Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - BRONCOS SQUAD SHOW: Denver must stay FOCUSED for home stretch of season

Episode Date: December 16, 2025

The Denver Broncos made a statement with their comeback win over the Green Bay Packers, but there are still big tests ahead. The Jacksonville Jaguars come to town this Sunday, winners of five straight games. The Jags feature a high octane offense that could present problems for the Broncos' defense who could be without a couple of key players for the matchup. Join Aniello Piro, Cody Roark, Sayre Bedinger and Nick Ferguson as the breakdown the latest news around the Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Rocket Money Take control of your finances and cancel your unwanted subscriptions with Rocket Money. Go to https://RocketMoney.com/LOCKEDON today. Aura Frames For a limited time, save on the perfect gift by visiting https://AuraFrames.com to get $35 off Aura’s best-selling Carver Mat frames - named #1 by Wirecutter - by using promo code LOCKEDON at checkout. FanDuel If you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit FanDuel.com and place your NFL live bets all season long. 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. 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) FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I'm Anilo Piro and the 24-hour rule has come and gone. So it's time for the Denver Broncos to get focused up. My man, Sarah Bedinger, will break it down on today's Lockdown Squad Show, brother. I'm excited. Bonix for MVP, that's what I'm saying. Ooh, I love that conversation. We'll have some fun here. Let's get it rolling, ladies and gentlemen.

From the South stands, it's the Broncos squad, everything Denver Broncos every week, covering all the big hits and game-changing plays from the Mile High City, the way only the locked on podcast network can. Gear up and squad up. The Bronco squad show starts now. It is your technically locked on Bronco squad show, although Sarah and I are a squad of two or an army of two for my video game players out there.

That was a fun Xbox 360 game back in the day. Nick Ferguson and Cody worked both on assignment, but they'll be back sooner rather than later. But Sarah and I will hold down the fort for you here, this afternoon Broncos country. Hope everyone is doing well out there. And guys, today's episode of your lockdown Broncos

squad show is brought to you by our friends over at Fandul. If you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, just visit Fanduel.com and place your NFL live bets all season long. I don't know about you, sir. I am still kind of buzzing and humming. And I just know, I kind of put my foot in the mouth with what I just said with the 24 hour rule, but I'm not a player. I'm not a coach.

You know, I'm a host here on the lockdown network. I still feel really good about that Packers' Dub. Yeah, really, really just, it's one of those things that, you know, I don't really go on Twitter too much these days. As far as like what I used to do, Anilo, I try to stay away from that, but I've been feeling confident enough to go on there, do a little fighting with Packers fans out there, do a little bragging on Texans fans,

finding some posts that have nothing to do with me and quote tweeting them. Like, that's the level of confidence that we're at right now. I've been telling people for the last like 10 years, I'm like, you don't even know me when my team is good. You know what I'm saying? You don't know me when my football team is good. And so, yeah, obviously we keep it fun and things like that and we keep it to the point that, hey, we're not going to be getting in any trouble with our jobs, things like that. But you've got to have some fun with it, right?

You got to go out there. You got to mess with people a little bit. You got to be a, you got to have fun with winning, right? Winning is fun. And I mean, that's maybe why Joe Burrell is not having any fun. Cincinnati because they're not winning, but winning is fun. So I think you got to enjoy it while it's happening. Yeah, I'm not going to lie, dude.

Like I was on social media yesterday and I saw you firing off the tweets and it was, and after the game and all that kind of stuff. Like it was great entertainment for me. So make sure to check out Sarah on Twitter because he's got some elite level trolling going on right now. And frankly, like, you know, I'll tell this story real quick as we kind of dive into it. Like my first year working in Denver Sports Media was the, like I remember my interview with the company that I started out with was like the week of Super Bowl 50.

And I remember walking in there and they're like, sorry, it's all chaos. We're sending guys to the Super Bowl, you know, for Radio Road, this, that, the other. And so like technically, I guess I got like the one championship, you know, game for the Denver Broncos. But, you know, essentially in my 9, 10 year career of working here in Denver Sports Media, the Broncos have not been very good except for, you know, last year is kind of the appetizer. But this is the first season where we've seen this Denver Broncos team like be the Broncos of old for lack of better phrase like you know obviously back to the 90s with elway and then early 2000s with shanahan despite not winning always competitive always in the playoffs right the tibo era and then of course

the Peyton manning era and so you know i know you've been a bronco fan for your whole life but even just like living here in denver like this is the first time in my professional career that i've seen bronco mania kind of play out and it's so special because like the fan base is absolutely riled up right now it's incredible it really is it's the one thing that's galvanizing everybody the one thing that we've been saying amidst all the infighting about who's the right head coach candidate, who's the right quarterback for this team,

should the Broncos be making this trade, should they consider this trade, are they going to be active in free agency this year, what owner is going to want to take over the team, what coach is going to want to come in and replace Nathaniel Hackett when you're in the division with Mahomes? I think it's all that infighting over the last handful of years that we finally have a new common ground.

Instead of our common ground being, we all want different things, our common ground is now, hey, we could go win the freaking Super Bowl. You know what I'm saying? And our quarterback, he's a franchise quarterback. And I think everybody's kind of coming around to both of these things, right? I know that everybody still has their differing opinions on Bo Nix. Everybody, you know, Sean Payton is an acquired taste for many.

But I think what everybody is seeing is that that culture has officially shifted from the Broncos being bottom dwellers to now the Broncos being back to being what they are. I mean, when I was growing up, Anilo, it was like the San Antonio Spurs and like the, I don't remember if it was even the Patriots at the time, but it was like two professional organizations along with the Denver Broncos as the winningest professional sports teams out there. And that was all I ever knew was the Broncos winning. It didn't matter if it was Tebow. You won the division. If it was Jake Plummer, you win the division. If it's Jay Cutler, you expected that team to go out.

there and win the division and be and that's why mike shanahan got fired right so this this broncos organization has always been one that winning is is the expectation not the uh exception and i think that's why there's been so much relief this year and what you're seeing in broncos country of that sort of you know bordering on catharsis for the team yeah you know and i like how you put that like winning is the expectation not the exception for for the majority of the tenure you know of is Denver Broncos organization, of course. And I think that's what made that little nine, 10-year low so frustrating. And look, I think we also need to acknowledge, you know, the issues that Mr. Pat Boland was

dealing with, you know, with his health stuff and then the trust. Like the Broncos were handed off to the perfect ownership group. I was going to say the right ownership group, but the optimal perfect ownership group. And the Walton is in the Penners. And so, no, I mean, it's a great time to be a Denver Bronco fan. I'm sure that there's a lot of Denver sports fans as well. the Nuggets with a big win last night over the Houston Rockets, the avalanche are, you know, humming right now as well.

So you've got the Nuggets, the Avalanche, the Broncos, as like some of the top teams in their respective league. So it's a good time to be a Denver sports fan and, of course, a Denver Bronco fan. But before we kind of turn the page to Jacksonville, man, I mean 34 to 26, of course, the final score as the Denver Broncos take down the Green Bay Packers improved to 12 and 2 on the season, the only team, I believe, that is still undefeated at home. What did you make of kind of the general,

reaction from the game because I think us here locally like you and Cody did a great job on your episode. Our episode did well as, you know, two with Nick and company. So appreciate all the lockdown Broncos listeners. But, you know, one of the major themes that we were talking about at the end of that show is what are the haters going to say now? Like the Broncos are one of, if not the best team in the NFL. I think Broncos country feels that way. I saw a lot of sorry Packers fans on social media, which let me say this too. I mean, losing Michael Parsons for the season tough. Christian Watson, tough. I'm sympathetic to that as well.

But what did you make of kind of the general reaction towards the Denver Broncos? You think they're getting some respect nationally now? You know, I'm going to be honest with you. I don't really watch those national shows anymore. So what I heard from some of the people in our predominantly orange group chat is that I think even Pat McAfee and his show over the first like five hours or so hadn't mentioned anything other than the Parsons injury as far as the game. So, I mean, my takeaway from that is that the national media is not really saying anything. I was watching Monday night football, a little bit of the pregame and things like that. And they're talking about the injuries.

And what I kind of justify in my brain is like, well, yeah, I mean, Patrick Mahomes goes down with an ACL injury. That is, that's probably like the biggest injury story of the year in the NFL. And then on the heels of that, you have Michael Parsons, who might be the best defensive player in the league this year going down with an injury. So my mind is like, all right, I mean, I get it, right? You're not going to talk about the Broncos statement win when you've got these injuries to talk about, but at least give them their due respect. You know what I'm saying? At least start being like, you know what?

This Broncos team, they may actually be it. But it's the usual suspects, right? It's our good friend Tim Jenkins, breaking it down and talking about Bo Nix's performance. It's our good friend Chase Daniel breaking it down and talking about Bo Nix's performance. It's the usual suspects that I see. talking about the Broncos. There's people, I've got a list, and I ain't Santa Claus, but I'm checking it twice, of people that I want to see talking about the Denver Broncos in a positive way.

And I think, I think, I didn't read anything yet, but I think I saw Ben Solac at ESPN hosted something maybe positive about the Broncos. I got to do a little investigative research on that one, but that's one that I want to see. I saw Anilo, pro football focus was doing some, like, I step in about Bo Nix. And I was thinking to myself, you guys had Bo Nix as the 34th best quarterback earlier this season,

like literally the 34th overall ranked quarterback according to their grades. And now you want to try high stepping on his performance. Like you were part of this group all along. That's what that's the kind of stuff. Like I got, I got all these names. I got, you know,

you can talk about Ben Solac, Bill Barnwell. It's all these guys, Timo, whatever from PFF, pro football focus in general. I want to see those people start eating the crow about the Denver Broncos. But you know what?

I guess I get, you know, it's too much to ask for these people to admit that they're wrong. Well, the reason I bring that up is because I do think it's interesting, you know, because we come away from that game feeling one way. And I'm not saying the national media knows everything,

but like that's kind of what factors into like the Broncos being sleepers and all that kind of stuff. And frankly, I think that actually benefits the Broncos in a way that they're kind of flying below the radar and maybe not being taken seriously. So like I was in the locker room last week. And, you know, JFM is talking about, you know, I'm paraphrasing here, but he's like, we don't respect anybody except the people that are in the building or people

that have been in the building. And so I can tell you from first-hand experience, like J-FM saw Garrett Bowles after the game kind of going like, you know, oh, we were underdogs, right? So like they're very much aware with how people on the outside feel about them. And I think they actually use that to their advantage. And that's why I think we do a good job here on the lockdown Broncos YouTube channel, you and Cody, me, you, Nick Cody and the crew here on the squad. show as well as, you know, we're going to give Broncos country the validation that they deserve.

And, you know, I'm going to keep it a bucket of stack. Nick does you do. Cody does as well. Like, we're going to call it like we see it. And the fact of the matter is this Denver Broncos team is not only surpassing expectations, but they are in a prime position to do something very special and live up to the expectations that Sean Payton, and I'll put my own foot in the mouth when I say this, man. I thought Sean Payton was crazy. I'm not afraid to say that, man.

Like when Sean Payton came out before the year and was talking about, you know, I've coached a handful of teams that can win a Super Bowl. This is one. Bo Nick's going to be a top quarterback in the league. I thought he was nuts. But, you know, he's cash and checks that his mouth put out right now for the most part, Sarah. Yeah, I think that that's 100% true.

And, you know, that's something that I think everybody really needed to see in order to believe. Like, I think there's a degree of, you know, you can have faith going into a season, right? You can have faith saying, hey, like, I believe the Broncos are 17 and no Super Bowl champs until they ain't. You know what I'm saying? I think that you can go into a year saying this might be our year. But because of those last 10 years, I think everybody in Broncos country had this little voice, you know, in the back of their minds or that little devil on the shoulder being like, they're not going to be able to get past Kansas City. They're not going to even, they can't even barely beat the chargers these days.

There's no way the Broncos are going to be in the mix. The AFC is loaded. You got the bills. You got the Ravens. You got Joe Burrow, who's an MVP candidate. You got your own division to worry about. I think there's that little voice, right? That kind of has crept in there over these last 10 years to kind of make it seem like,

hey, it's not going to happen. And I get that. I understand that. I'm the optimist to a fault. You know, people always accuse me. And like I said, on the squad show after the game, I'm drinking the orange Kool-Aid or you're seeing things through orange-colored

glasses. And I'm like, look at my glasses right now. There's nothing orange about them. You know what I'm saying? But I think what I do see is like, I see the team from the perspective, of if I'm the general manager of the team, if I'm one of the coaches on the team or something

like that, obviously I want the team to do well. And I'm not going to go into any season being like, no, we're going to suck this year. I think that that's the tough thing to grapple with is that they've sucked for so long, even with the optimism that you kind of just had to grapple with reality and say, man, shoot, it's Mahomes Division. And that's what I said last year, a bunch of people were mad at me about it. I said that last year when we did our season. It was a fact. It's a fact. I mean, they won 15 games or whatever it was in the regular season. And that was, that didn't mean that I didn't think the Broncos were going to be fine. Like I said, I think the Broncos win 10, 11 games. They won 10. And this year, I said, I think the Broncos are going to win the division. And I think

they're going to win 12, 12 or more games. And then that's when you have people saying, well, you're crazy, you're dumb, you're, you're too optimistic, you're too positive. You never see the negative. You know, it's just you can't always win. But at the same time, I think that what it comes down to is, is that culture that Sean Payton has created, right? Of this team believing what he said. And like you said, cashing those checks now at this point in the year that he wrote back in the preseason.

Yeah. And I think the ultimate sign of respect, you know, that I think is great. I see we have a YouTube commenter that pointed this out. He says, put Talib out there more that guy represents loud. Like the respect that they're getting from the Super Bowl 50 team. Right. Like, Team Taleb, I've seen T.J. Ward, Chris Harris Jr. I mean, you know, the list goes on and on and on of different guys that, you know,

played on that absolutely elite level defense. And obviously the team that went on to win the Super Bowl. And I'm sure they're going to do some of that by default just because of their love for the organization. But like there's been that comparison of like this team to that team, right? And I don't think it's quite on that same level defensively. I think the Broncos this defense this year is pretty damn good. But I think that 2015 is like Italy of their own with like the Legion of the Boom and, you know, all that kind of stuff. But the fact that it keeps to.

leave and like these guys that have been there and done that are seeing some of those similarities in this year's Broncos team. I actually think says a lot about the faith Broncos country should have in them moving forward. Yeah, isn't that interesting? The guys who played, the guys who hoisted the Lombardi are the ones who believe in this team the most. And then you still have people in the national media who have never played a team sport ever who are doubting this team. And I think that's the funny thing about it is the amount of former players who watch this Broncos team, who watch Bo Nix. And they're like, this dude has the goods.

Like this guy can lead a team to a Super Bowl win. And then you have all these other people. And with all due respect, right, because I wasn't any good at football. I like to think I was good at, you know, intermurals, making one hand catches, things like that. I could have never played football at a high level to save my life. I couldn't memorize a playbook in high school, right? Because I was too afraid of not getting, not being able to beat out the starting lineback ahead of me who was the captain of the team and, you know, the number one player in the state

of South Dakota for whatever that's worth, right? So I didn't even bother memorizing the playbook. That's how I, so I can only speak from what I see and the eye test that I see on a weekly basis. But I think it's interesting that all these guys who hoisted the Lombardi, all these guys who played at the highest possible level, they see Bo Nix, they see this Broncos team. And they're like, absolutely they can win it all. And then you have all these other people who are like, oh, who's the team in the, who's the best team in the AFC West this week?

It can't be the Broncos. It has to be anybody else. It's got to be Buffalo this week. It's got to be Houston this week. It's Jacksonville this week. It's still Kansas City. I mean, that's where we're at, right? So I think that's the interesting thing about it

when you talk about that former Super Bowl 50 team and those guys that are all saying the right things, man, it's not just that they're fans of the team because they were the harshest critics when the Broncos were bad as well. That's an excellent point about how loud, you know, the criticism was of the Broncos when they weren't playing well. Now that it's all kind of come back. I mean, absolutely love to see that. That's an excellent point on your end.

So let's hit a break. When we come back, let's turn our attention to the upcoming game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. And I think the biggest concern, and I don't want to spoil it, so I'll save it for after the break. The Broncos have to stay locked in. And I'll tell you what Cortland Sutton said after the game, some other stuff as well, because you don't want to let this awesome come from behind win against Green Bay, you know, result in a flop against the Jacksonville Jaguars because there's still a lot of things that need to happen for the Broncos.

They get the one seat. And they're in control of their own destiny, but they have to do what they need to do if they want to do just that. So we'll hit a quick break. We'll come back and continue along with the conversation right here on your locked on Broncos squad show. Back in just a moment, folks. All right, you guys. Real quick, let me tell you about our friends over at Fanduel,

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and place your NFL live bets all season long. Fan Duel, the game moves fast, and so can you. Be sure to check out our friends who are at Fandual and let him know that Locked on Broncos sent you. All right, welcome on back into your lockdown Broncos squad show. Anilo Piro and Sarah Beninger holding down the fort for you in Broncos country out there here today on this lovely Tuesday afternoon. If you're living in Denver, it is like 65 degrees outside.

I'm wearing a T-shirt. I was wearing T-shirts to practice last week. Christmas is next week. I mean, absolutely impeccable weather for Broncos fans. to go out there and enjoy the sunshine as they also enjoy the Denver Broncos wind streak. And, of course, they're come from behind win over the Green Bay Packers. But look, you know, Cortland Sutton was talking about after the game, how, you know, the 24-hour rule, Sean Payton talks about that too.

Like, you're going to live in that moment through Monday. But today it's back to business. And I know today's an off day for them. So the practice really gets going again tomorrow. But you can't sleep on the Jacksonville Jaguars. And I think it was like two or three episodes ago where I was pretty damn confident in the Broncos' ability to win the game against Jacksonville. still feel that way.

But you can't deny what Liam Cohen has done to kind of change the trajectory of that organization. I mean, getting the most out of Trevor Lawrence. Travis E.T.N. is doing his thing as well. I mean, this Jacksonville Jaguars team is not going to be, you know, the Jacksonville Jaguars of old per se, right? I mean, this is going to be a really intense matchup for the Denver Broncos coming up here on Sunday. A lot of good things going for them. And, you know, I'm not trying to, you know, throw this bad juju out there, But Jacksonville also styles an outside chance, I believe, at the one seed in the AFC if the Broncos were to stumble over themselves.

But here's the recent sample size for Jacksonville. Five-game win streak, 35 to 6. They blew out the chargers. They take care of his against the Cardinals, 27, 24. Blow out the Titans 25 to 3. Hang 36 on the Colts, 36 to 19. The last week against the measly jets, 48 to 20. So the first thing outside of just not overlooking the Jaguars, which I don't think they will,

They're going to have to figure out a way to slow down Trevor Lawrence and companies there. They are. It's one of those offenses that over the course of the season, you know, I've talked about this before. I do power ranking. So I watch every team around the league, every single week. Not their entire games. I will admit that. But I watch enough to be able to.

That's too much for anybody. But I do watch enough to be able to make like, I want to come at it from the perspective, like, okay, I'm a fan of this team. and I, you know, this is how I would assess what they did this past week. I think a lot of weeks I've come away from watching the Jacksonville Jaguars feeling like, man, Trevor Lawrence could have done so much more. That defense stepped up in a big way. I think Trevor has found a stride in recent weeks compared to where he was earlier in the year

when they were kind of losing to almost every one of the good teams that they played. You know, I think it was like the Bucks, the Rams, the Texans, obviously. they had a couple of other tough early in the season, and now they've kind of caught some fire. And I think it really started with that Chargers game. I don't know that wasn't necessarily the start of their winning streak, but I think that's where they really flipped that switch offensively. And as a little spoiler alert for Thursday's crossover edition,

Locked on Broncos, I got to talk with Tony Wiggins. And of course, you never, never, ever, ever wish any player injury for the benefit of your team, certainly. But he was talking about how the fact that, that Travis Hunter got hurt, really forced Liam Cohen in that offense to stop trying to filter the offense through one guy and say, hey, this is our star player. We got to fit the offense to the player. Once he went down with the injury, it really opened things up, the acquisition of Jacoby

Myers, who's been a thorn in the Broncos side. So the Jaguars are a very interesting team because I don't think they've played great all year long. At one point, I would say they were pretty comparable to like the up and down nature of the Panthers in a way. Like they beat the Chiefs that one game, right? We all watched that. We were all rooting for the Jaguars in that game. They played against the Chiefs.

And I think they came out and blew it the next week after everybody's buying the stock. So they've caught a little fire lately. But I think that the Jags are an interesting team in terms of they've got a lot to do to prove themselves. This will be their biggest game, I think, of the year in terms of where they're at right now, where they've been. the teams that they've lost to. This game against Denver on the road, I think for them is massive. Yeah, no, I'm with you.

And, you know, they have a handful, aside from the win streak that they're currently on, they do have a couple of marquee wins this season. They took down Houston in week three, 17 to 10. And I understand Houston wasn't the form that they are now at that point. But the following week, you know, they ripped off a three game win streak in weeks three, four, and five. Texans at San Francisco.

And I believe that's when Mack Jones was still playing. So maybe you discount that a little bit. But I mean, San Francisco, despite the litany of injuries that they've had to deal with this year, you know, a pretty darn good football team. They take them down on the road 26 to 21. And then they beat the Chiefs 31.28. And look, we all know what the Chiefs are this year. But still, it is Patrick Mahomes.

It is, you know, everything that comes with that. I believe that was a Monday night football game. And the flip side of that, they lost to the Seahawks 20 to 12 and the Rams 35 to 7. And then from there, they lost to the Texans one time. So they split with them. And they've been on that win streak ever since. Selfishly, I'm a little bum that Travis Hunter's on IR. I've covered CU the last three seasons,

and I was able to cover Travis Hunter, and I understand what's going on with him in Jacksonville. But that would have been a cool moment because there's a lot of Broncos fans that are also CU fans that live here locally. So we'll get robbed of that. But let's talk about Jacoby Myers, man, because that was a massive trade by Liam Cohen in this Jacksonville offense. And looking at his game log,

I mean, he's made an impact in every single game he's played for Jacksonville. They lost to Houston in his debut, but he only put up 41 yards. That's his worst game as a member of the Jaguars against the Chargers, six receptions for 64 yards against the Cardinals, six for 50, the Titans six for 90, had a 10 reception game against the Colts, and then seven receptions for 71 yards in the game against the New York Jets. And I think something that's interesting is when he was with the Raiders for the first half of the season, Jacoby Myers did not score a single touchdown in those games.

in to Jacksonville, he only has three touchdowns on the season, but all three of them have come as a member of the Jacksonville, Jaguars and games against the Cardinals, the Titans, and the Colts. So Jacobi Myers, I really think, you know, sometimes the NFL trade deadline, it's like, it's not like the NBA or Major League Baseball where like real deadline acquisitions make a massive difference. Jacoby Myers has been a complete difference maker for Jacksonville. He really has. That was a great pickup for them.

And obviously, you know, Tim Patrick getting healthy and playing well out there. I think they traded for him as well. with Detroit. So you get him in the mix, Brian Thomas Jr. out there. He's a really talented player. And obviously, we saw in his rookie season, he was contending for a rookie of the year when you had that vaunted quarterback class as well. So I think there's playmakers there, Travis ETN, of course.

I mean, playing one of the best out of all running backs in the NFL right now, he's probably top three, top four in terms of most dynamic. I think he already has over 1,200 total yards from scrimmage. 12 touchdown. So it's, it's going to be another test for the Broncos offense, but it's a similar conversation to what we were having last week. You're going up against a quarterback with elite physical tools,

a guy who's proven, hey, he can take over games, but also he can put the ball in harm's way. There's times with Trevor Lawrence will disappear at times. And you've got elite playmakers to deal with, just like last week, Josh Jacobs,

Christian Watson, Jaden Reed, all these different guys, Antavian Wicks, Romeo Dobbs, Like the Jaguars are very similar in that way. They have the playmakers. They have the quarterback with his talent.

But can you come into Denver against this defense, this pass rush, the defensive backs? Pat Sartan, how much does that affect these games? I think that that's the thing that gets lost in some of these like when we talk, you know, we talk before games. We talk about matchups, things like that. These teams are dangerous. And there's no question. You can't discount them.

You can't count them out. You can't write them off. But that Denver defense, the way they play in the second half against Green Bay, I don't know. I'm feeling a little, maybe a little overconfident going into this game, but certainly you feel like you can match up well with what they've got. Well, I think the sigh of relief with respect to the Denver defense, who's been up and down the last handful of weeks is they've showed you they can adjust

as the game goes along. And, you know, you bring up Travis ETSN. He's got just under 1,000 rushing yards for the season. But, I mean, this is one of the best running backs in the league right now. I mean, had a couple of two touchdown games during the course of this winning street for Jacksonville, two against the Chargers and two against the Colts last week. But this is a guy that can impact this game. And we saw what Josh Jacobs did, you know, with the Green Bay Packers. And thankfully Denver wins that game.

But, you know, that's definitely something that we're going to have to see the Broncos key in on here. And so I think Liam Cohen, like, I think we've talked about this. I'm not sure if you and I've talked about this on the show or off the show. Like the head coach has never been more important in the NFL. You're looking at a guy or a team in Jacksonville that has always had some talent the last handful of years, but couldn't get it really figured out under Doug Peterson after their one playoff birth. Like Liam Cohen is showing he's one of the most innovative offensive minds. And I'm sure that this is a challenge that he is welcoming to kind of, you know,

you're talking about prove it for Jacksonville, biggest game left on their schedule, of course. I'm curious to see how Denver's defense responds. Like are they going to come out strong like we saw earlier in the year? Or are they going to have to kind of adjust on the fly with Vance Joseph coming out of halftime? because either way, I think the Broncos are going to be in good shape in this game, but Jacksonville can come out and blitz them, not literally, but figuratively on offense and run this score up early potentially. Yeah, that's where I think that Vance Joseph in the chess match, like you mentioned,

he was your guy to watch coming out of the by this week or this year for the Broncos. And I think definitely we're seeing why, because the Broncos are facing off against a number of really potent offenses here in the second half of the season and going into the playoffs. of course. I wonder how much that matchup last year between the Broncos and the Bucks really matters in this one. I know that you go up against the scheme, you go up against the coach.

There's always things that change year to year. But the Broncos defense kind of was great against Liam Cohen's offense last year when they faced off against them in Tampa Bay. And that was a game where they had, you know, Chris Godwin. They had Mike Evans. They had their full compliment of guys. I know Bucky Irving hadn't quite come on at that point. So they were a little more one dimensional.

But that was also kind of a break. through game for him. So the Broncos, they need to make sure that they're ready for another offense that, hey, this offense doesn't necessarily flow through any one player other than Travis Eton. The passing game doesn't necessarily flow through any one player. We have to be ready in all, you know, for all these guys. The ball could go anywhere. Trevor Lawrence, he can take off. So this defense, I think, just needs to stay within itself, be what it was in the second half against Green Bay, be aggressive, win the line of scrimmage, stop the run, create long, third down situations, and then that coverage in the back end.

Man, that was what was really impressive in the second half of that Green Bay game was the fact that that coverage just absolutely tightened up so substantially when the Packers, you know, really had the Broncos right where they wanted them. Yeah, that's an excellent point. Let's hit a quick break. When we come back, let's continue along with this preview of the Jaguars matchup, some injury concern for the Denver Broncos. Do they also have an ace or should I say a joker up their sleeve for this matchup against Jacksonville?

We'll break that down next right here on your Locked-on Broncos squad show. Back in just a moment, folks. All right, GIs real quick, let me tell you about our friends over at Rocket Money. Ever feel like money just disappears each month? When I pay my credit card off, I sure do feel like that's the case. It happens fast. A few subscriptions here and impulse by there. And suddenly the numbers in your bank account don't match.

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All right, welcome on back in to the program. Enel Piro Sarah Beninger holding down the fort here on today's Lockdown Broncos Squad Show. If you're watching on YouTube, I really appreciate you guys. Do us a favor if you may. Hit that like button, smash that subscribe button. It really, really helps us out here on the channel. And for all of our audio listeners, we appreciate you guys each and every day that listen to the squad show,

but also Cody and Sarah, as they give you all of your Denver Broncos news and notes throughout the course of the week. Okay, getting back to the conversation with the Jacksonville Jaguars, this is going to be an epic matchup between Denver and Jacksonville. The Jaguars at 10 and 4 on the season. They're 4 and 2 on the road. Of course, Denver riding that now 11 game win streak at 12 and 2 on the year, but most importantly, 7 and 0 at home.

And they haven't lost at home since like the middle of last season. So they're a damn near impossible to beat at home with how they've been playing under the command of Sean Payton, the continued growth of Bo Nix. But we were talking about Jacoby Myers, Travis ETN, Liam Cohen, Trevor Lawrence. A couple of injury updates here for the Broncos. Brandon Jones, who's one of the more underrated and underappreciated players on that Broncos defense, was placed on injury reserve. So we're not going to see Brandon Jones for the rest of the regular season.

And also Justin Nad, the linebacker dealing with an injury. We don't have a status update necessarily for him for this game as of yet. So be sure to check out Cody and Sarah. I'm sure they'll have that update for you Wednesday. Thursday, Thursday, Friday leading up to game time as well. And then, of course, J.K. Dobbins is still out for the Denver Broncos and R.J. Harvey dealing with some rib stuff. Do the injuries concern you about Jacksonville, you know, potentially derailing Denver in this game?

I don't think so because I feel like there's always going to be that war on attrition for both sides, right? I think that that's the reality of the NFL. Now, I don't necessarily know that the Jaguars are matching the Broncos in terms of guys that they've got out versus guys that they don't, but Broncos will also be getting Ben Powers back for this game. And that's huge for the running game. And I think that's going to be fun to see how, well, you know, if RJ is limited in this game, how the Broncos deploy their running backs and things like that. So I'm excited to see that.

I'm excited to figure out, hey, how's PJ Lot going to respond? It's fortunate for the Broncos to have a guy who started for them for two years prior to this year who can step into that role. And you just have to hope that for PJ, the situation that we saw at the end of last season was due to health and injury stuff and not just, hey, this guy can't figure it out back there because there's a reason why the Broncos went out and got Tala Noah Hufanga in free agency. And it was because they wanted to upgrade at that position. We've seen even with PJ still back on the roster, he's pretty much strictly been playing special teams this season and not really rotating in. the defense all that much. So I think that that's going to be a huge mantle for him to have to pick up.

And for the Broncos defense overall, see, I'll throw this out there too, Anilo. I threw it out there on my Twitter page. I think the Broncos should sign Justin Simmons to the practice squad. I really do. I don't think there's any downside to that. He still lives in Denver. You have to have, you have to have depth. This is, let me give my quick explanation of why I would do this.

It's not to say, sign Justin Simmons. and start him on Sunday. No, sign him to the practice squad. Let him get brushed up on the defense. Let him get in shape during practices for whatever that's worth or however long that would take. And have that veteran depth because now you are a PJ lock injury away from being in a pretty desperate position at the safety spot to where you're going.

We're talking about the playoffs now. We're talking about the Super Bowl now. We're not talking about, hey, it's early in the regular season, yada, yada. We're talking about get some depth for the playoff run. I think it would be a cool story. I love Justin Simmons, got a sign jersey sitting right behind me right now. I just, like, I don't understand the downside to this. Unless he's, unless him and Sean Payton hate each other that much, which I don't know.

That just seems to be the vibe that I get. I have no idea what's going on there. I don't know what's the downside to signing him to the practice squad and adding depth to this roster. I forget, was Simmons, did he ever play under Sean here? or was he cut right away? Okay, so he didn't have one year. Okay, okay. So, yeah, and I can't speak.

We may be having some technical difficulties here. We'll see if Anilip pops back on, or maybe it's me. Maybe it's just me. But Simmons did play under Vance Joseph. Simmons was here back in 2016. So he was there at the back end of the no-fly zone. And Vance Joseph was hired as the head coach back in 2017. So he played for him for a couple of years in this defense.

So I think it's maybe a different defense now. Obviously, there's different things that you add. You subtract over the years. But I think with Justin Simmons, this topic, of course, you know, it could seem like hot take type stuff, right? To talk about, well, Justin Simmons should come back for the vibes, you know? And that's what I think a lot of people are perceiving this idea as. And I don't think that's the case. I think you bring in a guy who's very experienced, who's got plenty of, you know, credibility as far as what he's done in the NFL.

and I'm not saying to come in and have him come in and start this weekend against the Jags. I'm not even saying have him come in and start for the playoff run. I'm saying that you bring this guy in and you offer him the opportunity to provide your team some depth and to do what he's never done before, which is playing the postseason, right? That's the one crazy thing is that Justin was drafted the year after Super Bowl 50 and his, you know, last year with the Broncos just so happened to be the last year that they didn't make the playoffs. And I think it's odd that a lot of fans kind of attribute that losing to Justin Simmons, which I don't think was anywhere near his fault.

I mean, he was a safety on the team, right? He's a safety, not the quarterback, not the head coach. He was a safety on those teams. And he gave the Broncos everything that he had, Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee, all pro. Keep in mind, too, that the general manager of the team, George Payton, gave him the biggest contract for a safety. I don't remember if it was an NFL history at the time,

but certainly in Denver Broncos history. So what we're talking about is a player who has been part of this organization for the majority of his NFL career, who still lives in Denver. And you have the exceptions on the practice squad to be able to sign guys like this to provide your team depth. I'm not saying, hey, get rid of the young guys.

Don't give the young guys any snaps. Don't put any faith in the young guys. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying let's learn about the power of and here for a second, okay. The power of and is very simply this. Why not both, right? Why not, why not let PJ Locke play? Why not let Devin Key have some snaps out there and bring in Justin Simmons and get him ready for the playoffs if you need him? Because you might need him. I don't know if Brandon Jones is coming back with the injury that he had. I mean, he was, he was ruled out immediately from the game. And the Broncos very rarely put guys on injured reserve so quickly in the week either, right?

They kind of like to let that linger and let teams wonder, you know, is he going to play? Isn't he going to play? They like to play those cards close to the best. So I just really feel like there's no downside to the idea of bringing in a player like Justin Simmons. I don't. I don't see the downside. I mean, people are saying, well, what if you, what if you, you know, you mess with the vibes in the locker room? And my thinking is, are you messing with the vibes in the locker room by bringing in Elijah

are you messing with the vibes in the locker room by bringing in Mercedes-Lewis? Like Justin Simmons, I know that he was a leader and a captain on this team and a very vocal one at that while he was there. And I could see that there may have been some friction between he and the coaching staff or what have you. But and J.L. Skinner as well could be an option. But I just think that, look, neither J.L. Skinner nor Devin Key has played meaningful snaps at the safety position.

and you're talking about going into the playoffs for a Super Bowl run right now. I think you fortify your depth any way that you possibly can because not only did the Broncos lose Brandon Jones to a potentially season-ending injury here, but you also lost a guy off your practice squad. The Jets signed Kedron Smith away from the Broncos practice squad. Darren Mugi stole one of his old guys maybe from the Broncos there. Or maybe it was Chris Banjo for the special teams, really loving Kedron Smith and his ability.

So the Broncos lost a couple of guys at the safety position. You absolutely need depth there. I think the Broncos will bring someone in. The question is whether or not it's a veteran like Simmons. So I think that if you have those practice squad exceptions for a veteran player, you use those to the fullest capacity. And I think that that would be wise of the Broncos to at least make that call. Now will they do it?

I don't know. Feels kind of like a far-fetched idea at this point. But there was some thought before the season that, hey, if there's an injury, maybe they do call Justin Simmons again. And I do think that PJ Locke filled in well. I do think that PJ Locke did a good job against Green Bay. But I think that what sticks in my mind a little bit more is the fact that at the end of last season, you did have a huge issue on the back end of your defense at the safety position, at the linebacker position. Thankfully, you're healthier at linebacker this year than you were last year.

I think to me, when you have an issue in the depth department and you have a something out there that you can do about it, a veteran player like Justin Simmons being available at this time of the year. And I know folks want to say, well, he dropped off. His play dropped off. Did you even watch what he did in Atlanta last year? I get that. But I think that every year is different in the NFL. Every opportunity is different.

Every other group of 10 guys that you're playing with on the field is different, right? It's not the same when you have absolutely zero pass rush like they did in Atlanta last year. And I'm not saying that that's the reason why, you know, Justin maybe did or didn't make some plays. But what I am saying is that you have the best pass rush in the NFL. Your linebackers are healthy. You've got great cornerbacks out there. You've got the ability to slot somebody in who as an experienced veteran player who knows he's got to be in the right place at the right time. I mean, that's a, that's a valuable asset to have.

And also keep this in mind, too. When the Broncos won Super Bowl 50 in the 2015 season, they had some injuries on the back end, right? And welcoming in Nick Ferguson to the show as well. And Nick, I want to get your take on this too because, look, to me, in 2015, the Broncos realized they had to address their depth at the safety position. Remember, they brought in Shiloh, Keo, who ended up playing a huge role on special teams, ended up making some big plays even, I think, defensively down the stretch of that season. I think that there's an interesting conversation being had in Broncos country right now about just whether or not it's realistic to happen, right? The idea of bringing back Justin Simmons, now you lost Brandon Jones, he's on injured reserve, he's going to be out with the rest of the regular season.

Kedron Smith poached away by the Jets. I mean, what are your thoughts on this? Do you think the Broncos need to bring in depth? I mean, I think they can have both. They can let the young guys play, let PJ Locke play, let him start, let him fill in, but bring in Justin as a depth option. Yeah, I think you're absolutely right because remember when we saw PJ Locke, we only saw PJ Locke when Kareem Jackson was suspended and he was suspended multiple times. And then having PJ Locke playing right next to Justin Simmons, it actually helped him out

because if you just put PJ Locke out there by himself, he would have been a little loss. And that's not taking a slight at him, but that's kind of telling how it is because I've been in that situation too. You need the one out there who understands. the defense and who was a field general. And Justin Simmons proved that he can be that guy, whether the team brings him back or not. I'm not sure, but at this stage,

with so much on the table, sayer, I mean, three games remaining in the season, the number one seed is right there. A trip to Levi's Stadium is right there. Whatever issues, there might have been with anyone inside the organization with Justin Simmons, let bygones be bygones, because it's all about putting this team in a position

to win championship. And just think about it. You would now have two season guys in Talao Hufunga and a guy in Justice Simmons who's played in this defense. So it's not going to take him that much longer to get up to speed. And that's what you worry about.

And I'll say this, even with having J.O. Skinner on the roster, Devin Key on the roster, all guys who I think are capable. But the idea is that we're far past that point of guys being capable. You need guys who can go in and execute and not miss a beat. I would love to see Justin Simmons return to Denver Broncos. I was so excited, fellas, that not to say that I'm celebrating anything that it happens to anyone because injuries absolutely suck. When I got the news that Brandon Jones was going to be out, the first person I jumped

on the phone and I text was, guess who? Justin Simmons. Yes, that's what I like to hear. And I'd love to know what he said, even if it has to happen off camera. but I want to ask you another thing too, Nick, stylistically speaking, okay? My brain, when I think of the way that PJ Locke plays is that he's a physical guy. You want to attack him at the line of scrimmage. I know he's made plays on the back end as well.

But to me, he played some slot at the college level. He's morphed into a physical safety. That's the MO of Tala Noah Hufunga. How do these two guys mesh together? because stylistically, I think Hufanga and Jones are kind of perfect compliments, whereas I don't necessarily know that's the case with PJ and Hufanga. Does P.J. playing in the starting lineup still allow Hufanga to do what he does best, or is he going to have to play deeper more often?

What is your take on that? Let me know your thoughts. Yeah, it's going to change what Vance Sosa wants to do in the secondary because with Jones and Hufanga, you got two guys you can rely on. You know, both guys, you can blitz. Both guys are thumpers. Both guys are excellent tacklers. We haven't really seen them put in positions where they were forced to really cover.

So that is something that we have to see how things develop moving forward. But when you move a starter out of the lineup and these two guys have been playing together all the season long, that changes the chemistry because I just go back to my personal experience. You know, we're playing in a super, not a Super Bowl, I wish we were playing in a Super Bowl. but we're playing in the game to go to the Super Bowl against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and then we lose Champ Bailey. We lose both John Lynch on the same play. That changed what we can do from a defensive standpoint.

And I don't think people understand that idea because it's like, well, these guys have been on a roster. They know the defense. So it should be plug and play. It is not that simple because what's the level of communication? And, oh, by the way, you are playing at home. So this is different from practice. because at practice, we can hear one another when we're barking out commands and things as far as what the office is doing to.

When you're in the game, I mean, you guys can attest to it. You cannot hear anything in that level of communication when you lose a starter. It is not lost. So now if you advance Joseph, yeah, you want to use Funga down around the line of scrimmage. But what happens on those deep passing plays? You have to put a guy like PJ Rock in the middle of the field and you know what teams are going to do. You have a new fresh body in the lineup. He hadn't played all season long.

You're going to find ways to attack him. And I'll tell you guys, I was sitting here. This is why I was late. I was watching film of the Jacksonville Jaguars. They do a great job of attacking the middle of the field with Jacoby Myers. So seeing PJ Locke in the middle of the field, they're going to try to attack him. Yeah, I think there are some great points you make there too. And it's going to be interesting what the Broncos do.

and Sarah, you know, right before my Wi-Fi decided to go, hey, wire on me. I heard you talking about Simmons and obviously how they're one injury away from, you know, being really in a detrimental spot in that position. I think it's all valid. And I think, Nick, you make some really good point. I don't think Anilo's internet is going to allow him to finish whatever thought he has about the whole Justin Simmons thing. I just don't think it's going to happen. If he's going to speak against it, the internet is like, get that out of here.

Yeah. So, but I think you make some great points. It's like, that's the thing that I'm concerned about as well here with because last year, and I brought this up before you jumped on, Nick, too, and I want to get your thoughts on this. Last year is still in the back of my mind when it comes to the reason that the Broncos signed Tolano, Hufanga in the first place, right? The reason being, you had too many breakdowns on the back end. Sean Payton's talking about free runners against Cleveland, against Los Angeles.

I know that PJ had an injury that if you watch his YouTube channel, he kind of documented that it was a very rare injury and recovery process that he was dealing with. So part of me is like, okay, was that the reason last year? Or was it something else? Because I did feel for a time like, man, this guy and the Broncos pro scouting department felt the same way. They resigned him to the contract that they did. They felt like he could be a starter.

And then it broke down late last season. Do you think that was due to defenses making adjustments or do you think that it was okay, he's injured and he's playing hurt out there. I think it's a combination of both things. And as players, you're forced to play both injured and hurt. And sometimes it puts you in a very vulnerable situation where teams can actually attack you. But as far as, you know, the Broncos making moves at a safety position,

I mean, you were spot on. I mean, when you come in, you know, like a guy like PJ Locke, who's looked at as being a special team's player, and then he got a chance to start with, like I said, with Kareem Jackson being out, made a couple of plays. I think he had a key interception. Now they're saying, you know what? If we were to move on from Kareem, we can now put PJ Locke in that situation.

And then once you get to the offseason, and despite whatever was going on with PJ from an injury standpoint, this is the way you have to think from an organization standpoint. Are there other guys that are out there that can make our roster better, right? What other job that you know in America or that constantly, bringing people in to take your freaking job. So George Payton saw this as an opportunity to, one, add depth and definitely get better. Because by bringing in Hufunga, that pushed P.J. Locke to the back. And you're thinking, well, they just gave him some money, right?

Why would they bring in another guy? Because it's all about competition. And I'll say, making that move, you know, is paying benefits and dividends for the Broncos at this moment. Imagine if there wasn't any Tylenolono Hufunga. And it was just Brandon Jones, J.O. Skinner, Devin Key, and PJ, Locke, and then Brandon Jones goes down, right? You got two guys and Skinner and Devin Key, who are excellent special teams players, but they hadn't seen a lot of time. So the Broncos, I believe, they're in a decent position, not the best position, but they are in a much better position if they did not have PJ Locke or Taloho Funga.

They're seeing the benefits of bringing back 86% of the roster. and strengthening the strengths in the off season. There's no question about it. So obviously, great job by the pro scouting, great job by the front office to do that in the off season, a little bit of foresight there as we get into more games with stakes. We're going to go to our last break for the day, and we're going to continue breaking down this Broncos matchup

against the Jacksonville Jaguars. We'll see you in a second. Well, Nick Ferguson was just breaking down some tape of the Jacksonville Jaguars, so we might as well talk about it a little bit. Nick, I'm excited to know what you found out. Well, as you're watching the Jaguars, Anilo and I were talking about it earlier. Of course, we're talking more about the Jimmy's and the Joe's, right? Obviously, the Jaguars have some great playmakers on offense.

They've got Travis E.TN, 1,200 yards from scrimmage already this season, playing in the contract year, probably making himself quite a bit of money out there. Jacobi Myers, a known hated player by Denver Broncos fans from his time with the Las Vegas Raiders, Brian Thomas Jr., Trevor Lawrence, even defensively, they've got guys who are scoring touchdowns. I mean, Devin Lloyd, you know, he's out there making place. So what was your main takeaway watching this Jaguar's film and what we can expect on Sunday? Well, let's start with the head coach Liam Cohen. And that relationship with your quarterback is so important.

And what I mean by that is allowing your quarterback to embrace him, himself, or as I would say, maybe embraced a little bit of the wild side. And embracing a little bit of the wild side is not a bad thing, especially. if your quarterback can actually reel himself in and he can make those anticipatory throws. So watching Trevor Lawrence, man, you can see all of the things that made him a top pick, his ability to move around in the pocket. And it's interesting the way the Broncos schedule actually works out at this point of the season because first you had Marcus Mariotta, then you had Gino Smith, now you had Jordan Love, now you have Trevor Lawrence.

To me, it is helping this defense because you would have faced mobile quarterbacks or quarterbacks that are considered to be backyard football players. And Trevor Lawrence has that skill set, watching him not just against the Jets, but going back and watching him against the Chiefs. This is a guy who can move around in the pocket. If there is a break and interior pressure or guys getting outside of their lanes, he is one of those guys who's going to take it. There's been several games this season, even with Travis Ateon, where Trevor Lawrence has led the team in rushing, which is mind-boggling, right, for a quarterback. But these are the things that he can do. You mentioned, you know, Brian Thompson. He does a great job as far as being that short intermediate threat.

But their big guy is a guy who just joined the team only weeks ago, and that's Jacoby Myers. They do a great job through play action, trying to set him up with those. those intermediate passes. So they're looking to attack right between the hashes. And they run a lot with 12 personnel with their tight ends. And they try to get those guys involved. And the craziest thing about what Liam Cohen does from an officer of play calling standpoint, Travis E.T.N.

I mean, last week against the Jets, I mean, he led the team in receiving as a running back. And one of the bigger issues that the Broncos have had all season long, covering running backs out of the beach. backfield. So this is going to be an interesting matchup to see what the Broncos can do against this offensive powerhouse. I was just going to say, I think that this is the Dre Greenlaw game for the Denver Broncos in terms of what we saw against Josh Jacobs. You can't have more perfect coverage than he had on the touchdown that Josh Jacobs had. So got to figure out a way to, I guess, if that was perfect coverage, you got to find out a way to perfect perfection against Travis E.T.N. Because he is making those

plays as a receiver. And I feel like every time the Jaguars pop on Red Zone channel this year, it's Travis ETN catching a pass and taking it down the sideline and making a play. I feel like he's really evolved in his game overall. A little spoiler alert once again for our Thursday crossover edition of Lockdown Broncos. I was talking to Tony Wiggins host of Lockdown Jaguars. He talked about the biggest thing that he sees from Travis ETN this year is the willingness to take three yards and change when when the defense gives it to you as opposed to constantly looking for the big play maybe that's another wrinkle that Liam Cohen has added we saw Liam Cohen take bucky Irving unlock his skill set last year for the buccaneers i mean this is a repeated process

for this coach in terms of setting up the players to succeed so i think this could be the dray greenlaw game when you're matching up a linebacker in a coverage on a running back like Travis E.TN. It is, but Sarah, here's one little complication for the Denver Broncos going into Sunday. Remember, the Broncos have been healthy all season long. Justin Shornard had an ankle injury. So the Broncos had a three-linebacker rotation. So if William Cohen is looking to deplore Travis E.TN, either running the ball or passing the ball, and you're playing at home, I don't care how great conditioning you are, that could put you at a disadvantage. So if Drake, Greenlaw has to tap his helmet and he has to come out for a break, who are you putting in that

position, right? That's where the chess match begins for a guy like Vance Joseph. And we already talked about the fact of not having Brandon Jones. So now you're talking about Joddy Barron has having to come in and maybe play down in the box and maybe the safety. So the chess match has started even before the game has ever been played and being able to get Travis E.T.N. out on the perimeter running off the receivers and running the dbs off. Now you put him out there where you dump the ball off and two them in the flat. To me, that's going to be a hell of a challenge for the Broncos as a unit, but from a lineback standpoint as well.

Yeah, that really is. It's that difference of personnel, the first game where you have multiple guys that suffered injuries in the previous game, that first game, you really need those other guys to step up in a big way. That's where I think, you know, the Broncos, they started a little bit in the second half against that Green Bay Packers offense. But that little turnover avalanche that you just never know when that faucet is going to turn on. I mean, you've got to crank that thing and get the water going because that's what the Broncos need in a game like this is you need those takeaways.

You need to force the Jaguars to make mistakes. You need the mile high magic to do its thing in this game. Offensively for the Broncos, though, they're going up against a defense that I think has some interesting guys on that side, some underrated players, an underrated unit as a whole. you need to see this Broncos offense continue to do what it was doing against Green Bay. Efficient drives, four out of four in the red zone, cashing in when you get there.

This is another defense, so you've got to capitalize all your opportunities against. Yeah, but let's talk about why that was absolutely possible. It was because Bo was making plays on a perimeter. And I know everyone's in love with the, you got to play between the tackles. You can't play quarterback in this league unless you can make plays from the pocket.

And I'm like, no, no, no, no. This game is now changed, man. Being able to move and extend the pocket and make perimeter plays, that's what kind of got the Broncos here. That's kind of what got them, you know, off the bench, I guess if you want to call it that as far as making plays. And Bo was exceptional, right? He put two back-to-back efficient games together

and, albeit one, against what I call the decent defense for the Green Bay Packers. So to make sure the Broncos stay in this game against the Jags and make sure that they keep Trevor Lawrence on the side, I'm going to allow Bo Nix to be himself. And he has to continue to embrace backyard football, something that I know totally goes against, you know, the grain as far as what he believes in. But the Broncos are here for a reason.

How do they get here? It is bowl playing with some tempo. It is bold making plays on the perimeter playing outside the scheme. So if Sean Payton, if you were to tell me, he's going to continue to embrace that. And he's not going to hold Bowie back. then obviously for me, I look at the Broncos are going to Levi Stadium. But if there's something that happens along the way, it's like, no, Bo, I don't want you to do that.

Stay between the tackles. Then that's when the Broncos offense are going to have their issues. Let Bo Nick's cook. I think that's what I'm hearing Nick Ferguson say. Let him go out there and do his thing. Let him put on the Superman cape. Let him be the overdog. All of the above, it's going to be fun to see.

And especially if RJ Harvey is dealing with some banged up ribs going into. to this game. It's got to be a Bo Nix legacy game. Ben Powers, be back for this game. Pat Bryant, hopefully back for this game after missing a game with a hamstring injury. We will see what happens. Broncos Country. And the next time you're going to see us for a squad show. On Sunday, we'll have you covered there for obviously our locked on Broncos post game, but of course the squad show with Nick Ferguson, myself, Cody Rourke and Anilo Piero. But until we see you next time, Broncos Country, hope you enjoy the rest of your day. We'll see you soon.