigning defensive, defensive player in Pat or Tan, naturally Riley Moss is going to get picked on. When you have a defensive line, the way that the Broncos do, they're going to look for opportunities over the middle, especially when Drey Greenlaw is now playing lineback on the other side, they're going to look to Alex Singleton, who's still like a year removed from an ACL injury. So like just because Singleton, you know, maybe doesn't make a play here or Riley Moss allows a catch there, that's going to happen, folks. And frankly, I think they get the brunt of it because of just how good the rest of the

Broncos defense is. These are professional teams, folks. They're going to score points. They're going to complete passes. Like there's going to be some hiccups along the way. But I think Singleton is consistently near the top, if not at the top of the tackling sheet. when the game is over. This is a guy that's in every single play. So I just want to defend those guys a little bit because I feel like they get picked on because of the rest of the defense being so

elite. Yeah, it's something that you normally get. And I'm curious for Nick's thought on this. Justin Sternado has been playing very, very good this season. Do you run into a dilemma of your Vance Joseph where you look at, do I play Alex Singleton more, even though that maybe he's deficient in covering tight ends, right? Or if he gets matched up against a linebacker, do we do that? or do we stick with Justin Sternard and Drey Greenlaw, both those guys are healthy? Or do we see what they've been doing so far? Do they rotate all three?

Where do you stand? What is the best play here for Denver defensively, Nick? Depth and rotation. Each guy supplies a unique skill set. Drake Greenlaw is your thumper. He's your aggressive. He's a guy you can get the green dot to. Sometimes you may have to pull him back as far as his aggression.

But to me, at least I know I don't have to rev him up. I just may have to tune him down. And I'd have to say, man, you know, Justice Chernard has done a great job for himself, especially coming out of Wake Forest when no one really thought he would be a starting linebacker to begin with. And I think a lot of that happened and that transition when Alex Sinan heard his knee last year. And it was Justice Schnard and Cody Bart. And there was a lot of things that I believe that those two working, you know, with,

I don't want to say, diminishing skill set, but leaning on one another based on the weaknesses that they identified in their game helped Justin Strunard out a lot. And I guess if the rubber kind of met the role and they had to make a decisions, I think based on what you've seen from a past covering standpoint, right? Past covering standpoint, you may lean more towards Justin Strannard. And we all know that we have some deficiencies in certain areas as players. I had him too. I wasn't a perfect player.

But Alex Singleton is a thumber. I mean, he's amassed a lot of tackles. in his time with the Denver Broncos. But when it comes to covering tight ends, when it comes to covering running backs, that's not his skill set. That's not where, you know, he jumps off the page. That's where you get Greenlaw and Justice Renard. Yeah.

Well, look, let's talk about Riley Moss here for a second, too, because I think that there's a lot of people out there, Nick, that don't understand the cornerback play. They don't understand the responsibilities. They just see even if they're in zone, if there's a catch in front of them, oh, it's on that player. That player, you know, is getting burnt. Riley doesn't allow separation in coverage here. And I think when you look at the numbers here for Riley as well, he's allowed a 66.8 passer rating. It's the eighth lowest amongst corners of 20 plus targets right now in the NFL. Pats are 10, 73.9. It's the 17th lowest. Those two guys together have been fantastic. And look, yes, Riley is the most penalized corner in football. But there's also times we are seeing him, I think, unfairly penalized when he's playing with great technique. And he's getting in phase, getting into hit, playing the football.

We've seen a few bad defensive PI calls against him. And, of course, there's going to be some where he does commit PI. What do we see this past week against Houston? No. No PS2 out there. He covered Nico Collins, did a pretty good job, kept everything in front of him, had a couple of key pass breakups. The microscope on Riley Moss, I feel like, is such an unfair narrative right now for a lot of fans that don't understand and respectfully.

I'm saying this respectfully, that don't understand defense, don't understand the cornerback position, and don't understand coverage and responsibilities. they see an end result or a catch in front say, ah, that guy gave up another catch. So you're asking fans too much, right? They're not willing to be understanding because everyone's playing fantasy football. And we've heard how great this defense is. So they expect you to stop every single route. And I'm going to tell you, even the 2006 Baltimore Ravens didn't do that.

People caught passes. So when you look at Riley Moss, he's in phase. He's competing. The only time Riley gets in trouble, man, is winning at the line of scrimmage. And instead of using his feet, because we've all been in this position. When a guy gets to a point where he's even with you, it's don't panic. Don't start to grab. Because once you start to grab, now you allow him that receiver to create more separation.

So the idea is once Riley finds himself in that situation because you're going to be in that situation more often than not playing corner in the league. Don't try to use your hand. run and try to stay in his hip pocket and try to stack him because he's trying to stack you. And you're going to see a lot of targets because you're opposite of Pat Sartan. But I love everything about what Riley Moss is as a corner. And I have to tell you, it is very difficult playing this position, that position in this league. And hell, it's hard being a white corner in this league. I could only imagine, you know.

And again, like I think Riley Moss gets the. Bruntavit, again, on one of if not the best defense in the NFL that is winning games and playing exceptionally well because, you know, the chunk play here, chunk play there. But I think Riley Moss was good. I think Alex Singleton's fine. I do, I have a thought. I'll leave you guys with this before we hit our break. Isn't it interesting, like you bring a point about like rotations and substitutions and whatnot? We want that from the deep, we want from the defense with the linebacking position, but we also want from the offense, which is like spread the wealth, more situational football. Let's get this guy in here on this play set, whatever it might be. But all in all,

the Broncos are in a good place right now defensively. Riley Moss and Alex Singleton included. All right. Let's hit our final break. When we come back, some breaking news, big trade in the NFL, as well as the second trade, both, which could affect the Denver Broncos. We'll talk about those trades and also take a look at Thursday night football as the Denver Broncos get ready to take on the Las Vegas Raiders. All that more back on the other side. All right, nice and easy, quick one there for you folks. Welcome on back into your lockdown Broncos squad show, Nilo Piro, Cody, Mark. Nick Ferguson, appreciate y'all rocking with us. Like button, subscribe button. hit those two for us if your heart desires.

So we know that Jacoby Myers was traded earlier today. That'll obviously impact the Denver Broncos when they take on the Las Vegas Raiders. But this coming out within the last couple of minutes, some big news from Adam Schaefter here on X. The New York Jets have traded Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts for two first round picks. So obviously there's a lot of back and forth between the Sauce Gardner fans and the Pat Sertan fans. let's not have that conversation. It's not even close. No, I agree.

But Soss Gardner going to the Colts, a legitimate contender in the AFC, a team that gave the Broncos some fits with that leverage call at the end of the year or at the end of the game in week two. But the Colts getting a big time playmaker on defense that could help shore them up as we push towards the playoffs and maybe even a potential playoff matchup

if the draw shakes out that way. Not necessarily too worried about Soss Gardner. Look, I think you can make an argument in New York. Certainly it's a hard place to play. I think that narrative with sauce, and sauce was playing at a high level for a good portion of the time, I think early on in his career there. But then he started getting away with being a little too grabby.

And in New York, that media narrative kind of feel that is he's one of the top corners. I think when we watched the tape and looked at sauce, we're like, you know, he's good, but he's too physical. He's too grubby. He doesn't have the speed to keep up with some of the bigger,

faster guys in the NFL. Now you're starting to say, okay, maybe the New York Jets at this position. They're trying to accelerate this rebate. Now, when you get those first round picks, you can do a lot with that. It's a new brain trust there. Erin Glenn, who obviously, I think he's dealt with his fair share of struggles being in New York. I think there's a lot of stuff that aren't necessarily in his hands that he's got to overcome.

Darren Moji, who we all know here in Denver, former assistant GM here to George Peyton, they're just trying to make moves here. I don't necessarily look at that and like, okay, oh, the culture, all of a sudden, this scary team. I don't feel that way. Nick, how do you feel? Well, I'll say this. start with the Jets part of it first. I played with Aaron Glenn when I was a young player with New York Jets, and he has very low tolerance for certain things. And Soss Gardner, being a big corner coming out of Cincinnati, there was a lot of hype around him. He got away with a lot of

grabbing, as you're describing, Cody, because of that recognition. But knowing AG, the way that I know him, I mean, he's a stickler for technique. And then Dre Bly, another guy I play for, is the corners coach. And basically what this says to me, they got sick and tired of sauce garden sauce gardener was not improving and they had to make a chance make a change they saw an opportunity and the fact that you know you say they got two first rounders for him right i think that's excessive for a guy who is perceived the best corner in the league he's not the best corner in the league but for Shane stuyking and the coach it's like you know what we need a way to shore our defense and just kind of make us a lot better so that may prove

beneficial for that Colts team. But I mean, he's not a shutdown corner. But it doesn't really affect the Broncos in that much of a way because once again, Saul Scarner didn't really do that great of a job against the Denver Broncos. And I really don't see him as being that type of top corner in the league. No. Yeah. I agree.

I mean, Pat or Tan. I'm biased aside. I know we covered the team and we live in the market. Like Paterson is the best cornerback in the NFL. Like anyone that knows ball, I think should be able to say that outside of the East Coast bias that loves to come out there with. When you got Jamar chasing all these wide receivers at the wide receiver summit saying trying to game plan and scheme, how are we going to beat this guy?

And they're like, we can't. There's nothing you could do. Like Chad Ocho Siko, who you obviously played against Nick was like, no, you do this. And Jamar was like, no, he's too patient. You can't do that against a guy like Pat. And look, obviously I thought Denver responded well without him against Houston. But this week, Brock Bowers, he's back. He's coming off of a 12 catch game, three touchdowns.

No Jacobi Myers, as he just mentioned. He's going to Jacksonville, but now it's going to be Brock Bowers and Trey Tucker as the top two pass catching options there. And then Ashton Gentie out of the backfield still have some challenges. And I think for this defense to try to figure out how they're going to stop Brock Bowers this week. Yeah, I just want to say that two first round picks for Soss Gardner's crazy. That's crazy. Good for the Jets, one of the few things. You just got extended to unless it's like, hey, we'll pay a majority of his salary if you give us two first round picks.

Yeah. I wonder if that's the, I wonder if that was the thinking there. Interesting. I'm sure the details will come out a little bit later this afternoon. And one more other small trade. The Saints are trading wide receiver Rashid Shaheed to the Seattle Seahawks. So a former saint not coming to the Broncos. Seahawks are getting loaded with guys right now.

My goodness. This is the benefit of being live, you know, in the middle of trade season. So hopefully, I mean, we got a few minutes left in the show. Maybe the Broncos make a move. We shall see. But let's switch gears here kind of in the same vein with the trades, but also apply it to Thursday night football. The Raiders.

This season is not gone according to plan for them. You know, Ashen Gentie hasn't been maybe as dynamic as some people thought he might be out of college in his rookie season. Pete Carroll, Gino Smith, right? I thought the Raiders were going to be a lot better than they have been this season. That's just an objective opinion. I know Broncos country hates the Raiders, but I just, I thought they would be better than they have been. But, you know, trading away Jacobi Myers, so that's one less playmaker for the Raiders. Look, the short week is always a little tricky, I would imagine for any NFL team.

But with this Broncos team, six wins in a row, seven. and two, you know, I don't want to see the Broncos overlooked this Raiders team on Thursday night, Cody. No, you can't do that. Look, anytime you have a divisional game, Nick, you probably know this as well as anybody in all the games you've played against the Raiders, the Chargers, the Chiefs. Divisional games seemingly have, they always have this added hype to it. Now look, Denver's in prime time. Look at Minnesota and Detroit last week. The throwbacks are on. It's a short week. The Broncos's estimated injury report from yesterday is pretty lengthy. We'll see how it is today. We're going to go out to practice this after. afternoon and see where things are at. But this is, you can't have a letdown here on Thursday night. And you know that the Jaguar is coming off of a loss, the way that they did in overtime.

That's going to be frustrating for them, but they came out of that game pretty healthy. So, short week, it's always tricky. I'm not going to be shy from saying I hate Thursday night games. I think it's detrimental to player safety when the NFL talks so much about caring about it. But we're at this point where there's nothing you could do. The schedule makers have it on. and the Broncos, they got to find a way to show up here on Thursday night. Yeah, as a former player, I don't like those short Thursday night games,

but this is a Thursday night game that the Broncos should, in fact, actually win. Because now you're talking about a Raiders team that's coming off a tough loss against Jacksonville. And then the fact that Jacoby Myers finally gets his wish, he's now traded to another team. And the reason why the Raiders have been playing so poorly, because I thought they'd play much better this season was because there was no Brock Bowers, right? And Brock Bowers, we saw he changes everything. Now, if you have fantasy lover, I hope you have Brock Bowers in your lineup because he's going to get a lot of targets this particular game. So this should not be a game that I would say that it should be a contest that the Raiders should be in this game.

If they are, this would prove to be a major problem for the Denver Broncos, but you can't take this team. team light because you're at home. It's Thursday night. You got to keep this Wednesday night. And you're going to play this Raiders team again between playing Kansas City and the commanders. Well, and here's the thing. I'm objective. The last two Thursday night games have not gone well for the Denver Broncos. Last year against the Los Angeles Chargers, we all remember that one. What a gross game that was. And I believe the year prior, that was the Indianapolis Colts game, right? Where it was just like with KJ Hamler, I think it would. I forget what about. Yeah.

Maybe that was the year before, the year before that, but I remember those were both Thursday night games. So, you know, the Broncos have some demons to exercise. Thursday night was good last year for Denver. They beat New Orleans. Okay, true. So there you go. That blacked out of my memory.

I just still think, because they got flexed into that Chargers game, right? Yeah, they had two essentially last year because they opted into it, which interesting choice. I mean, they should have taken care of business. They had a 13-point lead in the third quarter. You got to maintain that.

But, yeah, I think that what was it, the Colts game? I can't remember what the 20-23 one. was. I think it was against the Chiefs. That's what it was. Kansas City. Point being, Thursday night football and the Broncos have not gone very well together outside of that Saints game. So I agree with Nick, man. Like this is an opportunity. Like this is a game of the Broncos should win.

And I also, you know, agree with you, Cody, in the sense of like these divisional games can always be tricky. So yes, the Broncos should win this game. I don't think it would surprise me if it's like, it's never easy with the Broncos either. And like to kind of circle back to where we started this show where I talked to you guys about like seven and two. Like, do you feel like they are what their record says they are. Like a seven and two team at home on Thursday night football against this Raiders team, you should expect destruction, right? Like you should expect the Broncos to come out there and dominate all three facets of the game. But the Broncos, despite the wind streak, despite the record,

I've showed some flaws. And I'm curious to see if they can clean some of that up or if the Raiders are going to be able to take advantage. Need to win. You go to eight and two. You go to one in AFC West divisional play. You go to, I think, five and two in AFC conference play, which is so important towards the end of the year. Yeah, you got to show up. hopefully Marvin Menz is back this week, folks. I think we can argue about that. Well, and here's one other thing I'll throw out there real quick is, Sean, to his credit,

what was that after the giant game was harping on the fact that, you know, next week's a letdown spot historically for the NFL. And he did a really good job about keeping his players locked in and ready to go in practice. And they came out and they dismantled the Dallas Cowboys. They played the Kansas City Chiefs after they play the Raiders on Thursday night football this week. So you have to wonder just naturally, are they casting off the race?

and looking ahead towards Kansas City. Nick, that is the one thing that Broncos could not afford to do because that's how they could lose this game. Yeah, I don't think that they're doing that. I'll be solely disappointed if that were to happen. They know it was at stake. And this is a get right game for the Broncos offense. This is an opportunity for them to pad their stats.

And even if they do win the game, the idea is that, you know what, this is a game like Dallas, just like the game against the Cincinnati beans, that you should win. So anything under 40 points would be disappointing for me from the Broncos offense. Ooh. I like that. Can we get a 40 burger on Thursday night full? I'm with it, Nick. I'm here for it.

I mean, we haven't seen them do that all season long. We saw them doing like, you know, in spurts, but this is an opportunity. And granted, even if they were to do it, I mean, no one's going to give them kudos or pat him on the back because you should do it. So these are the games where you only play who's in front of you. So you have to go out there and blower the doors off because tell the Raiders, you know what, your season is over. Go back to Vegas. Have a great Christmas and Thanksgiving.

And we're seeing you in 2026. Yeah, no, that should absolutely be the mantra. The Broncos also wearing their throwback uniforms once again tomorrow. So that is always exciting. But okay, winding down here on your inaugural Locked-on Broncos squad show, really appreciate everyone tapping in with us today. We'll be back after the game as well on Thursday night. So stay tuned for that.

Cody, I'll go to you first. As you know, I like to say, put a bow on the show. Any closing thoughts? You want to get off your chest before we get out of here? Yeah, I think this is just a great week for the Broncos to take advantage of the position that they're in. Go to 8 and 2, which sets up a very fun matchup against Kansas City where you're 8 and 2. They're 5 and 4. You have a chance to bury them down a little bit more if you can win that game.

Like these divisional games, you know, especially when you're so close, in the standings, a win is great because it's like two games, essentially. A win puts you one step forward, you know, ahead, and then a loss for the other team puts them another step down. That's important. Take advantage. The Broncos, they're in control of their destiny. Can they seize it?

That's the question. Nick, the floor is yours. Well, I would say it's about time that we start giving Vance Joseph his flowers. We can talk about Bo Nix, who I think is going to have an extraordinary career, especially once the handcuffs comes off, but this defense has been extraordinary over the past two years. They are carrying the water

for this team. He needs to be validated. And now I will say as I have always said, when I think about this Broncos defense and how they've shown up, it reminds me of the 90s television show. McGiver, because they always show up when you need them

the most. So remember that Broncos country, this defense in Vance Joseph, a.k.a. McGiver will come up big on Thursday night. Well said from Nick. Well said from Cody. And I'll just kind of echo that. Gotta win this game. Any means necessary. But this should be a get right game from the Broncos on offense. And the Broncos defense minus Jacoby Myers. Obviously, Brack Bowers is going to be a threat. They should be able to keep the lid on this Raiders offense. Going to be an exciting matchup here on Thursday night football. Again, folks, one more time.

Hit that like button, smash that subscribe button that we guys never miss an episode of all your content here on your Locked-on Broncos YouTube channel. And again, Cody, myself and Nick will be live after the game on Thursday, breaking it down, hopefully after a victory. But a good show. That was an hour. I feel like I could go for like another three if I wanted to, but we'll save it for Thursday night. So Cody, Nick, great job. Locked on Broncos Nation. Appreciate y'all as always. We'll talk to you guys on Thursday night and have a good one until then, folks.