Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - BRONCOS SQUAD SHOW: Denver Broncos TOPPLE Kansas City Chiefs In Mile High THRILLER

Episode Date: November 17, 2025

The Denver Broncos toppled the Kansas City Chiefs in a Mile High Thriller to improve to 9-2 going into the bye week. Join Cody Roark, Sayre Bedinger, and former Broncos safety Nick Ferguson for the BR...ONCOS SQUAD SHOW as they discuss Bo Nix leading the offense, Riley Moss's defensive penalties, Ja'Quan McMillian's big game, penalties and more. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!  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.

Transcript
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Starting point is 00:00:00 I'm Cody Rourke, and the Denver Broncos are hitting their stride at the right time. I'm Sarah Bedinger and Bo Nix had a get-right game at the best possible time to take the lead in the AFC West. I'm Nick Ferguson, and I know defense, and that McGuire defense showed up again. Let's go. You're going to get all that on today's Broncos Squad Show here on the Locked-on podcast network. Let's ride. It's the Broncos squad. Everything Denver Broncos every week.
Starting point is 00:00:29 covering all the big hits and game-changing plays from the Mile High City, who wait only the Lockdown Podcast Network can. Gear Up and Squad Up, the Broncos Squad Show starts now. Broncos Country, not sure what happened to the new intro. We have to get that figured out. We are not riding anymore, but you know what? We do have a Broncos Squad show here on the Lockdown Podcast Network, where you know it's your team every day.
Starting point is 00:00:58 Shout out to all the everydayers out there in Broncos Country for making Locked on the number one sports podcast in the country. I'm Cody Rourke, Broncos reporter for Mile High Sports. We got a star-studded panel here on today's Broncos squad show. Sarah Bedinger, long-time site expert there, predominantly orange.com, and you all know him. You love him. He delivers the hard hits on the microphone, and he did it on the field for many, many years. Former Bronco safety, Nick Ferguson.
Starting point is 00:01:23 And we got a lot to break down, gentlemen here on today's Broncos squad show, brought to you by our friends over there at and do aware. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you get $300 and bonus bets to use all across the app. Chance, Denver, 9 and 2, sitting atop the ASC. West, Sarah, let's start off with you, my friend. What did we learn from this Broncos team on Sunday? Well, we learned that Bo Nix ain't dead.
Starting point is 00:01:50 You know, we found out that he can still play. I guess, Cody, the eulogies were a bit premature, right? With Bo Nicks out there in this game against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Broncos fan base wanted to see a bow. bounce back game from the quarterback. A lot of people didn't think it could happen. Some folks calling for Jared Stidham. Some folks got USA Today calling for John Mateer, the Oklahoma quarterback. Bo Nicks played well when it mattered the most, right? And it wasn't just the fourth quarter. It was in the whole game against the Kansas City Chiefs showing his leadership, showing his poise, showing his ability to respond to the pressure,
Starting point is 00:02:22 which we know he talks about, hey, I don't hear that stuff or I kind of tune that stuff out. You could tell from the players in the locker room what they were saying that they were hearing, all that stuff. And it really felt like he responded in the best possible way at the best possible moment for this Denver Broncos team. Nick, where are you at? Well, I'm going to kind of put things in reverse for just a second because I'm going to talk about that first half of football. We saw the Broncos move the ball down the field with a certain fluidity that we hadn't seen all season long, only to do what we've seen them do all season long with sputter inside the red zone, but they were able to find their balance. They were able to find their rhythm, as I would
Starting point is 00:03:07 like to say, they're dancing shoes. I mean, at first it looked like that they were going to have two left feet, but then they found their Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. So it was a thing of beauty to watch them go out there and move the ball down the field. And the biggest part for me, man, is that fourth quarter when they had to have it, those got to have it moments. I think it was about two minutes and 59 seconds remaining in the game. and they move the ball down the field. Once again, now, this is the thing that potentially makes this team dangerous because we are now starting to see more of evolution in the offense.
Starting point is 00:03:42 And dare I say, well, what can we expect from Sean Payton after the by-week? Because we just saw what he did after having 10 days off. So I'm excited. I don't know about you guys. Well, and look, think they were dealt with a massive blow this week with J.K. Daven's injury. We all found out, unfortunately, on Saturday that he has a Liz Frankie. injury. It's going to be out for the remainder of the season, though, they said if Denver somehow makes it to the Super Bowl, you know, JK might be good to go for that game. But, you know,
Starting point is 00:04:09 into this game. I mean, I think Denver knew. I mean, Nick, you know this as well as a former player. Inside the building. They're going to try to keep that under wraps as much as possible. We went out there all week long, watching practice. I know I saw you at Thursday's practice. We're like, huh, no JK. All right. Well, this offense, which has been struggling, which has been sputtering, they're going to have to find a way to do it. And look, I would say the third quarter towards the end there. That's really where things got going. I think the Broncos offense overcame a lot.
Starting point is 00:04:34 They didn't run the ball that well. Once again, six rushing attempts between Denver's backs in the first half for the third consecutive weekend or over not counting two rushes that Beau had there by design trying to escape pressure. But for me, for them to overcome that against the Steve Spagnolo defense where they didn't really try to run as much in that first half.
Starting point is 00:04:54 And then at times, especially in the third quarter, you get down there, Jule McLaughlin, punches it in late in the game, fourth quarter after you have a couple of past plays to Cortland Sutton to move the chains. Now you're starting to get skinny on some short yardage distances and you're picking up the first downs with RJ Harvey. That's great. But this run game certainly is going to have to get better here for the team going forward. Sarah, what did you see from the Broncos backs in the limited sample size?
Starting point is 00:05:20 I would say that we saw from them. Well, I think in the first half, Cody, it was really a matter of the Broncos just didn't have enough plays to really stick to anything. right. I mean, they had the one drive that was going really well, and then Sean Peyton tries the trick play. And I think we can effectively scrap the throws from Cortland Sutton and RJ Harvey. Let's be done with all that stuff. But it seemed like they were at least trying, right? And then they get the ball inside the 15 or inside the 10 or whatever it was. And it felt like they wanted to finish that drive with RJ Harvey, right? The first two plays of that drive went to Harvey, Bonix, Incomplete Pass, Red Zone Drive or Red Zone Opportunity, kind of squandering. there. So that's kind of where I think that imbalance maybe comes from a little bit. You had a two-minute drill at the end of half situation to try and get some points on the board.
Starting point is 00:06:08 So I don't necessarily worry about the first half. I think what we saw situationally, though, from RJ Harvey was nice. The big question about him is can he win between the tackles, right? We haven't seen a ton of that. That was a question dating back to preseason. RJ Harvey did some nice work between the tackles when it mattered for the Broncos in this game. So hopefully you can build on that going forward and see that past game. option that he brings to the table a little bit more.
Starting point is 00:06:33 See, if we wanted to look at R.J. Harvey and running between the tackles, I think all that goes back to the signal caller. I think that R.J. Harvey, just like I thought J.Vante Williams, was capable of playing inside, running inside, rather, and running outside. But you actually have to call the plays consistently and give those running backs an opportunity. And what I saw different today, guys, opposed to what we've saw, you know, seen leading up to this particular game was now I saw Sean Payton probably because desperate times they say he called for desperate measures. So he started opening up the formation. We have seen
Starting point is 00:07:09 more open formations in this game than I've seen from the Broncos all season long. And I'll tell you this, here's the biggest takeaway from this game for me. Usually when the play calls were coming in for Sean Payton, you could just watch the play clock. There was like 20 or 15 seconds remaining on the play clock. which put a lot of stress on Bo. In this particular game, and I hope we see it moving forward, he gave Bo enough time to get on the center and process what he was seeing defensively. To me, I think that was the bigger issue as to why we saw Bo Nix perform better
Starting point is 00:07:44 in today's game. I'm glad you brought that up. And look, I'm going to give a shout out to Bo here because look, he looked like one of us, Nick, a defensive back on that R.J. Harvey throw, that should have been big. He knocks it away. I mean, that was a clutch play heads up moment there. But you are right.
Starting point is 00:07:59 Like, Bo looked far more comfortable in obviously today's game. I think from a system standpoint, I think from a footwork and a mechanical standpoint. And that first half, I mean, think about this, too, there were a couple of key drops that negated some what would have been big time downfield throws from him in this game. But, you know, let's talk to, let's talk about Troy Franklin here a little bit. Now, obviously, you know, he's been getting a lot of attention, you know, for the last handful of weeks because defenses are bracket cover and Cortland Sutton. So you need your young guys to step up. So when Troy's having a couple of drops, and look, I think this is the up and down nature of a young player.
Starting point is 00:08:33 I also felt like it was a great reminder why you don't give up on players when they make mistakes. Because look, yes, Troy had a couple of bad drops in this game to start off, including one on third down. That was definitely big at a crucial juncture of this game. But then on third and eight, he comes up with the 35-yard catch down the left sideline. Late in the game, he comes up with the 30-plus yard catch to set up the wheel lutz game-winning field, go downfield tracking it the way that he should. I want to get your guys's perspective here on the up and down nature of these young guys
Starting point is 00:09:02 because look, we saw Troy step up. We also saw Pat Bryant step up. And obviously late, we finally got to see Cortland Sutton make some plays. It feels like there's such a limited level of patience with Troy Franklin amongst the fan base anyway, Cody, just because of the fact that, look, you want to see this offense get going. You want to see them have some level of consistency. You want to see Bo Nix get back on track. You want to see the team play complimentary football.
Starting point is 00:09:29 If you're your guy that's getting eight targets a game roughly lately, right? I mean, it's about there for Troy Franklin. He had eight more targets in this game, four catches. Look, if you're getting that amount of volume, you've got to capitalize on the opportunity. And when you're not doing it, people don't necessarily have that same patience for a young player that you might have if the team was struggling or if you're breaking in a lot of, you know, young quarterback, whatever the case may be, there's just a different level of intensity to every mistake that every player is making
Starting point is 00:09:59 when the stakes are as high as they are. So I think that's the tension with Troy Franklin is we see the best of what he brings to the table. The dude is fast. He's got playmaking ability. And he has that star potential that I think the Broncos were willing to pass on guys at the trade deadline. It's just we want to see that capitalized on a bit more frequently. And it's hard to wait, I guess, for that. that higher frequency rate.
Starting point is 00:10:25 Yeah, and being patient is something that I don't believe Broncos country, many in Broncos country, I have time for it because, listen, I, as a former player, I totally understand it. Just think about the drop years that we've seen after Peyton Manning called it a career. And even though you can toss in a Tebow situation to Demarest Thomas, we still haven't seen it in a higher clip. So I can understand fans being impatient and wanting Trump. Franklin to make those catches because there were two catches today, man.
Starting point is 00:10:56 It looked like he had frying pants for hands because I was wondering, okay, is he doing a great job tracking the ball into his hands? And I'll tell you, some of the tougher throws, I mean, tougher catches to make is when someone is in phase with you. But there were a couple of catches that I felt with him being a professional, he should have had better hand placement. And that's kind of his issue where he's placing his hands when the balls are coming up, opposed to the balls going down.
Starting point is 00:11:23 And if they fix that with Troy Franklin, he's already showing that he can be one hell of addition to that wire receiver room. So there's Troy, and let's talk about rookie Pat Bryan, who as of late has really kind of come into his own. There's been times this year, look, the beginning of the season, the first half, I would say Pat Bryant has been the construction worker,
Starting point is 00:11:42 the guy that has the hard hat, the lunch pail, does the dirty work, clocks in, and you know what, doesn't complain, loves his role. The last handful of weeks, we've seen him getting more involved in the past, game and it's been fun to watch. Obviously in this game, five catches, 82 yards, including a really big catch and run of,
Starting point is 00:11:57 obviously, of 48 yards where he got pulled down. He's good. Talk to him after the game in the locker room. They're getting contributions from him, but you know who I want to see more contributions from, and it's not his fault. It's the play callers. Why isn't Marvin Mims being used more in the passing game? Gentlemen, I want your thoughts on this.
Starting point is 00:12:17 It's a tale as old as time, isn't it? I mean, how many times have you and I talked about? this. It's like figure out a way to get the guy who's maybe the best on the team in space with the ball on his hands out of anybody. He's got game breaking speed. We've seen the clutch plays even from Marvin Mims figure out a way to get this guy touches. I know that they want to get him the swing passes out of the backfield. They want to run him in motion. They want to disguise what they're doing with him and let him be the threat to the defense. But in order for him to be a true threat, you might have to send him on some of these deep balls and get him the ball.
Starting point is 00:12:54 I mean, it's just a matter of doing it at this point, isn't it, guys? I mean, that's kind of where my frustration is, is that with Marvin, it feels like we talk about, well, they're saving plays for him or they've got a package that they don't want to unveil until late in the game or whatever it is. It's just, that's another frustrating aspect, even amidst the winning is, man, you want to see everybody's potential maximized. and it feels like Marvin is kind of having his wings clipped a little bit in the offense. Well, I'm going to tell you guys, be careful what you asked for because Sean Payton would definitely give it to you.
Starting point is 00:13:30 And that was kind of the idea. But we got to get Marvin Mims touches. And that's why we saw Marvin Mims on those jet sweeps, those orbit sweeps, throwing it to him parallel to the line of scrimmage and even handed it to him in the back trip. Because Sean had that same mentality. It's about touches. And I'll say, well, maybe we should change the word, not from touches, but more or less targets. Because when I think targets, now we're talking about vertical routes up the field.
Starting point is 00:13:58 And Marvin showed what he can do last year in that Cincinnati Bengals game, but he showed today in his return, he was able to flip the field. And I would have to say this. And this whole time Marvin Mims has not been in the game due to his injury. No one has really been talking about Marvin Mims. obviously bow nicks the offense struggles Sean Payton and I say the one ingredient that was missing and we saw it today was Marvin Mims on special teams. He's now he's having another pro bowl type of season.
Starting point is 00:14:28 But if you give him that same type of targets going vertically, man, that dude will reward you for sure. Well, and on top of that too, his threat just because of his speed, look, he's got great tracking ability. We see it in the return game. We've seen it downfield on crazy, high. high arcing throws from Bo Nix to him. The idea is if defenses start to worry a little more about Marvin on those downfield routes, okay, now you're going to open up someone on once for Troy,
Starting point is 00:14:54 for Pat Bryant, Evan Ingram, or even Cortland Sutton, because you have to dedicate your attention to the most dangerous guy downfield. And look, we know how defenses play today, too high shell predicated on, taking away the deep stuff. But with all the underneath stuff that the Broncos run from a route scheming standpoint from Sean Payton, you can set some things up. And you can tell as the game is going about. I mean, Nick, every time they get close splits down from like the 40 and they're working away from the 40 in,
Starting point is 00:15:19 I'm like, that post wheel's coming here eventually. And you see it's setting up. They haven't been able to hit it just yet. I imagine they will here soon. We still have a lot to talk about here on today's Broncos squad show here on the Locked On a podcast network coming up next. Sare, Nick and I, we're going to talk what, at least Nick and I really love defense. Sarah loves defense too, but we're defensive players at heart, defensive coaches. We're going to dial it into what Vance Joseph and is what Nick calls the McGuiver defense,
Starting point is 00:15:46 how they came up big here on today's squad show. Today's Bronco squad show is brought to you by our friends over there at MintMobil. If you're still overpaying for wireless, it's time to say yes to saying no. At MittMobil, their favorite word is no, no contracts, no monthly bills, no overages, no hidden fees, no BS. And I said yes to making the switch and getting premium wireless for just $15 a month. And you should too, because Mint, they make it simple. All plans come with high speed data and unlimited talk and text delivered on the nation's largest 5G network.
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Starting point is 00:16:49 Seabint Mobile for details. We're back here on the Broncos squad show breaking down the Broncos big time win against the Kansas City Chiefs to go to nine and two. And Kansas City, they're now sinking down towards the bottom there. The Raiders might try to creep up against them. That would be a funny turn of events here in their 2025 NFL season. But the Broncos, they have some cushion. And you know what's been a big story for them all season long? It has been that dominant defense led by Vance Joseph.
Starting point is 00:17:17 We've talked so much all year, I think, in the media of Bo Nix, the Broncos offense, the offensive struggles. And at times, I feel like we sometimes ignore just how great of a job. Vance Joseph has done with this defense here. Sarah, what's one of your biggest takeaways you got from the Broncos victory here today from the defensive side of the ball? I might be buying a J-Quain-McMillan jersey, Cody, and hanging it up behind me because that dude was doing everything, Right. We call it the Jayquan Macmillan legacy game. I love it. I absolutely can't get enough of just the way that he makes plays for this team in big moments, so many different ways, right? Whether he's blitzing, whether he's making a play busting up a screen or he's busting up a run play, picking off Patrick Mahomes in a ball, don't lie situation. You absolutely love to see it. I mean, he's been so clutch for this team in big games. And so I think Jekwan Macmillan is an example of what Vance Joseph has. done maybe better than most defensive coordinators in the NFL,
Starting point is 00:18:17 and that's developing all sorts of talent for, you know, undrafted guys, top picks, day two picks, day three picks. It don't matter. These guys who can play are playing extremely well in his defense. And Macmillan is just a great example of it's, man, we all thought it was over for him when Jad A. Barron was drafted, and he's going to get ousted as the slot guy, or maybe he's trade bait at the deadline to get an offensive west.
Starting point is 00:18:43 or something like that. But man, having him on the team right now, how glad is everybody that 29 was out there on Sunday? Sarah, I'm glad you brought that up because that was one of the biggest things this offseason in training camp when Jaday was drafted. Everyone was kind of putting, you know, Jay Kwan on the back burner.
Starting point is 00:19:02 And I remember going to training camp and I saw him and I just pulled him to the side. I said, man, let me holl at you for a second. Everyone is thinking that you are done, that you're going to just kind of tuck your bag. grab your ball and go home because they drafted some guy in the first round. And I said, I know that you're bigger than that. And I know you play much larger than that. So everyone else is going to be surprised where you're going to do this season. And we're seeing the fruits of his labor. And this dude is a competitor. And I knew because, I mean, just knowing guys who've
Starting point is 00:19:35 been in a situation, I've been in a situation before, that when everyone seems to be against you, only you have to believe in you, and he's done that really well, and watching him go out and play, and the best thing for me, not just the sacks, not just the fact that he got the interception, but the ability to tackle in space. That is a lost art. It is very difficult to do, and you have to strain and make sure that you put yourself in position. And Vance Joseph, man, he's got a hell of a defense.
Starting point is 00:20:06 And I told Cody this before, and you'll get a chance. chance to hear for the first time. I am jealous of this defense. I am jealous that I didn't play in a defense that was like this. Not to say that the guys I played with were not great guys, but when you look at their defense collectively, it is something that we haven't seen around here before. And I'll also add this really quickly. My former Broncos teammate DJ Williams was at the game today. And we were sitting right next to one another watching the game. And he was seeing it himself and he's asking questions like, who is that and why is this
Starting point is 00:20:45 guy doing that? And I was like, you know what? These guys have bought into the defense. And Vance talked about it on Thursday. You have an unselfish group of guys willing to play for one another. And I can tell you guys, that makes this defense more
Starting point is 00:21:01 dangerous when we've seen thus far this season. Well, Nick, you played on some good defenses, man. That 05 defense, that 06 defense, you know, those were some tough guys. It's crazy to imagine Wait, we didn't have the pass for us like they had. Come on, man. Because you imagine if you guys did have that thing.
Starting point is 00:21:16 Oh, my good. And in an era where you could actually get people and play in defense. Yes. We'll talk a little bit about like the defense and physicality in today's game. Riley Moss, defense pass first. We're going to talk about all that here today, Broncos countries. We continue on here. I love everything that you guys said about J-Mack here because this is a guy who,
Starting point is 00:21:37 you know, you look at the screensaver on his phone. it's kind of a goal. He wants to be a Pro Bowl cornerback, right? That's always a goal. And now, like, in today's world, it's like the Pro Bowl is just such a fan voting thing. It doesn't mean what it used to. But J-Mack is such an underrated player. I feel like he's one of the best slot nickels right now in the NFL for those things that you mentioned.
Starting point is 00:21:57 Not only does he have the coverage ability, the big playability, and we've seen this since he stepped on the field in that one week 18 game where he had to play outside corner and he's going up against Mike Williams, who is prime Mike Williams at that time, and he's getting passes broken up. He's picking off passes that, you know, that are there. You saw the ball hawking ability from number 29. He came up big here today. Two sacks and an interception here in this game.
Starting point is 00:22:22 And I tell you what, as fast as he was running, Tyquan Thornton, shout out to him. That dude was tracking him down from the backside. Sean Payton took a shot from the ref. JFM gave Patrick Mahomes a little shot. It was just one of those plays. But like you needed it. You needed one of those plays. J. Mack is going to deliver.
Starting point is 00:22:38 And I think the other impression. rest of thing, Jensen. I'm curious for your thoughts on this as we continue to talk today, how they've been able to manage without pass or tan. Sarah, your thoughts on Denver managing that and the Nick, you know, what you've seen from this unit as well. Man, it's pretty remarkable, honestly. I mean, Chris Abrams drain made a couple of plays today that you kind of just watch and you see that that dude's a starter. I mean, there's no question about it. Jaaday had a pick six wiped off the board that should have never been. I mean, it's kind of wild to think that Riley Moss, who does he, I don't know if he still has this stat, Cody,
Starting point is 00:23:11 but the lowest completion percentage per target or whatever it might be. I mean, the fact that he's the guy who seems to be struggling the most out there is pretty remarkable when you consider all things. And I just, I think it just goes back to Vance Joseph once again. I mean, the secondary is kind of that prime example of the undrafts, the first round picks, the second round, third round, day three, it doesn't matter. he's getting the most out of all these guys and they're all being put in great positions to succeed. I love how Jada is being used as kind of the tight end stopper.
Starting point is 00:23:47 I know, you know, Travis got him a couple of times in this game, but there's creative ways that everybody's being deployed out there to Nick's point. And that's been exciting. Player development, creative usage of each player, and it's building their confidence. What does Sean Peyton always say? That confidence is born from demonstrated ability or whatever it is. These guys are out there doing it. And so, yeah, they're drinking the Kool-Aid, right?
Starting point is 00:24:12 Take a drink every time you hear Sean Payton. Yeah. It's a fun game. Well, here's what I would say. I mean, the team is at this particular point because every single year, they get these young guys and these young guys play well enough where they're giving them time. You talk about Chris Abrams drink. Even though he wasn't a start of last year, he played in spurts. And even the issues that he had last year,
Starting point is 00:24:36 He learned from those things, and he took them in the training camp. He became better. So now you thrust him in a lineup opposite or Riley Moss with no PS2. He has no choice because it's baptism by fire. And just think about it. If you were Judey Baron, even if you drafted in the first round, you have a lot of expectations because it's secondary in the defense that you're part of, and then you ask.
Starting point is 00:24:59 And a big game that means a lot for you and, you know, the Kansas City Chiefs, We need you to cover Travis Kelsey. We know he has a great connection with Patrick Mahomes and he's going to get open. He's going to beat you some time. But we need you to hold in it. And to watch these guys, not flinch, not panic, even Riley-Mawson. We'll get to it later. But to watch them not flinch, that is what you need.
Starting point is 00:25:23 And I would be remiss if I did not mention this guy and his staff because, once again, we talk about Vance because a lot of people don't. but so many people talk about Bo and Sean. No one talks about George Peyton and his staff. Because, I mean, when you think about Vance, he wouldn't have any of these guys if he could go into George's office and said, I need a Zach Allen. I need a Jadee Barron.
Starting point is 00:25:48 I need a Riley Moss, right? If he can't go in and ask for those types of guys, we don't see what we're seeing thus far. You know, selfishly, we were talking about this in the postgame, Nick. Vance Joseph is going to be a hot name for a head coaching job. in this offseason cycle. Selfishly, selfishly. I don't want him to get one.
Starting point is 00:26:07 I want him to stay as the D coordinator of Denver. But you talk about a man who's deserving of it after everything 110% Vance certainly is. Your thoughts on that real quick. Do we think here, let's go rapid fire. Sarah, we'll go with you and then Nick. Do we think Vance Joseph leaves Denver for a head coaching job this off season? Do you think he stays on as a D.C.?
Starting point is 00:26:27 I think he's going to be the most coveted, like non-former head coach. I do. I really believe that. I think that he's gaining so much respect after the 70 point debacle against the dolphins, the way that this unit has bounced back, the way that players are developing. I think he got a really raw deal his first time around. I think he's going to be the most coveted coordinator head coach candidate this offseason. I'm going to say, yeah, man, he's out of here.
Starting point is 00:26:53 The moment someone is serious about signing him as being the next head coach, yeah. Now, we know we've seen this before and so many. minority coaches go in the cycle and they just get interviews to pass the Rooney Rule. But I think this would be the year that he finally gets his opportunity. And to what you said, say, when you look at Vance's first opportunity to be a head coach here, I can tell you with most certainty it wasn't the best setup for him. Now, in the second time around, he's wiser, he's not going to make the same mistakes. And here's the most important part that determines whether coach is successful or not.
Starting point is 00:27:30 the team that you're going to does the ownership and the GM share your same vision. If they don't share your same vision, it's going to be the same thing all over again. But if he goes to a team, they really want him. And he's like, hey, Bill Parcells, if you want me to cook the food, you got to allow me to buy the grocery. Yeah, no. And here's the thing I'll even throw out too. I think one of the biggest things about this dynamic is exactly what you said. When you talk about ownership, GM stability, if you don't.
Starting point is 00:28:00 have a place that has that. It's simply not going to work. Now, I look at the New York Giants. I don't know how I feel about the New York Giants for a place like Vance. I don't know how I feel about a place like the Miami Dolphins. If that vacancy, I mean, if that ends up becoming a vacancy at some point, do you want to go to Tennessee if you're a young, you know, if you're a head coach and you got all these, you know, yes, you got Jeffrey Simmons, but you got other pieces. It's just like, what's going on with a legurious knee? That's a whole other subject. I just think that the situation for Vance, and I'm sure he's probably wise enough to do this. I don't think Vance will take a head coaching job just to get one. I think he'll make that decision
Starting point is 00:28:38 if it's best for him. If he knows he's going to a place where he's going to have time to build things the right way. And he could end up taking some Broncos coaching staff members with him defensively. And maybe even the offensive side of the ball there with Davis Webb. Let's hope that is not the case here. As the Broncos right now are sitting in good spot, nine and two atop of the AFC West, the defense has come up big, especially on third down and J-Quan-McMillan Sack on third down, and this game was big for the Broncos. But let's give a little bit of a nod here real quick to special teams. Jens, what did you see?
Starting point is 00:29:09 Give me a rap fire, share. Give me one thing from special teams. Nick, give me one thing you saw from special teams here on Sunday. We talked about Marvin Mims already. How about Devin Key? I mean, every time there was kickoff coverage, I feel like 26 was popping into the frame. And it's hard to stand out on kickoff coverage unless you are making those
Starting point is 00:29:26 pop types of plays, right? But Devin Key has been doing that. He's been doing it all season long. I feel like he deserves a big shout out. Obviously, you know, your kicker making some clutch, clutch kicks. But I think Devin Key is my guy from this game, Cody, big time in terms of creating long fields for the Kansas City offense. I'm going to stick with my main man, Marvin Mams, because the vision, the smoothness
Starting point is 00:29:49 to actually get out of crevices where you see that it seemed like things are so crowded. and to find daylight. He knows what he needs to do when he finds daylight. And once again, I mean, when you look at the Broncos struggles offensively, when Marvin Mims wasn't in the lineup, you may not say, well, it was because of how he was not being used offensively as a wide receiver, but he flipped the field on punt returns and kickoffs.
Starting point is 00:30:16 And that's what the Broncos missed field position. Yeah, and then they took advantage. Look, there was one you hope they would have came over with a touchdown instead of three points when Marvin had the 70-yarder there. I'm going to give a little shout out to Jeremy Crosha. You don't like to punt ever, but there was one punt in this game. It almost got blocked, but he boomed it to pin the Chiefs back as deep as they could. 58-yarder right there to pin them inside the 20-yard line.
Starting point is 00:30:38 That was a big play there for the Broncos at a crucial juncture in that fourth quarter here. But Broncos country covered up next. We're going to hear a little bit from some of the players inside the locker room, and we're going to have a discussion about Bronco's quarterback Riley Moss, who changed his approach to this off season, but is hurting him in the regular season? And we'll discuss all that here on today's Bronco squad show, part of the Locked-on podcast network. Today's Bronco squad show is brought to you by friends over there at Fandu. And as you all know, Fandu is America's number one sports book.
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Starting point is 00:32:01 They're giving new customers $300 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet win. So head to Fandu.com to sign up and play your game with Fandle, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Well, you know, inside of a locker room after a victory, I don't know if you guys had a chance. You know, we all have social media. Nick Benito went live. He posted on his Instagram story.
Starting point is 00:32:26 We got a little bit of a glimpse inside Club Dub. And there's no group. I feel like this more hyped up. After a win, then the Broncos clubbed up, the speakers, the smoke coming out of the tunnel from the locker room, from the smoke machine that they have in there. Nothing's quite like it. And nothing is quite like the Broncos being the number one team right now in the AFC atop, right ahead there, tied the same record with New England, but the conference record gives the Broncos the advantage there. Thank you once again to everybody in Broncos country, all the everydayers out there.
Starting point is 00:32:55 Thanks for making us your first listening. Thank you so much for making the Lockdown podcast network, the number one sports podcast network in the country. Let's go through some sights and sounds inside the locker. I had a chance to go in the locker room after the game. The vibes are at an all-time high. Of course, a huge game. We're coming into this matchup. It was billed as the biggest game for the Broncos since that AFC championship matchup against Tom Brady and Peyton Manning for the final time before the sheriff rode off into the sunset. We talked a lot earlier about Bo Nix and a lot of the stuff that was being said about him over the course of last few weeks. I can't play what Adam Troutman said.
Starting point is 00:33:32 But Adam Troutman had the greatest clip of all time. It's on Twitter. You can check it out. But basically, he said, we don't care what the basement dwellers on Twitter have to say about Bo Nix. They stink. We know how Bo brings to the table. I love that.
Starting point is 00:33:46 But we also caught up with Broncos offensive guard, Quinn Miners, after the game. Here's what he had to say about Bo Nixon. You're going to hear from Sair and from Nick. I mean, everyone's quick to criticize. Everyone wants their headlines and their whatever. You know, the outside world might be flinch in or whatever with Bo. but this team in our offense, we don't fully and we know exactly what he's capable of.
Starting point is 00:34:05 We know what we need to be around for him so he can be successful. And we have the utmost belief in him. And he knows that. And that's all that really matters is us in this building know that. You know, we have his back and he knows that. I'm sad that it was only Troutman, Cody, who called out.
Starting point is 00:34:24 I think it was a dragon slayer. I think that was who he was coming out there. So I guess that needs to start circulating the locker room. whoever Dragon Slayer is. But yeah, I think acronym bros on Twitter. The acronym bros, absolutely, all of them. Yeah, they're all Dragon Slayer and then a number after that. That's their username.
Starting point is 00:34:40 But I think, look, when you talk about the locker room and the perception of what people are saying, like, this is the disconnect that you and I see on a daily basis. It's the frustration. It's the tension between what certain people think about Boe Nix and what other people see in Boe Nix. And it's not just like what you see from him every single week. It's what you see in him, right? You're buying a person as much as a player when it comes to the quarterback position in the NFL and your belief in that player.
Starting point is 00:35:13 Like you and I talked about it, how streaky baseball pitchers can be at times. Best pitchers in baseball get chased from games. Like Bo Nix, just because of the nature of the NFL every single week has such high stakes, you don't get afforded the same level of grace like we talked about with Troy Franklin. right so you don't get that same grace and the the locker room just doesn't think that way right and you they're they're winning games like they've won eight straight games you got to buy an annual membership to club dub at this point so i think right now that locker room is the strength around bow nicks and you could tell that he felt that from them by the way that he played yeah it's basically one of those things
Starting point is 00:35:53 like hold on for a second guys i'm getting the message here uh there's some guys who are not going to be allowed into club dub. I just wanted to put that out there right now. And basically what was happening is we're starting to see an evolution with Bull. And from a professional standpoint, I would still say there are certain things about Bow's game that he needs to clean up. But here, if I could speak directly to Sean Payton, if you will, allow Bow to be himself. It's only when someone tries to paint us into somewhat of a kind of plastic box that now you become a mind, you not yourself. And when I will listen to all the national critics talk about Bo and they say, well, he looks hesitant. You know why? Because he has an innate thing where he wants
Starting point is 00:36:40 to operate his body in a certain way, the way that he's done all his life. But his coach wants him to play the game a certain way. Now, I mean, as a coach, you want to tell your players, go out there and do what you do. Use your God-given ability. The moment you don't do what you're supposed to do, now you have to do it my way. If Sean Payton takes that type of approach, and all you have to do is look at those fourth quarter comebacks. Look at the fourth quarter comeback today with two minutes and 59 seconds to go in the game. As the play started to come out fast, we saw the fast processor, all of which that Sean
Starting point is 00:37:14 Payton sold us on Bo to start in this pre-draft process, we're now seeing that come to fruition. And Sean stop playing what to do with white gloves on. Take the kid gloves off. let him go out there and be himself. He's going to make some mistakes, but I bet you he's going to make you more right than he's going to make you wrong. And Tracy Wilson had a great point. There was one juncture. I don't know if this was before half or if this was in the third quarter,
Starting point is 00:37:40 but she said that Bo Nix was almost like begging Sean, like, hey, let's up the tempo because let's go fast. Like that is huge. And you've seen a comfort level from Boe in that situation. But I mean, I love how the locker room offense and defense rallies behind Bo, there was a report that was put out this week. I know ESPN's Jeremy Fowler came to town last week, and somebody had run with it and said that Jeremy had said something along the lines that, you know, the defense is losing confidence in Bo Nix.
Starting point is 00:38:06 And I can say, like, you know, even though Bo was going through a slump, talking to defensive guys, that was not true, you know. And it's crazy how untrue things can circulate and get spread. And then people believe it. I mean, we see it with all this Facebook AI stuff in today's world. It says me for a loop here. But what I think also sends Broncos country into a loop, and I think this is an important thing to talk about.
Starting point is 00:38:28 Riley Moss. I love Riley Moss. I'm one of the biggest Riley Moss defenders. I think Riley plays the position. It's very, very tough. He's in a tough spot being opposite of PS2. And, of course, he's seeing a lot of volume, a lot of targets. And he's been called for a lot of defensive pass interferences,
Starting point is 00:38:43 including a few ones here, obviously in Sunday's game. I thought there were maybe, you know, the illegal contact that negated a pick six was a little tickey-tacky. but the PI calls are becoming a trend. And even Riley himself after the game talked about it, we'll get Sarah's reaction in Nix after we hear from Riley. Some gloves on me. You know, we're going to take them up. So there's no chance of, so it's a repetitive thing.
Starting point is 00:39:07 And, you know, people can have their opinion on it. But, you know, me as a professional athlete, I need to be able to realize, okay, this has happened multiple times. And, yeah, it's unfair sometimes and it sucks. you know, I can't be in that position, you know, as much as I have been. And so that's something to work on. And, you know, again, like everyone has their opinion. But, you know, as a competitor and as an athlete, you know, I got to hone up to some of it and, you know, get better for the.
Starting point is 00:39:38 I love that guy, man. That's hilarious. Yeah, get the gloves on. And I can't, that pick six from Riley Moss at some point is just going to absolutely hit. You know what I'm saying? And like the guy deserves that more than anyone right now. He's going to have such a easy. Careful there's a flag.
Starting point is 00:39:57 Careful there's a flag. Yeah, there's a flag. At least this crew against Kansas City. This was rough. I mean, what did he have over 90 yards of penalties on his own? I mean, I can only imagine how frustrated he is.
Starting point is 00:40:08 You're a professional athlete. Like you said, you make a great play. And you're, you're just immediately looking around. Like, okay, did I do anything wrong this time?
Starting point is 00:40:16 You know, it's like, it's just brutal for him. I feel bad for him. him. And yeah, you get frustrated watching it because at some point, something does have to change, but I don't know exactly what he can do. I mean, some of these plays, like you mentioned, Cody, there are tick-tack things that are happening in the third and 19. You give up a deep ball down field. I mean, that's just tough, right? And so I don't know exactly. And Nick can speak this
Starting point is 00:40:41 better than I can. I just, I as an Iowa guy, I struggle with this. Iowa took an L this weekend, Cody. Riley's getting burned for 90 plus yards of penalties. like what the heck is going on right now for my Hawkeyes. I need Riley to have the bounce back that the Hawkeyes certainly aren't getting on the field anytime soon. Well, I can personally tell you I know exactly what Riley's going through. One game, it was a Monday night game against this very Kansas City team. I had 60 yards and penalties by myself. So I know how that feels.
Starting point is 00:41:13 And every time there's laundry on the field, even when it's further away from you, you're looking like, what did I do now? And when I look at Rowley and his biggest issue is sometimes it's losing at the line of scrimmage versus the speed release. You get up, Phil, you start to panic. And I can tell you because I have a couple of friends who are officials in the NFL, they're always looking when you impress coverage, what you do at the top of the route. And what's happening with Riley, it is becoming habitual now where he panics. He's even talked about panicking at the top of the route and grab him. And I think it was Xavier Worthy where the ball was underthrown. He was in phase.
Starting point is 00:41:55 He was on top of the route. But since it was an underthrown ball, he was trying to get himself back into position. So he's trying to slow himself down and he grabs the receiver on his way. And it was interesting because Raleigh talked about the idea of putting on boxing gloves. And I have to tell you, I've seen this movie before where one of my teammates, sort of like Riley was kind of grabby. at the top of routes where our DB coach put gloves on him. And he became Sebastian from Little Mermaid. That's what some of the guys started to call it.
Starting point is 00:42:31 So when you ask, well, what can you do to help Raleigh? That is one of those things. And there's a specific drill that can help him at the top of the routes. The Broncos can hire me for that. I'm not going to give that one for free. But, yeah, it's Sebastian Life for Raleigh-Moss right now. Yeah, and look, here's the thing. Cornerback is so hard.
Starting point is 00:42:53 And it's like, I feel like Riley's style of play, Nick, if he was on that 2005 defense with you and Chan Bailey, he could have played like that. They would have let guys do that. You know, and the fact that he acknowledged you, look, I think we can all sit here objectively and say some of the flags that are thrown on Riley this season, they have been kind of tic-y-tack suspect, like, I don't know. And then there are times where there is a clear, like he'll grab at the last minute. And look, you can't do that.
Starting point is 00:43:20 What I have the problem with is, for example, on the first one that got called deep down the right side line, the side judge who is right there who is watching the play closer than anybody else is watching it. He signals incomplete on it, but it's the guy in the back of the end zone towards the middle of the field is the one that throws the flag. That's where I have the issue with it, just the level of inconsistency. But then here's we talk about trends specifically in this game. Okay, they're calling Riley for these holdings, these, these holdings, defensive pass interference. Okay, I get that. What about the couple attempts downfield to Troy Franklin where Watson got away with the hold? What about that third down?
Starting point is 00:43:56 It was like third and eight where Trent McDuffie holds Cortland Sutton blatantly and they don't call it. Like to me, it's just if you're going to call it, call it one side. Adrian Hill, the official in this game coming into it, I highlighted it. I put it out there on the Twitter sphere. The home team has won 22% of the games that he's called so far this year. And there was such an indiscrepancy. And look, there were a lot of penalties on Kansas City. There were a lot of penalties on the Broncos in this game.
Starting point is 00:44:19 Fans don't want to tune in to see that. But at least if you're going to call it one way, call it that way on the other side. That's my one gripe right there. But I'm also glad that Riley admitted, hey, I got to work on something. Because in the off season, he put on muscle. And what was the biggest reason he told us in the off season? So he could play more physical because you have that game against T. Higgins. He says, you know, the guys are pushing off.
Starting point is 00:44:39 I want to be able to match that. His offseason preparation might be the one thing that has kind of hurt him a little bit in this situation. It's really interesting because he's, he, at Iowa, he was ball skills for days. I mean, it was like the ball could not find any other place other than his waiting arms and his hands to make the play. And now at the NFL level, making those plays on the ball has eluded him to yours and Nick's point. And so that's what I'm just waiting for, for that moment to just click for him where he finds that again. I don't know if that's even possible to do, but I feel like it has to be because that's just the type of player that he is.
Starting point is 00:45:19 He's a ball hawk out there. He always has been. And so it's frustrating from that vantage point, but then they talked about it during the game. He's been called for nine pass interference penalties this season. No other corner in the NFL has been called for more than five. That's a little ridiculous to me. And I just think that, yeah, this was this the first time anybody has won against the chiefs with this guy calling the penalties?
Starting point is 00:45:45 I mean, it's kind of, it's just a crazy ordeal. You don't want to sit here and blame the refs for. stuff. You don't ever want to have to come back to that at the end of a game. But I used to box people out really physically in basketball when I played Cody, obviously rec league stuff, you know, really, really high quality basketball. And I'd get there a little early, right? I'd be like, hey, I'm going to box this guy out right after he takes a shot because to me, that was legal. But I kept getting called for fouls. And I'm like, well, I'm just boxing him out, right? But the ref was calling all these fouls. And so I had to change what I did. And obviously, Riley Moss has to do the
Starting point is 00:46:19 equivalent for what he's getting called for right now and make that adjustment. Now, I mean, you talk about Riley Moss and how he played when he was at Iowa. And the difference is, okay, the route running on the league level is entirely different. But here is the biggest thing, and we saw it today. It's ball placement. That's the thing that changes once you go from the collegiate level to the pro level, ball placement for quarterbacks. And you saw how the game started out.
Starting point is 00:46:48 I mean, the ball placement wasn't exactly where Patrick Mahomes wanted it to be, but I told you guys, Cody, it was going to be at least four shots down the field, and that's exactly what the Kansas City Chiefs attempted to do without fail. But that's the issue for Rowley right now to understand that there is a resume out there already. And you stacking it every single day. And if I am an officer coordinator or while receiver, I'm going over to, hey, Mr. Fishoo, watch 21. On those upfield routes, he likes to grab. And I'm going to warm that every single time.
Starting point is 00:47:24 And fair or not, this is the life of, you know, Riley Moss until he changes it. But you have to think, if I'm playing against the Denver Broncos, that is going to be my approach. Throw at him, but also get the officials on my side as well. Yeah, Champagne is going to have to butt up the officials say, hey, like, you know, I know he's getting called here. And look, Riley's going to have conversations with the rest, too, about being able to play. I feel like this off season, there's going to be a nice little film seminar on defensive pass interference, holding illegal contact, all that fun jazz here.
Starting point is 00:47:57 But look, yes, it's something that Riley certainly has to adjust. He can still play at a high level. Look, I think people look at those negative plays and, you know, I've gotten nothing but messages because I've been a huge Rodley Moss defender. They're like, oh, yeah, how are you going to defend Moss this time? They're like, cut Moss. Like the fact that you're saying cut Moss, even though he's getting called for PS, he's still making plays. He's coming up, making big time tackles. And there's times where he's coming up.
Starting point is 00:48:18 with big past breakups. Welcome to the life of a cornerback, baby. I played it. I love the pressure. Me and Riley Moss, we got something in common. White cornerbacks that excelled at the game. We love it.
Starting point is 00:48:28 But you know what else we love to? Whenever there's a victory, we're going to hand out our game balls. Sarah, Nick, and myself, we're going to throw out game balls here from Sunday's big time win by the Broncos. Here on today's Bronco squad show. It is the holiday season, folks, and Sarah, Nick and I,
Starting point is 00:48:51 we're going to hand out our game balls. We're being a little charitable here, today. You know, anytime there's a victory, I always feel like, Nick, and you've been in a locker room too. At the end, coach is like, we'll hand out game balls. They'll say, hey, this guy, 200 yards rushing on the ground, he gets the game ball. I feel like we should just do something here where we hand out each a game ball. We'll start on offense. We'll each identify a guy. We'll identify a guy on defense. And we'll talk about maybe somebody on special teams as well here. So, Sarah, I'm going to have you kickstart us here. Give us your offensive side of the
Starting point is 00:49:25 ball. Give us somebody you feel like handing a game ball out to for the Broncos 22 to 19 victory here today. I like Pat Bryant for a game ball, Cody. I do. I think that he, you know, has seen the uptick in the targets in recent weeks. And I kind of feel like he's maybe a bit of a deep cut because he didn't necessarily make the biggest clutch play in this game. But shoot that 48 yard catch and run was really nice. Had a couple of other first down conversions in this game. And when you needed somebody to be making plays in the passing game, especially that first drive, right? I mean, Pat Bryant was coming through. So you need your rookies to step up as the season progresses. We know that these guys have played a decent amount of snaps up to this point. But shoot, that passing game isn't going to get going
Starting point is 00:50:10 if the receivers aren't catching their targets. And he caught five of his six targets in this game, including the big play. So I'm going to give one to Pat Bryant in this game. Well, not to pull off my Scooby-Doo Man, I'm definitely going to go with a a defense because it was so obvious, right? And I'm going to go in a different direction because obviously everyone on the defense deserves game ball, but there was a guy who didn't really kind of jump out on the stat sheet, and that was Tala Noah Funga because there were no interceptions, even though he had an opportunity off of deflected pads to kind of get one.
Starting point is 00:50:44 But he was the bona fide eraser. They used him at the line of scrimmage to take away some of those large runs from Kareem Hunt. But he also did a good job. And the intermediate passing game kind of deflected some passes and keeping the chiefs from having those explosive plays. I mean, he's flying under the radar in this particular game. But my guy would be Talo Hofunger. I talked to Huonga after the game.
Starting point is 00:51:09 And we were talking about the Travis Kelsey touchdown. And he says, you know, on that one, I like, I over pursued it. He says he's so good at stopping on a dime. He said, but I just remember touching him. The dude was sweating like you wouldn't believe. just like he's like, I slipped essentially a few times when trying to tackle him. I slipped off of him. So Taylor's husband's got to get that under wraps here.
Starting point is 00:51:30 I like that pick here, Nick. I do. For me on the offensive side of the ball, I think there's a lot of great cases to be made here. You know, Troy Franklin coming up with that clutch catch late, I think is worthy of that. Cortland Sutton, third and 15, he gets 20. Third and eight, he gets eight and a half that gives the Broncos the first down by just a little bit of an inch in the fourth quarter. He makes a great case. I'm going to give one to the quarterback.
Starting point is 00:51:54 I'm going to give one to Bo Nix. Even though he didn't have a touchdown on the day, the way he commanded the offense, the way he set things up, the ball was where it needed to be on a majority of his throws, once again, willing this team to a victory, his eighth career in 28 games, eighth career, comeback game winning drive. I'm going to give Bo Nix one in this game. Let's shift to defense as well. I know you got Talano Hufanga, Nick, as your defensive player, Sarah, if you have to identify
Starting point is 00:52:19 someone, I'm sure you're probably going to steal the one that I've think of, but you know what? The floor is yours, my friend. Who do you give them one to? I've been trying to think of another deeper cut here because, you know, we gave Jayquan Macmillan the flowers here. There's so many defensive players I think you could pick from this game, right? But Jayquan Macmillan is that dude from this game, right? He obviously made the two sacks on Patrick Mahomes, had the interception. And like Nick was saying earlier, really did a lot of different things in terms of the open field tackling and just that even the tackle that he made on Tyquan Thornton after giving up the big play deep down field where he was in
Starting point is 00:52:54 great position. I mean, that was a touchdown, if not for him recovering and getting back up there and making that play. So you just see the effort from him. You see the progression for him from him as a player. And he's one of those guys that you just can depend on every single game. So Jayquine and Macmillan, game ball for the defense. I like that. I'm going to give one defensive. I think to Justin Sternad, because even on that Jayquan interception, Justin's pursuit of Patrick Mahomes and him kind of getting his hands up there, forced Mahomes to throw it, maybe at a different trajectory, led to the interception. Obviously, filling in for Alex Singleton.
Starting point is 00:53:30 I thought that Denver responded really well. Got to see Alex after the game. He's in good spirits. Hopefully he'll be back sooner rather than later. I'm going to give Justin one here. Special teams, I'm going to give one that no one's even going to think of, even though I think he's probably the most deserving of it. I'm going to go with Frank Crum, baby.
Starting point is 00:53:47 Frank Crum with the blocked BAT because this. This game would have been 20 to 16 if Frank Crumb didn't happen. Well, you know what? Crum happened. And the Broncos were able to go down and obviously tie this one up in 1919. I'm giving the big guy one. And look, they tried him out a couple of weeks ago at this. His hops and his height.
Starting point is 00:54:06 It actually paid off here. And once again, an undrafted guy balling for the Broncos. Frank Crum. He gets a game ball for me. Sometimes you have to be a little strategic. And big shout out to him, man, for being. part of that unit and getting that big Paul up there. Yeah,
Starting point is 00:54:23 who tipped off Darren Rizzy to the Brock Osweiler play? I didn't know anyone knew about that. Remember Brock Osweiler? He's got six foot seven hidey's out. That was against the New England Patriots, I think, in that game where the Broncos blew the 24-0 lead and they're like, Brock Osweiler
Starting point is 00:54:41 and he doesn't even jump. Well, Frank Crum, you know what? Frank's going to jump. And you know, I just love the guy's work ethic. He is the the eligible guy. He's become Alex Paucheschi, but are we going to see a past of Frank Crum in the future? I don't know. We'll have to see. You never know, right? Because Garrett Bulls got a target this season. So, I mean, at this point, anything is possible, right? And Frank is certainly very athletic. But look, on special teams, what about just Darren Rizzy getting a game ball? I mean, the guy has been absolutely getting shredded over the first handful of weeks of this season.
Starting point is 00:55:17 obviously the first two plus months of the season. Feels like the special teams has had one bad error each week after another, right? And so for this week, we talked about Will Lutz making clutch kicks, Jeremy Croshaw, Pendingham Deep, Marvin Mims, Big Returns, Devin Key, making plays, Frank Crum, blocking an extra point. I think Darren Rizzy has probably something to do with all that stuff. And the Broncos obviously made some business decisions with Trent Shelfield getting cut, But, you know, and they moved on from the guy they signed from the Saints, right?
Starting point is 00:55:51 So, I mean, obviously it's been a tough year for Rizzi in terms of what was expected and what we've seen. But this was the best game that we've seen from the special teams overall. Well, I know Marvin Mims is definitely the 1A special teams guy. But if there's a 1B, you have to tip your cap and give this award to Will Lutz. Because, I mean, for a second there, no one was scoring any points. no touchdowns at least. And it was kind of like the best of kind of like the Pro Bowl, who can kick the furthest or most consistently.
Starting point is 00:56:26 And Will Lutz won that battle. So for me, it's got to be Will Lutz to just kind of know, hey, listen, you got to have the nerves. Understanding the last time you faced this team in Arrowhead, things did not end up the way that you wanted to do because it was similar situations. the Bronco had to move the ball down the field and they moved it effectively when they had an all game long only to set up this field goal.
Starting point is 00:56:52 You're like, yes, you know what? I'm going to get up and go fix me a piece of pie because I know this is money right here. Only to hear the announcement goes, no, it's blocked. Now in this edition or as I say it in the comic book world, eighth world, I guess I'll say Earth 32, the Broncos win this game and it was all, I'm not going to say it's all because of Will Lutz, let me back her for a second. Will Lutz had a lot to do with it. Let's be honest here. Honesty Hour. I'm sure so many
Starting point is 00:57:20 people watching will be able to chime in and answer their thoughts, too. How many of you are a little anxious in holding your breath for that moment? Just because against the same team, very similar setup in this game, I'll admit, I didn't want to have my tweet pre-written like, hey, Broncos, field goal is good, they win. I didn't want to put it out there beforehand. I didn't want to write it before the kick even happened. I didn't this time. Not saying that I'm the reason for it. But I held my breath and I was like, is it good?
Starting point is 00:57:47 And I'm sure for Will Lutz, this was kind of like an exercising of the demons. How did you guys feel in that moment? Twitter is like 20 seconds ahead of my TV broadcast. So I would be lying if I didn't say I looked at Twitter to make sure that he made that dang field go before I saw it go in. Because I was thinking the same thing. Although that game in Kansas City last year, they were down by what, one point or they were up by. I don't remember what the situation was. they were down instead of top right so yeah they were down so yeah that was that was the whole thing
Starting point is 00:58:20 there it's like you make it you win but if you miss it you lose in this situation it's like well at least you have the backup plan in place but yeah i'd be lying if i didn't say uh i had that one spoiled before i saw it so i was with you cody on that well i did i did even though i wasn't kicking i did the step curry thing where step curvy just shoot the ball and just walk away I just turned my back and I say, you know what? It's going to be what it's going to be, right? And I'll let the crowd determine the end result. So when you hear that loud cheer, you know it was all good.
Starting point is 00:58:55 I'm going to give a little honorary game ball to, like Jililil McLaughlin. You know, I think a lot of listeners were saying Jalilil. I highly deserve that. He's been waiting for the opportunity, big, big moment for him. I'm going to get one to Broncos country. Nick, you were there with me in the stadium. it was shaking in the press box. My water bottle was just rattling.
Starting point is 00:59:14 Broncos country was so loud the entire game. They brought the heat. They brought the energy. I think we got to give one out there to Broncos country. I'd be remiss if we didn't do that. They brought that mile high magic to the forefront. And as always, Broncos Country, we appreciate you tuning into the Broncos Squad Show here on the Locked On podcast network.
Starting point is 00:59:31 Sarah Bedinger, Nick Ferguson, myself, and hopefully, Anilopiro, he's feeling under the weather. We'll be back on Tuesday for another Broncos squad show. Because the Broncos enter the byweek. No biweek blues this time, but a lot to learn from the first half of the season. And what the Broncos can do better in the second half, you'll get that. On Tuesdays, Broncos Squad Show, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

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