Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - BRONCOS SQUAD SHOW: Denver gearing up for playoff REMATCH vs. Buffalo Bills
Episode Date: January 12, 2026The Denver Broncos are set to take on the Buffalo Bills on Saturday in the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs. This matchup is a rematch between these two teams from last year's wild card round. Aft...er a triumphant regular season, the Broncos must find a way to get past Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills to advance to an AFC Championship game. Join Aniello Piro, Cody Roark, Nick Ferguson and Sayre Bedinger as the preview the matchup on the Locked On Broncos Squad Show. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Rocket Money Let Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. Join at http://RocketMoney.com/LOCKEDON Betterhelp This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. BetterHelp makes it easy to get matched online with a qualified therapist. Sign up and get 10% off at http://BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON. DripDrop Right now, DripDrop is offering podcast listeners 20% off your first order. Go to http://dripdrop.com and use promo code lockedonnfl. Ultimate QB Ultimate QB is totally free to play, has no ads, and works 100% offline — perfect for when you want to sneak in a quick game or two on the go. Just head over to http://ULTIMATE-QB.COM. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. So before tip-off, check the FanDuel app and see what’s dropping during NBA Happy Hour — every Friday from 6 to 7:30 PM Eastern. A little basketball, a little action, and a whole lot of Friday energy. PrizePicks Download 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 Gametime Download 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. Zocdoc Stop putting off your doctor’s appointments and get the care you need. Go to http://Zocdoc.com/lockedonnfl to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today. 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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I'm Anilo Piro, and the Denver Broncos may or may not have their hands full with the Buffalo Bills.
I'm Sarah Bettinger. It's time for some revenge and redemption in the playoffs for the Denver Broncos.
I'm Nick Ferguson, and the question is Bo Nix or Josh Allen?
Who's going to reign Supreme?
We'll break it down. Let's do it.
Today's Locked on Broncos Squad show.
Let's get into it, fellas.
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We move the show up a day because the Broncos, I don't think we know a time yet, but they will play on Saturday.
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It's like Rocky 2.
You know, Rocky 1, he goes up against Apollo Creed.
He loses, but he goes the distance, right?
And now it's at the time for the redemption arc as the Denver Broncos draw the Buffalo
bills in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Sarah, I'll start with you.
We'll dive into the matchup, you know, pretty much exclusively throughout the course of this episode.
But yesterday, the Buffalo Bill has played a pretty exhilarating game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
I mean, Josh Allen was a man on a mission yesterday.
They get the job done.
Any initial takeaways from how Buffalo performed.
Obviously, the two teams did not play this regular season, that being the Broncos and the Bills.
Anything you're taken away from that game yesterday from Buffalo?
It was a great game for them to go into Jacksonville.
which I think they had won, what, eight straight games going into the playoffs.
And obviously the Buffalo Bills with Josh Allen had never won a road playoff game,
which is pretty crazy to me to think, considering how good the chiefs have been.
And, you know, the bills don't feel like they've always had home games in the playoffs.
But shoot, I guess when they've had to go on the road, they haven't been able to get it done.
And now they have.
So that's going to be their mantra, right, as being those road warriors.
But I think it's, you know, a great opportunity for the Broncos to take on
that angle of revenge and redemption, like I was saying in the show open.
And I'm excited about that aspect of it, right?
I think when we talked last week, we all talked about the fact that, well, if there's
one really player you don't want to see in the playoffs at this point or early on, it's going
to be Josh Allen.
So of course, who's coming to Denver?
It's Josh Allen, right?
So you've got to beat the best to be the best.
I think there's nothing.
That's just what the playoffs are.
There's no easy road to the Super Bowl no matter what.
And so I feel like this is a great test.
for the Denver Broncos.
And as a little side note, you know, as we were getting the show started,
I was so inspired by Nick Ferguson's hat choice that I had to turn around and reach for
the same exact one.
So, you know, what we, it's just meant to be.
We need to get one for you, Enilo, but I feel like it's a great weekend for a football,
just that we got to enjoy all.
I mean, I don't know about you.
I do.
I followed through on the pizza promise.
I went and got myself a pizza and, you know, we just enjoyed the heck out of watching
all these games.
A side note, I was at the D.U hockey game on Friday night.
And I was thinking pizza all day yesterday.
And I got the, I won these little coupons.
I spin the wheel and I got like four small free pizzas that I had to redeem online.
None of the codes worked.
None of the codes worked.
And so like my girlfriend and I were like all pumped up, you know, watching the games yesterday.
And I'm like, okay, we're going to get this Papa Johns.
Did not end up getting the Papa Johns.
But I still ate good yesterday.
And yeah, I mean, what a weekend of football it was.
And obviously we'll dive into Broncos.
and bills. But that was just an awesome slate of games. I mean, the Chargers, you know,
why don't we take a little, not a victory lab necessarily, but there was a lot of Chargers fans
out there talking that stuff about how, oh, we're going to see you in two weeks, you know,
we're going to go in there and beat the New England Patriots. That was probably the worst game of
the weekend. They laid an absolute egg in that game. And I would not like to be Justin Herbert
on this Monday morning. That dude got beat up yesterday, Nick. Well, I wouldn't want to just
be Justin Herbert. What about that offensive line?
And we knew this all season long that the Chargers were having issues with their offensive line.
And that was kind of the biggest bugaboo for them.
Can they get through these playoffs and protect Justin Herbert?
And to prove as though they couldn't.
I know Coach Harbaugh and the Chargers fans felt so, you know what?
A better win or an easy victory, even though there's no such thing as easy victories in the league.
But they felt an easy victory was going to New England and playing Drake May because when you look at the Patriots defense,
Historically this season, they haven't really created a lot of sacks.
So they thought, okay, you know what?
That's going to give us time to make plays down the field.
And Mike Brable said, oh, by the way, we can get after your quarterback with a much malignant
offensive line.
And that's exactly what they did.
What was crazy was that you look at that game going into the third quarter.
It was like six three.
And I was like, what's actually happening in this game?
And the charges stayed around.
like, could it be?
Could we have a repeat, the third time of the season, or a repeat, rather, the charge
to come into Denver, and then all of a sudden, Drake May and Ramon Davis Stevens, they just,
they went wild.
And this is why, you know, Drake May was in the MVP conversation, but a great slate of games
this weekend.
And how about that Bears Green Bay Packers?
I mean, and it might get my dude, Matt LaFleur fired.
I don't know, because you can't have a.
lead like that and just blow it. And it wasn't all his fault. But hey man, great slated games.
The league did a great job scheduling a lot of those divisional games in the back half of the
season. And we were all entertained, whether you were eating pizza or not. Yeah, I think Schaefter
came out this morning and said that the Packers and LaFleur are going to continue their partnership.
I think they're going to work on a contract extension for him. So yeah, that was a terrible loss for
Green Bay. I was watching the game in my apartment with some buddies. And we all liked the bears in that
game. We were going crazy. So yeah, man, it was an action-packed weekend of NFL football.
But turning our attention to the Denver Broncos, here's, I think, the theme that we should
start with before we kind of dive into offense, defense, and overall keys to victory.
The Overdogs narrative is coming back out of the closet for the Denver Broncos.
As last I checked, it was last night and this morning, Denver Broncos are a slight home
underdogs for this matchup against Josh Allen.
and the Buffalo Bills. Obviously, that overdogs quote comes from Bo Nix after they took down the
Green Bay Packers. I believe they were three and a half point home underdogs. So look, there's a big
difference between three and a half points and one and a half points. But the fact of the matter is
this Broncos team, the one seat on the by, had the week off against the bills team that had to
scratch and claw against the Jacksonville Jaguars, still not getting the respect they deserve,
according to some people out there. And of course, the odds makers as well, Sarah, are we feeding
into this overdog's narrative.
Absolutely.
You got to, right?
You got to embrace it.
I mean, nobody wants to pick against Josh Allen and be wrong in the national media.
They just don't.
They're not going to do it.
They're going to pick Josh Allen because of all those narratives, right?
Well, it's the path of least resistance that he's ever had in the playoffs with no Mo
Holmes, no Lamar Jackson, you know, know this, no that.
It's only the Denver Broncos, right?
It's only Bo Nix.
It's not that big of a deal.
He should be able to eat.
easily get past these guys. I hope that the locker room is feeding into these narratives,
that they're just going to get decimated, that it's a foregone conclusion that the Buffalo
bills are going to not only blow past the Broncos, but that they're the AFC favorites to
represent in the Super Bowl right now, according to our friends at Fanduil. They are. So that all should
be taken personally by this team. It shouldn't cause them to lose any sort of focus. But that's kind of
where I think that this game leans more heavily into the redemption arc as opposed to the
revenge arc because I don't think revenge necessarily matters all that much.
We were just happy to be there last year, right?
I mean, that was at least the takeaway after you get beat 31 to 10 or whatever it was.
But when you are in the number one seat, the number one spot in the AFC, now it's about
redeeming yourself from last year.
Nobody believes in you, fine.
We got the bill leavers and we got the bow leavers.
and we got the bow leavers going against each other.
But like I said, nobody in the national media is going to give the Broncos respect
because nobody wants to put their flag in the ground and say,
Josh Allen's going to lose and then be wrong about it.
I agree.
And I don't think I can necessarily blame the national media for that.
Like if I wasn't living in Denver and covering the Broncos,
I think I'd probably have the same perspective.
But I have a different perspective, as does Nick,
having just been around this team going back to training camp,
being in the locker room after games, practice, all that good stuff.
as well. I definitely think
there's some bulletin board material
for the Broncos. Now look, I don't think Sean Payton's going to
walk in there. Maybe he is and beat the
drum of, we're underdogs, we're underdogs, we're
underdogs, right? But I do think that this is
something, I bet you JFM will have something to say
in the locker room this week. He's always
a good quote when it comes to that stuff. But
I actually think this maybe plays to the Broncos
a little bit, Nick, just because once
again, they're not maybe getting the respect they feel
like they deserve to get. No,
it's going to play for the Broncos. And the
Broncos have used this before, especially against the Green Bay Packers.
So Sean Payton or the players are going to bring this up in some way.
And instead of allowing the players to carry the banner, they're going to allow the media
to carry the water.
They're going to allow us to go out there and push that narrative out there to kind of get
these guys motivated to kind of create the cross stock to develop more bulletin board material
because the more that you have, the more that Sean Payton
can actually lean on throughout the week to kind of motivate his,
his players.
But I'll say this,
Sean McDermott, too, can now do the same thing.
Because when we look at the Buffalo Bills,
their path to Levi Stadium is on the road.
They already handled one leg of that.
And it was talks of before the game was played in Jacksonville.
If the Buffalo Bills were to lose that game,
Sean McDermott could be fired.
And once again,
we're talking about the legacy of Josh Allen.
This is the easiest road and the easiest path for him to get to the Super Bowl because no
Mojones, no borough, no Lamar Jackson.
So both teams are going to be using that same bull into board material as though no one
believes in us.
Because when you look at who the true underdog in this situation is, it is not the Denver
Broncos.
It is, in fact, the Buffalo Bills.
Because once again, they are coming on the row.
They are a lower seed.
and you're coming into Empower Field where the Broncos have a 14 and 3 record, right?
We know what the record was before Jacksonville Jaguars came into Empower Field
where the Broncos had won seven games at home and they were like on this 11 game winstreet.
The Buffalo Bills are saying, well, we're competing with that.
Now, here's the other side of this argument that both teams can actually use.
When we look at the Denver Broncos, we say, well, this season has been historic
because the Broncos have been able to win several games, what, in the fourth quarter gentlemen.
And who are they facing?
They're facing the fourth quarter king in the late game horrors.
And we've seen it over several weeks.
And we saw it again against Jacksonville, you know, this past weekend, and Josh Allen.
So it comes down to who do you trust more in those big game situations?
A guy like Josh Allen who has a lot of experience or Bo Nix, who he himself,
have won games in the fourth quarter.
This is why I love this matchup, guys,
and this is why I love football.
Yeah, I think it's going to be the best game of the next weekend
here in the divisional route.
I mean, just a lot of anticipation.
And selfishly, like, I know they only had a week off,
but, like, it felt longer.
Like, I was watching those games yesterday.
I'm like, okay, like, when's the Bronco game?
When are they going to play?
Who are they going to play?
Right?
And now that we have this matchup to kind of sink our teeth into,
it becomes very real.
And I'm pumped up.
I'm always excited to go to the games and be at practice.
But this week, especially,
just to see because one thing that I've told you guys on this show time and time again is that locker room has been even keel the entire season.
I'm imagining that will be the case this week as well, but kind of get to see it, get a feel for it myself and report back to you guys here on the program and on social media as well.
So it is going to be an entertaining matchup, whichever way you slice it in a lot of different ways I think this game could go for the Broncos.
And real quick, before we hit the first break, like I want to go back to the point that you made, Sarah, because I completely agree with you.
last season was a bit of a happy to be here mentality, right?
Like they, I don't want to say backed into the playoffs,
but they had to get that win against the Chiefs, right?
That was a team that was starved of just a playoff appearance for a long,
long time, whereas I think the mentality for the team this year is a complete 180.
It's flipped itself on its head.
It's like last year was the appetizer.
We proved we can sit at the adult table.
Now it's time for them to go out there and try to get the job done.
It is.
And you learn from those experiences, right?
You flip the script on one score games last year.
You flip the script in situational execution when it comes to winning those close games,
beating the good teams, going on the road and beating teams like the Eagles or the Texans.
You flipped all those scripts.
And it's just your experience, right?
It's the more opportunities you have to do it,
the more opportunities and chances that you get to succeed and get out the other side and come out victorious.
And I know that most of these games are coming down to one score.
I just feel like that's what it's going to be almost all throughout the playoffs, right?
I mean, that's typical of any week in the NFL, right?
It's going to come down to one score, somebody pulling away late.
But this is that type of situation where you kind of feel like, all right, even if one of these
teams gets up 10 points or even 14 points in the third quarter, that there's going to be some
theatrics in the fourth.
That's where the Broncos have really buckled down and been at their best all year long.
And so whether it's offensively or defensively, right?
we've seen the defense close out games in clutch situations.
We've seen the offense come back and win in clutch situations.
So now it's almost like it plays to the Broncos benefit that the narratives this season have
really been like they're not great at a lot of things, right?
They don't execute consistently offensively.
Their defense had been porous after the buy for a little bit there.
They don't force a lot of turnovers, but what are they great at?
Well, they execute situationally and they find ways to finish games no matter what it looks like.
that is the type of stuff that plays in the playoffs.
That's why the bills are still around because they were the same way.
Their defense stunk most of the year,
one of the worst run defenses in the NFL.
But situationally, even when you're down late against Houston,
you're making it interesting.
Even when you're down late against Philadelphia,
you're making it interesting, right?
So even in Philadelphia's losses,
even when they're turning the ball over,
they're finding ways to make things happen.
So I find this to be one of those games where Nick said it best,
Bo Nix versus Josh Allen in the clutch moments.
Who do you trust more?
I think longevity-wise, you would say Josh Allen.
But this year, I mean, Bo Nix, it's hard to argue that he's also been that dude.
Yeah, it's going to be a fascinating matchup.
By the way, I was thrilled to see the Eagles lose yesterday.
I cannot stand them.
And Kyle Shanahan doing his thing as well with that San Francisco 49ers team.
So, yeah, if the wild card weekend minus the,
I know we still got one game between the Texans and the Steelers,
but mine is take out the Chargers and the Patriots game.
Every single game was, you know, one score come from behind, whatever it might be.
So we should be in luck for another action-packed matchup here between the Broncos and the bills.
All right, let's set a break.
When we come back, let's dive into the big question.
How do you slow down Josh Allen?
I'll share some of my thoughts on that and also where I think the Broncos have a majority of the advantage on the field and the X's and O's come Saturday.
All that and more when we come back right here on your.
Locked on Broncos squad show.
Back in just a moment, folks.
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All right, welcome on back into your lockdown Broncos squad show.
And Ilo Piro, Sarah Bettinger, and Nick Ferguson, rocking and rolling with you here on this Monday, January the 12th, getting ready for the Broncos playoff matchup against the Buffalo Bills.
And Nick, I'll toss this to you first.
I think there's two positions.
And maybe Sarah will disagree with this as well.
I think there's two positions where the Buffalo Bills probably have the advantage.
I think one, maybe the obvious one is running back.
I think James Cook this season has just been on an absolute tear,
one of if not the best running back in the NFL this season.
So we know the Broncos are going to have their hands full there.
RJ Harvey, maybe we want to see some more Jal McLaughlin, right?
We'll see what happens in that department.
And then I think full game, sample size, all things considered,
you have to give a nod to Josh Allen over Bo Nix.
I agree with what Bo Nix has been able to do in the fourth quarter.
But like if you had your pick of like who do you want you to start a playoff game,
I think a majority of people would say Josh Alton.
But I say that to say this, I think the Broncos might have the advantage just about everywhere else on the field.
Wide receiver, offensive line, defense as a whole D-line cornerback.
So I think it comes down to limiting the two big playmakers for Buffalo, that of course, and protecting the football,
Josh Allen and James Cook.
Your thoughts, Nick?
Well, I'm going to push back on that just a little and disagree because I know on the surface,
you look at the Buffalo Bills, wide receiver roster, and say, well, none of these guys jumps off the plate, off the
page. And none of these guys are household names. But this is what the bills have done over the past
couple of years. Just find ways to win games with guys who you don't really know their names.
There's no Stefan Diggs anymore. So now you bring in the veteran Brendan Cooks, who, by the way,
made a sensation of play, probably the play of the game that kind of allow the Buffalo bills to win it.
And that's kind of what Buffalo is. They personify blue collar. I know,
know about the bills fans jumping on tables and doing things like that.
But this is kind of who this team is where they're saying,
okay, we know we have a great player at the quarterback position.
Everything goes through him.
And oh, by the way, we have another running back who is just capable of making those
types of plays.
And to relate it to, you know, people who live in Denver, it is like, you know,
when you look at Allen and you look at Cook, it is there, Jamal Murray and Nicole
for the Buffalo Bills fan.
It's their one-to combo.
And ideas that maybe we slow one down, right?
We force them to play with one hand tie behind their back,
then we'll be able to corral them and force them
and to make some errors.
And that's not the case, gentlemen.
And once again, you brought it up.
When we look at the Buffalo Bills,
their defense wasn't great, you know, throughout the season.
Obviously, they don't have a 64, 65-sack defense like the Broncos.
They just played great football.
And what we're seeing that they're playing their better football defensively in the playoffs.
Like, think about Tradavius White, a guy who was a member of the Buffalo Bills,
they sipped him off to the Baltimore Ravens only to come back to make two key plays in the game yesterday.
This is where the Buffalo Bills confidence is starting to grow.
And I know it's been this whole idea, well, how do you slow down mobile quarterbacks?
Well, we're going to use this cage rush.
Well, what does that mean?
To me, when you use that Cage Rush, you're not really trying to, I guess, had that intent.
Like, you're trying to get to the quarterback.
You're trying to force him to get the ball out of his hands.
It's just that.
It's Cage.
We just want to corral him.
We just want to kind of constrict and reduce the pocket.
But once again, you got a guy that's 6'5, 237 yards.
What did he show all season long, but more importantly, what did he show against the Jags?
I'm going to get on the edge.
If I catch one of your outside pass rushes peeking inside, I'm getting outside and I'm going to make plays with my legs.
I either throwing the ball down the field or picking up the first down.
This is what the Broncos defense is going to have to deal with on Saturday.
I think you make a ton of valid points.
And look, I think Josh Allen is one of, if not the most just dynamic quarterback.
Like I know you think Lamar Jackson as well, but the combination of the arm and the mobility, you put those two together.
It's going to be a problem for the Denver Broncos.
Look, I think the Broncos have the better defensive unit,
and hopefully Drey Greenlaw's back and, you know, all that kind of stuff as well.
But just because you get some guys back doesn't mean that Josh Allen probably still isn't going to be Josh Allen.
Like, I don't think he's going to be like Justin Herbert last night against doing a Patriots.
He's going to get his, share your thoughts.
I think this is exactly the reason why the Broncos went out and brought in Talo,
Hufanga, and Dre Greenlaw specifically to be in big game situations like this,
to have had that experience and to know not.
I mean, the Broncos, I think going into the 2025 off season,
they expected the postseason to include Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes,
Joe Burrow, Josh Allen.
Nobody is shying away from that.
And so this was expected.
You're expected to have to go through these guys,
to play these quarterbacks, to play the reigning MVP.
That's why you bring in the enforcers.
That's why you bring in the guys who have big game experience.
And to me, I was telling you,
on this to Cody. This might be a niche reference, but it's like in D3, the Mighty Ducks when the
mighty ducks are down to the varsity team and Dean Portman walks into the locker room at half time.
And all of a sudden, you've got this enforcer back on your team who brings that element of
toughness, who brings that X factor that really, I mean, we saw it at times for the Broncos when
Greenlaw was out there. But now this is, this is why they've held him out. This is why they have made
sure that, okay, if he can be available for the postseason, that is.
is our goal. Like if he plays however many games he played in the regular season, great. We want him
for the playoffs. And this is why you brought him in to be an enforcer in games like this. You have to
have those types of players. So it's not only everybody else doing their job, but it's those two guys
in particular, Talanoa Hufanga and Dre Greenlaw bringing the presence in the postseason that this
Denver Broncos defense lacked so desperately last year when the linebackers are getting torched in coverage,
the safeties are getting torched in coverage.
It was miserable to watch.
This is why you brought those guys in to shut what the bills do well down.
And that's what I'm excited to see.
That's the thing that I think, okay, we talk about Bo Nix, Josh Allen, clutch moments.
Josh Allen has all the playoff experience.
Bo Nix barely has any.
But those two guys on the defensive side, they could be a massive impact in shutting down
James Cook and Josh Allen in this game.
And I think Sean Payton said as much recently.
I forget if it was at a practice or after a game of like, that's what these guys are here to do.
And look, Telenow Hufanga has been spectacular for this Denver Broncos team for the entirety of the season.
Drey Greenland, when he's been out there, has been a difference maker as well.
And so, yeah, you're going to need Drey Greenland to get healthy.
And I think it also comes down to, you know, Nick Benito, a guy that really started out the season real hot,
tapered off a little bit and kind of start to hit his groove again, not just him, but Zach Allen and Jonathan Cooper, right,
that big defensive front that we love to rave about here in Broncos,
country. They're going to need to play the best games of their career, right? Like Nick Benito
having that, you know, swat on Marcus Marriota against the Washington commanders was awesome and
helped get the Broncos to this point. But we're going to need to see more of that type of energy
and really just kind of set the tone for this Denver Broncos team. Because I think the one thing that
the Broncos, and I understand they've continued to come from behind this season, but you can't let
Josh Allen get out to a hot start in this game. Like if Denver's down, 173, you know, even 10 zip, right?
you're going to maybe get a little antsy.
And again, at least as Broncos team has shown their resiliency,
but I think it comes down to the defense setting its own
and also one of Sayre's favorite topics, Nick, generating some turnovers.
Well, that's the, I guess it was the motto of Sean Payton heading into that charges game
was putting ample amount of pressure on Van Joseph in the defense to create
turnovers.
And I could tell you, man, it's very difficult.
It's easy to say very hard to definitely do.
And the Broncos, they definitely need to make sure that they start fast here at home.
You don't want to get down early, even though you're playing at home.
Your defense has been sensational all season long.
I just go back to that game last year.
It was 31-7.
The Broncos came out on fire.
That first play, that explosive to Troy Franklin, and you're like, oh, the Broncos about to blow the doors off.
And then after that, the Broncos were like 0-5 or something like that in the red zone.
When it came to third down conversions, I think it was, oh,
for nine, excuse me, they were two for nine and third down conversions.
And that put an ample amount of pressure on the defense.
You can't do that.
I mean, this Broncos team is entirely different than the one I just referenced.
This Buffalo team is entirely different than the one I just referenced.
So it comes down to, well, who's going to play their best ball when it counts the most?
That's what it comes down to.
And the offense really going to have to do their part.
I go back really quickly, if I don't want to harp on things, but I was looking at a couple of numbers.
So when you go back to the game, I just referenced that 31 to 7 first playoff appearance by Bo Nix.
Bo Nix was 14 of 23 and he rushed the ball four times 43 yards.
And then I say, well, I've seen those similar numbers before.
Where have I seen them against the charges?
He was 14 of 23.
He had eight rushes for 48 yards.
Now, the office is going to have to do their part.
part to have ball control.
It can't be one of these situations
pass, pass, and pass some more.
You're going to have to find ways
to create some running lanes.
That means the offensive line getting some push,
dominating the line of scrimmage.
Because what we've seen from Josh Allen
in that offensive line over the past couple of weeks,
they're not giving up that many sacks.
I mean, Josh Allen against Jacksonville,
he was hit three times,
but he was only sacked once.
So you reference Nick Benito.
Jonathan Cooper and Nick Benito, they're going to have to have exceptional games.
Not just sacking a quarterback.
I'm talking about generating pressure and chasing down Josh Allen.
If they cannot do that, it's going to be the long day for the Broncos.
Yeah, no, I completely agree.
And Tony Romo was harping on the hand injury that appeared to not affect Josh Allen whatsoever.
We'll see if that changes as we lead into this game against the Denver Broncos.
And one more thing on defense, the name that we haven't brought up yet,
that I said Nick Padillo's going to have to play the best game of his life.
He is.
So was Riley Moss.
And Riley Moss is going to be a guy that we've just seen, you know, love him or hate him,
frustrated or not.
Like he's going to get picked on in this game naturally because you have Pat Sartan
on the other side of the field.
And I understand that this Buffalo Bill's wide receiver core, you know,
maybe it's a little underwhelming, which is not surprising,
just considering how they fielded their wide receiver core post to Fon Diggs.
But you know Josh Allen, that's going to be a part of their game plan of like Riley
Moss gets these PI calls called on them.
Let's try to take a look, double moves, whatever it might be.
I actually think Riley Moss might be the most important player on the field for the Broncos
in regards to how he could impact the game positively or negatively or negatively.
I think Bow's going to be fine.
I think the defense is going to be good.
But the question is, does Riley Moss do these PI calls creep up?
Does that impact the game whatsoever?
I hope not.
I'm not going on wood right now.
But it's just the reality situation right now, sir.
Yeah, which goes back to the idea that,
this game is all about the redemption arc, isn't it? I mean, so many different things.
If you want to look back at last year's Buffalo playoff game or if you want to go down to
the season narratives here in 2025, which I mean, Riley Moss has some demons to exercise.
There's no doubt about it. You get all these targets coming your way. You expect all these targets
coming your way because of the presence of Pat Sertan. So what are you going to do with those opportunities?
And the playoffs in a lot of different ways represent a clean slate for so many guys on this team,
not just for Riley Moss, but like Nick referenced,
the box score from Bo Nix last year's postseason versus a recent game against the Chargers.
I mean, if you look back at that Buffalo playoff game last year, it's a redemption opportunity
for not just, you know, Riley Moss, but Troy Franklin.
I mean, he caught the first touchdown pass and then he has a crucial drop on one of those
third downs that Nick reference, as did Cortland Sutton in that game an egregious drop on a
perfectly thrown ball.
Both of those drops came when the game was still tight, when the Broncos still had an opportunity
to maybe swing momentum back in their direction.
who is going to step up with this opportunity for a redemption arc in front of the home fan base.
That's going to be critical in this game to rewrite these narratives,
to forge your own path to being a force in the AFC.
Yeah, no, I'm with you 100%.
All right, let's hit a break.
When we come back, let's shift gears to the offense.
They're probably going to need to put up some points.
And I think there's a game from earlier in the season that is maybe if you could script out
the way the way the Broncos want to play this game on offense,
I think we can reference that, but we'll do that when we come back right here on your locked-on Broncos squad show.
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sent job. Okay, welcome on back into your locked on Broncos squad show. A piece here,
Benninger and Nick Ferguson hanging out with you guys here on this Monday, getting ready for the
Broncos playoffs to officially begin as they are set to welcome the Buffalo Bills. Obviously,
I think everybody knows, right, Josh Allen played at Wyoming. It's a 90 minute drive from Denver
just about. So familiar territory for Josh, maybe not as much for the rest of the bills, but
they played last year as Nick referenced 31 to 7, the final score. So this is a
juicy, juicy matchup for us to dive into.
So shifting gears now to the offense, the game that I was referencing or teasing,
rather, before we hit the break, because it's about slowing down Josh Allen,
slowing down James Cook, right?
I think I want to see the Broncos if there's a perfect script for them to follow
from a previous game this season.
It's their second matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders, a game where they just completely
dominated time of possession.
And I understand the Raiders are not the Buffalo Bills, right?
they're going to score some points.
It's not going to be as easy as it was against Las Vegas.
But I think the best way to neutralize Josh Allen, Nick,
is to try to keep Josh Allen off the field.
Yeah, and that's a game.
I'm glad you went back to because the Broncos dominated time of possession,
but they didn't dominate the game as far as the scoreboard was concerned.
And that level of efficiency kind of gave them a lot of confidence
that they can move the ball down the field.
And I thought then, as I think now,
that the Raiders, Patrick Graham, their defense coordinator,
did a great job of forcing the Broncos to take what was in front of them.
When you look at Jesse Mentor in the last game, he did the same thing.
He said, well, okay, we're not going to give up any explosive plays.
If you're going to beat us, move the ball down the field methodically,
and the Broncos did that on the first drive.
Everything they did on that first drive, somehow every drive after that,
it's almost like they went away from it.
I'm like, things were working.
You were running the ball effectively.
R.J. Harvey had a couple of explosive runs.
Then you brought in Julele McLaughlin, and you saw a little burst from him.
And it's like, yes, this is what we've been waiting for.
And then, hey, man, what happened?
You put anchovies on my pizza, right?
And I didn't ask for anchovies.
So that's kind of what it felt like for me.
And I don't like anchovies.
So that left a bad taste in my mouth.
And the Broncos will need to have some type of semblance of balance.
What that looks like, how do they get to it?
I have no idea.
I know how I would love to see Sean Payton called plays to actually execute and do that.
But going back to the last game, and I can only do this because that's the only sample size that we have,
RJ Harvey had 15 carries for what I believe was 26 yards, 1.9 yard a carry.
15 carries, fam, for 28 yards, 1.9.
And I know people are saying, well, it's all on RJ Hart.
Harvey. No, it wasn't. The offensive line was not getting pushed. And the chargers, albeit you can call
them reserves or mixture or whatever, they were able to get pressure up front with four and maybe five guys.
And then they brought second level delay pressure. I expect the Buffalo Bills to do the same thing
because here's what I'll tell you, gentlemen. Bow Nix has definitely been impressive, whether it was a design quarterback,
run or him pulling it down himself, he has been the offensive savior.
But if the bills decided to give those simulated pressures, bring the nickel blitzes
and things like that, all things that have given the Broncos issues.
So if you tell me with this two weeks the Broncos had off, Sean Payton said, well, we need
to correct that.
We didn't do a great job with our side adjustments, right?
If they are to correct it, the Broncos have a chance.
If they don't and they haven't correct it, once again,
Again, long day for Bo Nix and the Broncos offense.
Yeah, I think Julian McLaughlin has earned the right to get more touches and more carries,
just from what we've seen, albeit a relatively limited sample size.
But, you know, this is a guy that's been with the Broncos, you know, obviously last year,
a lot of familiarity with Sean Peyton's system.
And I think Archie Harvey's had some bright spots.
I mean, especially in the red zone.
He's a force down there.
But you need a balanced attack from Denver.
I think if Bo has to drop back to pass.
And he may pass 40 times, right, with just the way that Sean Peyton runs
the offense. Yeah, maybe could you win the game, but I don't think that's your most efficient
route to a victory. I think dominating TOP and having, you know, an eight-minute drive where you
just suck the life out of the bill's defense and you wear them down and Josh Allen's got the
beanie on the sideline and the jacket looking off into the distance, right? Like, that's what you
want to see from the broadcast booth on Saturday afternoon or evening, whatever time the game may be.
I think that's the recipe, Sarah. Yeah, I do too. I mean, when you talk about a guy who can put
on the Superman Cape at any point in time.
It's obviously keeping him on the sidelines and making his life miserable when he's not,
but also cashing in on your opportunity.
So I think it's different.
Like last year when we were going into the Buffalo playoff game,
you felt like the Broncos had to play an absolutely perfect game.
And they needed some weird stuff to happen in order to win.
It doesn't feel like that's necessarily the case this time.
It feels like there's a lot more of just like, like Nick said,
you know, these are two very different teams from what we,
we saw last year in the playoffs.
So it's a lot more evenly matched this time around.
You can play the chess game a little bit more than you have to just hope that something
goes wrong for the other team in order to give yourself a chance.
But how about if the Broncos could go 100%?
Can you bat a hundred or a thousand, excuse me, in the red zone this game?
Like, can you do it?
We've seen them do it before.
We've seen that against Green Bay.
I mean, they just dominated when they got down into the red area.
We've seen it against, they did it against Dallas.
They've done it a number of times this season.
Can you dominate when you get down into that red zone?
Because if you can, I'm not saying that this is the likeliest outcome,
but I don't think it's impossible to believe that with the Bill's defense,
the way that they've been this year,
if the Broncos offense is batting a thousand in the red zone and the defense forces a couple of
turnovers, I think the Broncos could win this game by two scores.
Now I'm not going to sit here and say,
that's guaranteed to happen.
But I think the Broncos have risen to that level that if they are able to play
complementary football,
If they are able to cash in on those opportunities,
and they could do some serious damage against anybody.
I think we've seen that, right?
So this is an opportunity for that offense.
Once again, the redemption arc,
can you redeem what we saw late in the season
in terms of those red zone woes when you were a top 10 team
going into the biweek in terms of red zone efficiency?
Yeah, and I agree with you and I also agree with Nick about the offensive line in general,
just need to step it up for the run game.
But I think when it comes to the receiver position,
like the elder statesman in the room is Cortland Sutton.
And I think one thing the Broncos on offense cannot afford
is self-inflicted wounds.
I cannot see a gazillion, not a gazillion,
but multiple drops from Cortland Sutton,
as we've seen maybe a couple of times throughout the course of this season
in his career.
He's got to be the leader of that wide receiver room.
I mean, Troy Franklin, a guy in the middle of the season that was,
you know, I thought had an argument to be Broncos wide receiver one.
I feel like we haven't seen a lot of Troy necessarily in the mix
as much as we did in the middle of the year.
So, you know, I do wonder if the conversation of like Sean holding back play calls in the Charger game or towards the end of the year, like do we see some funky stuff?
Do we see them up the ante on offense with the passing game?
Obviously, time will tell.
But I think that's a big thing as well as Coral and certainly the offensive line as a whole just setting the tone for this Broncos offense.
I think if they're able to do that, man, and just, I know they say, you know, the first drive is scripted, which I believe is true, right?
But a good first drive, a touchdown on the first drive.
if they get the ball or they get a three in out
or force a three and out for Buffalo.
A strong start to the day for Denver on office,
I think goes well to building momentum, Nick.
It does, but once again,
here's what Sean McDermott's going to say.
Listen, the environment and arena has changed.
But if the Broncos do what you just predicted,
he's going to tell his team,
hey, we saw this last year.
They got out to a quick start with the 70,
and after that, our defense clamped down
and we were able to stop with,
they were trying to do.
And remember, that's the same game where the Broncos ran a fake punt.
They converted.
They were in scoring positions.
Came away with no points.
So there are a couple of things that I'm looking for in the game on Saturday that the
Broncos have to be much better this year on this particular game than they were last year,
but also down the stretch with the last couple of games.
You want to be better on third down, for one, because if you're on third down,
you're doing just what you said.
Josh Allen is sitting over there with a beanie on his head.
He's cold as all get out.
And he's thinking, okay, well, how can I get back on the field?
And when I get back on the field, I got to throw on my cape.
I got to do some extra stuff.
You need to move the fall down the field on third down because it keeps Josh on the
sideline and keeps your defense fresh.
Also, what that means to me or would indicate that you have some balance.
Finally, against the bills, you're now passing with efficiency.
you're running with efficiency.
All these things are going to be key to start off the game,
but then it comes back to maintaining that, right?
You have to have, you have to show that you have the capabilities
of maintaining things down the stretch.
And the one thing we know, we've seen the Broncos do it, right?
But we know that other guy, he can do it.
And if you're asking yourself, and it sounds as though,
well, Nick, you know, you're going totally against the Denver Broncos.
no, I'm just speaking facts based on what I see.
And if we go back to the game against Jacksonville, which we saw,
it came down to who had the ball last, right?
Who had the ball last?
And can you play your best football when it counts the most
and not be the reason your team lost because you turned over the freaking ball?
Can't do it.
Yeah, and I know the Broncos, you know,
they've had a couple of comfortable wins this year, right?
you think back to Cincinnati and a couple others that have popped up the Raiders game, of course,
to kind of put my own foot in my mouth.
I mean, it's kind of a different conversation now that we're in the playoffs.
Like, yeah, like, I guess style.
I think style points matter way more in the regular season.
I don't really care how the Broncos win the game.
Just go out there and win the game, even if it's ugly, even if it's come from behind, right?
Like, I'd love for them to go up big and, you know, we can cruise and start looking forward
to an AFC championship game.
I just don't think that's going to be the case.
I think this is team with the ball asked who's going to drive.
down the field who's going to get a stop that's how i see this one playing out there yeah i do too i think
that that's kind of what you expect all season with this denver broncos team i mean it's the it's going
to be sweaty it's going to be adding gray hairs to all of our heads right it's going to be one
of those things where you're either a stress eater or you can't eat at all during the game because
you're so stressed it's going to be most likely one of those outcomes now i'm the type that i i don't
care about the quality of a game if it means the broncos are blowing the other team out i don't
care if everybody else is entertained. That's my favorite type of game. So if we can get that,
if I can place my order and if I have a choice in the matter, that's what I want to see.
But ultimately at the end of the day, if Bo Nix is coming out for the victory formation at the
end of the game, Nick, I wanted to get, I wanted to ask you this too, because I was sitting
there watching these games this weekend and you see all these tide turning plays, emotional
back and forth game. Like, how hard is it to go out there and line up on the defense for those last
plays when the opposing team is in victory formation. Like you got to you have to go line up for this
play. I was just thinking from the like putting myself in the shoes of a defensive player being like,
I got to go actually like line up out there and just like take this one on the chin. Like that
that to me would be the worst play to be out there for defensively is the other team in victory
formation. Yeah, it is. And I don't know if you guys have ever experienced this, but growing up in
inner city, this was commonplace either it happened to me or someone in my neighborhood where
where your parents were going BTA on you outside
where everyone could actually see, right?
And you couldn't really kind of lie to tell your friends
that next day in school, well, these lashes I have on my backside
because I fell down and I tripped.
No, no, no, no.
We all saw what happened outside.
That's kind of what it's like.
You can't do anything about it.
You just have to sit there.
And sometimes when you see those edge rushers,
they know the other team's going to take somewhat of a knee.
And then one of those guys try to lunge out really quick
and get a nice pop on one of those offensive linemen to just kind of get that last shot
because you know you just been defeated.
You just lost.
And the worst part of it is to lose at home.
I've been there before.
It is not good.
2005, I am still not over it, man.
We lost the Pittsburgh.
And this is why I've been saying these things all season long about what the Broncos
need to do to kind of clean up certain things that they have.
have on the officer side of the ball, on the defensive side of the ball, because there's no
guarantee, gentlemen, that you will ever get back to this particular point, that the Broncos
fandom would ever get back to this. Remember, it was almost like a nine, 10-year layoff before the
Broncos even got to the playoffs to play against the Buffalo Bill. So we're not living in the world
in the space of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady when they went on a 20-year run. No, you have to make
the most out of this situation.
And you don't want to be in a situation on Saturday.
It is victory formation, but it's not Bo Nix.
It's Josh Allen.
You'll be highly upset with yourself.
So that would be my message.
If I was talking to the Broncos players today,
you want to make sure that you are on the right side of it.
And if it's Bo Nix out there, then job well done.
Yeah.
I can't wait, man.
I cannot wait.
I'm pumped up.
I'm going to get there at,
you know, 10 o'clock in the morning like Cody does, I think, for all these brons.
He posts these Instagram stories.
I'm like, bro, the game's in five hours.
Like, what are we doing here?
You know, but it is what it is.
No, it's going to be an awesome matchup.
All right.
Let's hit our final break.
We'll come back.
We'll wrap it up, put a bow in the show.
A couple of keys to victory as well and double down on some thoughts that Nick threw out there.
All that more.
We come back.
Locked on Broncos Squad show.
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Okay, Locked-on Broncos squad show back at it.
Anilo Piro, Sarah Bedinger, and Nick Ferguson.
If you're watching on YouTube, we appreciate each and every one of you.
We also love our audio listeners.
Cody and Sarah will have you covered with additional Locked on Broncos podcast episodes, of course,
throughout the week, and we'll be back after the game on Saturday evening or night.
We'll see what it is there.
I want to go back real quick before we get some keys to victory here for the Broncos.
With that bad taste in your mouth that you've had, Nick,
you know, just from your playing days and experience.
Look, I think the Broncos are going to be good for years to come.
Like, I think Bo Nix is the real deal.
I think Sean Payton's the right coach.
I love where this defense is at.
But the same argument that we're applying to Josh Allen about like,
no Mahomes, no Lamar, right, no burrow.
I think you can also, in essence, apply that to the Denver Broncos of like,
I don't think the chiefs are going anywhere.
I think they're going to retool.
They'll be back sooner rather than later.
I would imagine the, you know, the Ravens with their head coaching search,
they're going to be right back in it.
If Cincinnati ever figures it out, they're going to be a tough out.
And so the mentality that I'm kind of taking with this Broncos playoff run is like, why not us,
which I know is a common one for all of these different teams.
And I'm sure that's how every team in the AFC feels, the Patriots, the Texans, the Steelers,
obviously the Buffalo Bills.
But this might be the Broncos best chance to get to a Super Bowl and win a Super Bowl,
just considering how some of the other household names have been playing this season.
Again, I'm not saying easiest route, hardest route, any of that.
But the reality situation is the Broncos have what it takes.
Like, it's not like last year, as Sarah alluded to,
where you need everything to go right and you get a break here or break there.
The time is now for this Denver Broncos team, Sarah.
It is.
And that's got to be the message like Nick was saying.
I mean, you not only want to be the team that's on the right side of victory formation,
but you don't want to miss an opportunity that's been set before you,
especially when you've got the number one seed.
you've done all this hard work to get to this point.
So why not make the most of it, right?
And obviously that's easier said than done.
But for this Denver Broncos team, it is once again about the redemption arc.
And to me, it's a lot about exercising the demons of not drafting Josh Allen.
And I wonder how much that closure plays a factor in this because we know going into last
year's postseason game that that was a chip on Josh Allen's shoulder.
Like he's had it out for the Broncos for not drafting him.
until this year.
I mean, he beat him in the playoffs, embarrassed them in the playoffs.
And then this year, John Elway himself admitted that was my biggest mistake as a general
manager was not taking Josh Allen.
I even heard a recent interview where he was talking about like, oh, the coaches didn't
want him.
I couldn't get them on the same page.
So, I mean, that's maybe another episode for another day.
But I think there was some closure there in terms of that whole arc being a storyline that
was going on in the background of Josh Allen having this chip on his show.
shoulder like the Broncos didn't draft me. John Elway passed on me and there was no closure to it
until now. And now that there's closure, it's time to write new chapters of that story. That is past.
You've already used up that card. You can't use it again. And that's the way that I view this is the
Broncos saying now, okay, you got us for not drafting you. Now it's our time to get you and make sure
that you don't get that. Oh, well, there's no Mahomes. There's no Lamar Jackson. There's no Joe
borough so i need to go win this they want this to be another 1998 dan merino type of situation where
it's like oh this might be dan merino's last shot and i know it's not josh's last shot but the broncos
shut that down and they went and they're like no we're going to win two in a row screwed dan merino's
career and his legacy they don't care about josh allen's legacy nor should they care about
josh allen's legacy and that's what everybody's picking they're picking josh allen over the denver broncos
They're not picking the Buffalo Bills.
And I hate to make it that simple.
And that may sound like a hot take,
but they're picking Josh Allen because they think that he's going to be able to go out there
and write his own legacy.
And the Broncos have to make sure that doesn't happen.
I agree.
I really do.
And I know maybe it is a bit of a simplistic take of like Josh Allen,
picking Josh Allen versus the Buffalo bills as a team.
But the quarterback just means so much, right?
I mean, we've just seen quarterbacks will their teams to victory.
You know, I know Buffalo did their part on defense yesterday.
but like Josh Allen was the guy with his pedal to the medal yesterday for the Buffalo
Bills against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
So yeah, and I also agree.
I do think that narrative is a little overplayed.
I think it's closure, as you mentioned at this point, he got his,
he bounced him out of the playoffs this year.
But Nick, I think the reality of the situation is you are what your record says you are.
And this year, the Broncos are the better team.
Yes, the Broncos are definitely a better team from a record standpoint.
But I'll just have you guys keep this in mind.
we've seen top players across all sporting leagues kind of play with this mentality.
And I will defer to Michael Jordan in all his years, right?
And Mike used to just invent things that didn't happen only to kind of get him motivated for a game.
And we know Tom Brady.
Like the idea of Tom Brady played 20 odd years.
And he was drafted in the sixth round.
He remembers every guy that was drafted over him.
And you would think after his first, second, third, fourth Super Bowl, he would let that go.
No, he found ways to keep it alive to motivate him.
And this is where every athlete has to find that competitive drive, something that keeps you going when you've had a certain amount of success.
And when you think about Josh Allen, yes, he's a reigning MVP.
But what's the constant conversation?
Well, he can't win the big one, right?
He can't get over Lamar, Patrick Mahomes.
Those guys are no longer in his way.
He's heard the tales, I'm sure he has.
This is the best path for you.
And like you said, Wyoming is not that far from Denver.
So knowing as though, you hosted Denver last year,
you kicked them out in the first round.
You would think that in his mind, hey, I've already climbed that mountain top
and I'm done with that.
No, because he didn't win the Super Bowl.
Now he's on his Super Bowl trajectory, and there's a team standing in his way, a team like Sarah said, that did not draft him, right?
Trust me, as a player, you never forget it.
All those teams that overlooked me during my playing days, when I got a chance to play them, I remembered it.
I remembered that GM face, that coach face, and at the end of the game, my whole thing was I'm making a beeline, just shake your hand to let you know.
you made a mistake, right?
So Josh Allen has that in the back of his mind.
And oh, by the way, to make it more simplistic.
His girl is pregnant, right, with his child.
He wants to be able to tell the story of how he went on the road, right?
He went on the road, which is very hard to do.
And I won my first Super Bowl.
He wants to be able to tell his son that.
And right now, the brink, you know, the brink.
Broncos stand in his way, right?
His wife was in a movie called Senters,
which did well at the Golden Globes,
but now he's looking at the Broncos
like they are the sinners,
and he won't get back.
So they have to do their part to stop him
from actually winning his goal,
what his proverbial Golden Globe.
You know who else?
Oh, hey, really quick,
you know who else has a wife
who's expecting a child is Bo Nix?
So, I mean, we can go toe for toe on these.
ideas here of like, all right, it's this team. Let's not forget, too, that, I mean,
Bo has all those same types of opportunities to have a chip on his shoulder. All six quarterback
drafted in 2024, you know, nobody expects you to. I mean, it's all the same thing. And for
Sean Payton, it's, well, the league has it out to get this guy. So they're, they're not going to let
him get any further past this. Or he's got the, the first coach potentially ever to win a Super Bowl
with two different franchises. So like, legacy is a big thing that's on the line for everybody. And
this matchup, it's only going to heighten the intensity.
And I love the idea that Nick just had of making it.
The Broncos are the Michael B. Jordan in Josh, like he's going to be like the water
boy out there envisioning 11 different Michael B. Jordans on the other side line.
It's going to be exactly.
That's what he's got to do.
You got to visualize, right, to bring out the beast within.
No.
Absolutely.
I love it, man.
I love it.
You know, I just think this is, I don't think it's a blowout game either way.
I don't see the Broncos getting blown out.
and I don't really see the Broncos blowing out the Buffalo Bills.
I think this is going to be four quarters of a roller coaster ride back and forth,
momentum shifts, lead changes, all that good stuff, man.
It is going to be a thrilling game come Saturday.
So before we get out of here, Nick, any closing thoughts you want to get off your chest, my friend?
Yeah, man, I just hope the guys use this week well to prepare their minds and their bodies.
This is the biggest game of their life, right?
And I know coaches use that cliche all the time.
but this is the biggest game of your life.
I know that you get to this game.
There's no guarantee that you're going to get back here next year.
You have no idea.
Vance Joseph could be gone, right?
Jim Leonard could be gone, right?
There are no guarantees.
So you have to maximize the opportunity right now,
draw a line in the sand,
and you have to say,
I am not going to be the guy
that causes us to lose this game.
I am going to be the guy
that's the reason we won the game.
That has to be their mentality.
If they have that type of mentality and they go out there and execute,
the Broncos move on.
Sarah, your thoughts?
I mean, when you bring up, I know this is unfair.
You bring up some names throughout the course of Broncos history
and what comes to mind, right?
You think of Dan Reeves, what comes to mind,
failures in the postseason?
When you think of Rahim Moore, what comes to mind?
The Baltimore Ravens debacle.
You think of Manny Ramirez.
comes to mind, Super Bowl 48.
Don't be on that side of history.
Be on the other side of it.
Like I said, write your portion of this story in Denver Broncos lore and be part of something
special.
That begins this weekend against the Buffalo Bills.
And it was always going to be either if it wasn't Josh Allen, it was going to be somebody
else like him, right?
Somebody else who's, oh, that quarterback is too good for the Broncos to beat.
We talked about that going into the playoffs.
No matter who they face, they're going to be the underdog according to the national.
national perspective.
So go write your portion of the story and make it a good one.
Broncos are hopefully going to be overdogs again.
You know, they are at this moment, the home underdog in this game.
So we'll see if they can use that to their advantage as well.
Gotta slow down, Josh Allen, got to get the offense kicked into gear off the rip.
And it is going to be an exciting game coming up this weekend here at Empower Field.
All right, that is going to do it for us on today's Lockdown Broncos Squad show.
Appreciate all of you out there on your way out the door.
Do it as a favor.
hit that like button, smash that subscribe button,
really helps us out here on the channel.
As I mentioned, Sarah and Cody will have you cover
with additional content throughout the course of the week,
and the whole squad will be together,
hopefully reacting to a Broncos victory after the game on Saturday.
But for Nick Ferguson, Sarah Bedinger, I am Anilo Piro.
Thank you guys so much for tuning in.
Talk to you guys after the game.
Good luck, Broncos.
To-to.
