Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - BRONCOS SQUAD SHOW: Denver ONE WIN away from #1 seed in AFC

Episode Date: December 30, 2025

The Denver Broncos are one win away from clinching the top seed in the AFC and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Chargers will rest their starters on Sunday, meaning the Broncos' path to the one seed should be a bit easier come kickoff. Join Aniello Piro, Cody Roark, Sayre Bedinger and Nick Ferguson as the preview the Broncos-Chargers game, react to Denver's win against the Kansas City Chiefs and look ahead to the NFL Playoffs, which could run through Denver in the AFC. 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) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I'm Anilo Piro, and the Denver Broncos find themselves one win away from the number one seed in the AFC. I'm Cody Rourke, and the Broncos week 18 stakes are very similar to the 2015. Denver Broncos that went on to win the Super Bowl. I'm Sarah Bedinger. The Broncos, they're going to be the number one seed in the AFC. No asterisks. And I'm Nick Ferguson. Should the Broncos sit some of their players on Sunday?

Interesting. All, let's do it. All that more on today's episode of your Locked-on Broncos squad show. Let's get into it, fellas. 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 Broncos squad show starts now. It is your Locked-on Broncos squad show right here on your Lockedon Broncos YouTube channel, as well as the audio feed. Hope everyone in Broncos country is doing well out there. I hope you had a happy holiday and are getting ready for a happy new year as can't believe it. In 2020s is upon us. And it's going to have a good show for you guys today. Nilo Piro, Cody Wark, Sarah Beninger and Nick Ferguson in the house.

One home game remaining for the Denver Broncos. Broncos before we get ready for the playoffs here, gentlemen. And since we last spoke, we didn't do a show over the Christmas break or the Christmas holiday, rather. They did take down the Kansas City Chiefs sweep them this season, your final score in that one, 20 to 13. But I think the big takeaway that also came shortly thereafter is the Broncos clinching the AFC West for the first time in a long time, Cody. Yeah, look, it's the one goal that they outlined at the beginning of the training camp is their first goal. We want to win the division. And that's something that Sean Peyton talked about after the team lost on the road in the playoffs last year at the Buffalo building.

He said, we want a home game of one of these. That needs to be where we're at. And very much the Broncos, they piece together a roster. They had a season that set them up for it. And now regardless, they get a home playoff game, which, you know, I think there's a distinct advantage for Denver if they get to play this game at home. Now, obviously, week 18, you win, you get the number one seed to get home field advantage throughout the class, which means that the road to the Super Bowl has come through the Mahi City. I like that versus Devere having to go on the road here.

But they got to take care of business this week regardless of who's playing or who's not. Yeah, 100%. Like it's crazy for me. Like obviously we all know that it's been a long time since the Broncos have clinched that one seat in the AFC. Or in the clinch J.FC. West, excuse me. Don't want to get too far ahead of myself. I think I was in high school the last time the Broncos were AFC as champions. So it's been a long time coming for this Denver Broncos team's there.

but I think a quick victory lap for Broncos countries. I think everyone's very, very happy about that. Yeah, absolutely. And apparently, according to Sean Paden, you don't want to be rocking any AFC West champions gear while you're taking that victory lap because it's ugly. But no, I think obviously this was the number one, I guess, on the list goal at the beginning of the season, right?

And now you've accomplished it. And that's why I said at the beginning of the show, there's no asterisks involved. It's like everybody's out there saying, well, you got the Texans to thank for this, So you got the injury to this player to thank for this. It's like, no, the Broncos won 13 games. So they set themselves up for this.

It's not our fault that you can't, you know, take care of your own business or that your team can't take care of business. And so I just wanted to address that quickly as you're taking the victory lap and leaving everybody else in the dust out there. Because you know what? It is, it's hard to win in the NFL. We've been 10 years of this kind of just grinding in QB purgatory or worse, depending on your perspective on that. You know, I think that the Broncos, they deserve to take these victory laps right now while also keeping that eye on the chargers this weekend because the job is obviously not done. Are you quick question for you, Sarah? I know you're big into the hats and the swag and the merch.

Are you going to get any of this AFC West stuff because it is pretty ugly? No, yeah, I'm not going to. The only AFC West Champions gear I have, boys, I'll tell you this. I have the AFC West Champions gear from the 2011 season when Tebow won the division for the Brompsons. Broncos that year. I just wanted something to commemorate that year. And that was the only thing that was available. Obviously, they didn't win the Super Bowl or anything. But I do have that just like Adam Trotman stuffed away in a memory box somewhere. There you go. There you go. No, Sean, I believe on his conference call on Monday was referencing how I think the hats are pretty ugly. I saw some of the stuff

going around on social media. That's so much a larger conversation that we don't have to get into right now. I don't know what's happened to merchandise in sports. It used to be so sick. And that was not Fanatics has ruined the game. Yeah, it is what it is. But Nick, you played for the Denver Broncos, obviously, some great years in your time with Denver. And, you know, as Sarah alluded to, a long time coming for the Broncos to get back to this point.

I mean, that Super Bowl 50 team, you know, not so long ago, but it also feels like it was a while ago. For the Broncos, obviously there's bigger things ahead with the playoffs and hopefully a championship as well. But for them to get this, you know, get past this hump and win the AFC West. It's a big thing for the team and also Broncos country. Yeah, it is. I don't want to take away from the victory because this could be something that catapult the Broncos into a new stratosphere.

Because over what the last nine years, this conference was dominated by Kansas City Chiefs, Andy Reed, and Patrick Mahomes. That's no more the case. And the Broncos win in the Kansas City, a tough place to win and actually got the dog. But I will say this, gentlemen, looking back at that game on Thursday night on Christmas, and watching Chris Ola Doken, even though he wasn't Petra Mahomes, he did a good job of moving around in the pocket and made life miserable for the Broncos defense at times. So that quarterbacks with that skill set bothers me as we move forward.

But there's a lot of things about this Broncos team that needs to be fine-tuned and maybe they can do that on Sunday. And I get it. And I don't want to be the Debbie Downer, sound like the Debbie Downer. but because I know what awaits the Broncos as they move forward in the playoffs, I want to see a little more from them. I mean, when you look at the Kansas City Chiefs and see what, and, you know, what the situation was for the Kansas City Chiefs,

there's no way that that game, in my humble opinion, I mean, you guys may have different takes on this, but the game shouldn't have been 20 to 13. You didn't need Chris Jones to jump off size to give you an opportunity to win that ball game. You want to go into the playoffs knowing as though you can play your best ball and you can do it at a high level and you can flip the switch. You can turn it on, turn it off. You know, you can go from, you know, slow to fast, speed that baby up right now. I'm not sure if they're able to do that, but I'm glad they got the win.

But I'm sure some of the same things that I'm telling you guys now, they're talking about it in the building. They're not going to tell the media, but they're talking about it. we need to be better at this position. We need to be better on these particular plays because if you don't, that could be problematic. I think that's all fair, to be honest with you. And look, they got the job done, right? They got the win.

They clincy the AFC West shortly after. Like, that's all that really matters in a micro sense. And I was talking with a couple NFL guys, not active players, but former players. And there is a little bit of the thought of if they play the way that they have, you know, against the chiefs and against the Jaguars, like, let's see what happens. And so I agree with you. I think this week against the Chargers is a really good opportunity for the Broncos to not hit the reset button, but just kind of get right, right, and build some positive momentum.

Again, you get the win against the Chiefs. If Cortland Sutton catches like one of those three balls, you probably score more point than 20 than you did against the Kansas City Chiefs. So let's factor that in as well. I think the Broncos are going to be fine. And we'll dive into the Chargers as a whole here, Cody. But I do think big picture-wise, this is a good opportunity for them and kind of hit the reset button a little bit. Yeah, why not? Look, we already know that, you know, Justin Herber is not.

going to be playing. I think Herbert, in my opinion, I feel like out of all the quarterbacks in the AFC playoffs, and there's a lot of good ones in the AFC playoffs, I feel like Herbert is the most dangerous, despite the fact that his offensive line is banged up. He's made, he's been the Lamborghini in the trailer park, so to speak, when playing behind that offensive line, the stuff that he's had to overcome has been incredible there. Now, it's not me saying that because I'm a former Oregon Ducks fan who grew up watching Herbert. But no, I just think that that recognition is there. Josh Allen's also very dangerous. So I know we're going to talk about the playoffs later on the show, but that skill set that

he has to be able to use his legs and also carve you up from the pocket, that's the dynamic that Nick is talking about with these quarterbacks. Now, Denver, you look at it, hopefully you can just end up facing some pocket passers. You can disrupt the pocket. But when you go when you're going against a guy who's got this dual skill set, right, to be able to throw on the run, to use his legs to extend plays, how you rush that quarterback changes from a game planning standpoint. hear it all the time, a cage rush to try to cage him in and keep him in the pocket where

he tries to step up, okay, your defensive tackles and your linebackers can feel and get the stop versus you don't want to just give up the outside contained. So I'm very curious to see how Vance Joseph approaches this week against Trey Lance, who is that dual threat type of quarterback, can't use his legs. You know, we haven't seen much of him in his NFL career, but he's a former first round pick. You simply can't overlook that fact either. And look, the chargers, they can't rest every single starter. because you only have a 53-man roster, but they're probably going to rest the more pertinent ones for their playoff run

because their road has already said they've got to go on the road no matter what. And I don't think they really care who they play. They just want to be healthy for whenever they decide to step foot on the field for Wildcar weekend. Yeah, no, those are great points. And we'll dive into kind of a deep dive into this game against the Chargers here in just a moment when we come back from commercial because I don't think it's as easy as it seems, right? It's a division game. Obviously, Justin Herbert's not going to play.

Omarion Hampton. We'll see what happens with some of those guys, as Cody alluded to you, but it's not, maybe it's a walk in the park for the Broncos, but I also don't think the Broncos are in a position right now where they can just expect to waltz in there and get a victory. I think they're going to have to put their best foot forward in this game as well. Real quick, while we're back on this AFC West, you know, Broncos doing the thing, the one seed.

Do you guys see Jonathan Cooper and Sean Payton on social media over the weekend? That was that. That was something. It's there. I love it. You know what? I mean, you got it. Like we said, take the victory laps, right?

I don't know exactly all what Jonathan Cooper said. I heard a couple of them or at least one of them was maybe deleted, but, uh, you know, it's, it is what it is, right? Go on there. Do your gloating. You've earned it at this point. But at the same time, you know, like I said, it's keeping your eye on the prize. And Sean Payton's stuff is, is hilarious to me. I was like, hey, Sean, if you got time, let us know what Jordans you bought the offensive line after Quinn Miner's got Chris Jones to jump off sides. Like, I want to know some of the hard hitting information if you're just, you know, scrolling on Twitter these days. But, um, I, I think you're right.

I think the Broncos, they have to keep their focus on dominating this game. And that's what I think everybody's wanting to see, regardless of who the Chargers throw out there, is what this Broncos team is capable of. And we've talked to, you know, like the asterisk thing, I'll bring it up again. You know, people want to talk about playing backup quarterbacks, this and that. I'm like, hey, the Broncos can beat Jake Browning and, you know, Chris Olo Doken. They can beat Jordan Love, DAC Prescott, Jalen Hertz. It doesn't matter.

They've gone against everybody this year. And they've beaten pretty much everybody, you know, with a couple of couple of exceptions, obviously. And so I was, I was ready for Justin Herbert. I'm fine with that. Like, bring it on. I don't, I don't think the Broncos are sitting here saying, hey, we, we would prefer to play the Chargers backups in week 18 because, you know, it'll make the number one seed easier for us. I don't think they're sitting there acting like that. I think they want to play the best. And that's, it's not their fault that other teams can't handle, you know, their business. Once again, I'll say that. And I think the Broncos have an opportunity in this game, you know,

Is it a lose, lose, though, from a perception standpoint, guys, because if you go out and dominate this game, you dominated backups. If you don't dominate this game, oh, it's concerning going into the playoffs, this, that, and the other. This team has proven they can win any type of game against any type of team. And that's what I'm clinging to going into the postseason. I completely agree with you. And Cody, I think, you know, you and I haven't been in the locker room.

I know, Nick, you're at the games as well and you have relationships with these guys. I completely agree with Sarah that. I don't think there's any sort of like mentality one way or the other based off who's playing and who's not playing. I think this Broncos team is going to be focused because they have to be, right? Going back to the point that we just made, they haven't played as good as they were in the middle of the season the last handful of weeks. So I think there's a lot of self-reflection going on in that locker right now from the coaching staff down to the players and the other staffers as well of like, we've got to get this stuff cleaned up. We've been able to win.

We took down the chiefs despite of it. But I do think the Broncos know that there's plenty of work to be done before they hit. the postseason. So why don't we hit a quick break? When we come back, let's dive into this Chargers game. A lot to unpack here as the number one seat in the AFC is on the line as a divisional game and the Denver Broncos are prepping for the playoffs. All that more. When we come back right here on your locked on Broncos squad show. All right, you guys real quick, let me tell you about our friends over at Gusto because let's be real. No one starts a business for the joy of calculating tax withholdings or managing payroll spreadsheets. That's where Gusto comes in. Take the stress out of payroll. benefits and HR so you can focus on running your business and supporting your team. Gusto is the all-in-one remote-friendly payroll and HR platform that makes managing your team simple, transparent, and fast. Whether you're hiring, onboarding, or paying employees, Gusto helps you do it all from one place without the hassle or the hidden fees. Unlimited payroll

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Okay, well, come on back into your locked on Broncos squad show AP, Cody Borg, Sarah Bedinger, and Nick Ferguson hanging out with you here on this Tuesday before New Year's Eve. Hope everyone in Broncos countries doing well out there. If you're watching on YouTube, do us a favor. Hit that like button, smash that subscribe button as well. Really helps us out and keep the comments coming. We see them coming in so we can go back and forth with you folks throughout the course of the program. Okay, Nick, I want to start with you with your opening point about the Chargers game. right? So we know the Chargers aren't playing a majority of their starters, notably Justin Herbert.

We'll see who else is out there. But on your open there, I think you asked the question of should the Broncos also consider maybe do it a little rest versus Rust Dynamic. Talk to me about that with this week 18 matchup. Yeah, I really think that the Broncos should definitely consider this. And just like the Chargers, man, you can't sit everyone and put everyone somewhat in bubble wrap. But there's certain players on the defense. And I would say PS2 being one of those players because for me, you allow you know, Riley Moss to get some more experience because, you know, we've seen him targeted all season long. He needs a lot of reps when it comes to coverage and when it comes to tackling, especially after what we saw, you know, a couple of weeks ago. And then Chris Abrams drain,

you give a lot of those guys a lot of reps, which I think is going to be really valuable down the stretch because when I look at the Super Bowl and we and I haven't really did done a deep dive into this, but but I'm thinking that I'm on to something. When you look at the past couple of Super Bowls, we just use small sample size of the last 10 years. It's not always the best teams. And I'll say that knowing as though all those teams are quality, they got some quality coaching quality players, but at the same time, it's about the team that's the healthiest. It's the same reason why John Harbaugh is thinking about resting his quarterback. And Sean McDermen with the Buffalo Bills, they may do the same thing with Josh Allen this weekend.

So it's about resting a couple of players allowing some of those guys who have been banged up over the season to get a little healthy, allow some other guys to kind of get some quality play. But I want to back up for something because before we went to the break, Sarah was saying something about, you know, dominating. This is a game of the Broncos dominating. And I've said for a while, and I got a lot of pushback, especially on Twitter and me doing some other media stuff, that style points don't really matter. That's what we're being told. And I look at it and say, well, you know what?

That's just a justifier, right? Because you want to be able to show that you can match wit for width with teams that are considered to be elite from the quarterback position and defensive side of the ball. But also those teams that don't match you, those teams are inferior to you, like the team that you're facing. this week, like the two times the Broncos face, the Raiders, the facing the Kansas City Chiefs without Patrick Mahomes, you need to squash their dreams. You need to step on their throats. Let them know that there is no tomorrow. It's over. It's done. And to me, I want to see the Broncos, no matter who's out there on offensive defense, I want to see them actually do that. Now, they've had a couple of games this season where they put up a lot of points. I think 36

points against the Green Bay Packers. That was one of those games. And I was a like, damn right, this is what I want to see. I want you guys to show everyone else around the country what you're capable of. You do it against the Cowboys, but albeit against one of the worst defenses and the NFL, but I want you to play well against the team that you're supposed to play to because of the level of competition. But the teams that we know that are inferior to you, I want you to wipe them out. Like Achilles against Troy, right?

That's what I want to see from the Broncos. I think it a perfect world to kind of put both of your points. together if style points do matter and also the rest dynamic for the Broncos. Perfect world is they get out to a big lead in the first half, right? You're up 14 points, 17 points, you know, two, three, fours, right? And then not saying you take your foot off the gas, but you give yourself a little flexibility because the chargers, while the game, it does mean something with respect to potential seating, like, they can't get home field. Like that's somewhat, that's a foregone conclusion right now for the chargers. So you have to wonder where they're going to be at throughout the course of this game.

But I agree with, I agree with both of your points, Nick. I think if the Broncos, can get out to an early lead, that will allow them to open up some opportunities for rest later on with the game. Yeah, I mean, hopefully that they can actually do that because that's been one of the problems for the Broncos. We know the narrative that this team is shown that they can come back in the fourth quarter. We've seen that. But what we haven't seen the team get out to an early lead able to sustain that lead and then allow the opportunity for other players, who need more playing time to actually get that particular playing time. So hopefully this is a game that the Broncos actually doing it.

And like Sarah said, it's a damn if you do, damn if you don't type of situation. You blow them out. You were expected to. You don't. Then there's going to be some cause for it concerned. So I'm like, just blow the damn doors off and just let everyone talk about it. Yeah. I quickly say, yeah, I just want to quickly say that the two games that Nick just referenced also,

So you go back and you look at those games, the Packers game and the Cowboys game, what do those games have in common that almost every other Broncos game this season does not have multiple forced turnovers defensively? You dominated, not just, you know, against the Cowboys. I mean, they dominated those guys from the start of that game. But against Green Bay, it was second half dominance. Those are only two of, I think, four games this season, if I'm looking at it right here, two out of four games this season where the Broncos have multiple turnovers forced. they have eight games this season.

And I've pointed this out many times, and I'll continue to do it. They have eight games this season, which is insane for this defense, where they have forced zero turnovers. And that is the key to this team dominating games. Go back and look at last year when everybody's saying, well, the Broncos, they beat up on all these bad teams. Well, really, first of all, who cares? That's a lame way to excuse of dominating victory.

But secondly, those games all involved multiple turnovers forced by the defense. And then everybody's saying, well, Bo Nix is. the offense only ranked 10th and points scored last season because they were given all these short fields. And it's like, I don't freaking care. They can get all the short fields that they want. That's what I want to see. That's what that's called complimentary football.

I don't know if anybody realizes this when they're looking at the next gen stats passing charts that complimentary football is when your defense forces a takeaway and your offense, just crazy notion here capitalizes on it and scores a touchdown. And so that's where the Broncos have been missing all year long, in my opinion. other than those two games that Nick just mentioned, that you forced multiple turnovers and you were able to capitalize on that as an offense. So that's what I'm, that's where I'm saying,

like I feel like the perception of the Broncos is that they are just these lucky escape artists. When the reality is, is that they just haven't been forcing turnovers. And that is essential. They have as many turnovers this year as the New England Patriots. That's, that's reality. And those giveaways for the Broncos this year, a punt return against the Texans.

Michael Bandy. I remember Marvin Mims, muffed a punt as well. So not even all the giveaways are on the offense. It's crazy to think that this team has even come close to reaching the peak of what they can be as we enter the playoffs. Cody, your thought. I mean, that's why Sean Payton said yesterday to us on a conference call that the turnover margin has to improve that they have to find a way to get more takeaways.

And then I think, you know, you're going to get the counter argument. Yes, Denver has been able to get out to the quarterback quite a bit, right? They've been able to get sacks on third down. but here's a point I made with Sarah yesterday. Nick, you'll understand this as well when you talk about the dynamic of special teams. Okay, let's say it's, you know, third down, third and four, you get a sack. Okay, now you force them to punt.

Well, let's say that punter pins the offense within the five-yard line or inside the 10. Like, then that changes everything versus you get a takeaway. You are more than likely guaranteed better starting field position than anything else, more so than a punt return, whatever it may be. That momentum and that field positioning certainly matters. And I think that's just something you have to see from this defense. If they can find a way to start going on a run where guys like J-Quan-McMillan or Riley Moss, Pat Sertan, Ivato, even Talanoa, who's dropped a handful this year,

if these guys start getting some of these interceptions, then all of a sudden, the dynamic changes it. You know, as a matter of fact, the one guy who's been so good in interception returns has been Dandre Tillman. He's been great with the ball in his hands. But you need more contributions from everybody. And yes, you're able to get stops. You're able to get out to the quarterback, but the takeaways are going to create more opportunities.

And certainly when those opportunities do come, yes, you want the offense to certainly capitalize and take advantage. But I would say that's been the biggest complaint I've had about the Denver defense this year is they haven't found a way to get the football away, which is weird because we see it every day that they go to practice. They do a turnover circuit every day where they're working on punching the ball out. They're working on tip drill. They're working on strip sack and the quarterback. With all the sacks that Denver's had this year, it's been crucial. crazy that we've hardly, I don't even know if we've seen one strip sack this year from the defense.

Jayquan Macmillan, week one, he did it. He closed up the game. That might have been the only time, though. And to my point, and this is just a quick factoid that I'll throw out there. This year, the Broncos ranked 28th in the NFL in starting field position as an offense. Last season, they were number two in the NFL. That discrepancy is the reason why everybody's talking about inconsistent offense week in and week out is because starting field position has been so, I mean, it might only be a couple of yards

on paper, but over the course of a season, it has added up tremendously for this offense to constantly be dealing with those long fields. Let me add this really quickly from a defensive standpoint. See, the Broncos will need to be really careful about that narrative. Everything that we're saying is spot on and is absolutely correct. But as a former defensive player, when you're constantly hearing from your coaches, we need to create more turnovers. What that means sometimes to defenders that they press too much.

Now they start to play outside of the scheme, trying to force turnovers that's not there. And when you do that, you expose the defense. You take what the offense gives you. If you can get a strip sack force fumble, take it. But the idea, and we saw this in the game a couple of weeks back against the commanders, when Nick Benito was supposed to be in one spot on the field, he's looking at Marcus Mario da because he's trying to get an interception,

but by him not being on his spot, he allow a third down completion. Don't do that. Let the game come to you. Don't go out there and try to force turnovers. If you do that, you're going to put the defense in a bad spot. Well, I want to follow up on that with you, Nick, just because you obviously have the most experience out of any of us just playing at that level in the NFL when it comes to generating turnovers.

And I think the good thing is they're 13 and 3 in spite of the lack of turnovers. So I think to Sayre's point, like if they can start, you know, getting an interception here or fumble there, you know, it's up for this Denver Broncos team. But you talk about, you know, staying within the scheme and, you know, controlling what you can control. Is there ways that you can try to generate more turnovers by doing that or do you have to go outside of the box? I guess I'm trying to figure out how the Broncos can stay grounded on defense while also trying to generate those turnovers. If you could speak to that. Well, the idea you miss Mitch and Tylenover Funga. There's been several times the season that the balls are hitting him in his season.

hands, right? You have to take advantage of it because you don't know how many times you're going to be in that particular situation. If you're on a tackle, the rule is the first guy secures the tackle. The next guy that comes in, he punches the ball out, even though like Cody said, and I've seen it, coaches do turnover circuits every single day. But when guys get in games, somehow they forget everything they were taught as far as a turnover circuit is concerned. So now the players have to go in the game saying, and listen, what we need to do, like Sarah said last year, they were able to generate those turnovers and put the office on the short field. So helping them out with starting position. They need to keep that in mind. When you get a guy corralled, if you're Zach Allen,

you hold him up, the next guy comes in, you're punching, you're ripping at the ball. Those are the only things that you can actually do because I know this, man, when you start pressing, you start to try to make or force turnovers that are not there, what you allow is you allow completions because instead of making the tackle, you're trying to punch the damn ball out. And everyone always talks about the peanut tillman punch. A man, secure the damn tackle first because if you don't, that's yards after contact. Now you're putting them in second and third and short situations. That's not what you want to do. Secure the tackle. The next guy comes in, he punches the ball out. And I would say the good thing. Maybe the silver lining on this

is like, yes, we've seen them really struggle with mistackles. You want them to be fundamentally sound in terms of following the near hip. First guy, wrap up. That's always been the rule. That's the unwritten rule of the defense. First guy wraps up. Everybody else, rally, strip the ball out, bring the ball carrier down, you know, hit him so hard as mama cries or something like that, whatever it may be. But also at the same time, I am glad that we're not talking about, like, the Broncos issues defensively.

I'm glad we're not talking about them being effort issues, right? I think they're doing, they're trying too much or they're trying too hard, essentially. They're pressing, as Nick was saying. And so I think a chance to maybe be able to have this mini buy, so to speak, be able to go back to the fundamentals, the foundations of that, I think you're going to be important. And then you really have a chance to reset. I was kind of saying, you know, Debra went to the buy week right in the high of how great their defense played against Mahomes in week 11.

And then they haven't played their best brand of football since after the bike. Can the buy week re-correct that if they secure the number? And see, that is ultimately the hope. I agree. All right, let's hit a break. When we come back, let's continue along with the conversation, looking towards this pivotal game for the Denver Broncos coming up against the Los Angeles Chargers. If they win, they get the one seat.

If not, it's out of their control. We'll continue along with that conversation when we come back right here on your Locked on Broncos Squad show. All right, you guys, real quick, let me tell you about our friends over at, prize picks, because this episode is brought to you by prize picks. whether you're starting a new routine or jumping into player projections for the first time. Trying something new can feel like a challenge. But with prize picks, it always feels good to be right.

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Chargers game a little bit as a whole. And, you know, we know the Broncos have clinched the AFC West. So really the one thing that they're playing for right now, which is, in my opinion, the most important thing is home field advantage throughout the course of the NFL postseason, right? The ability to get that one seat, I mean, it's the basic math. You've heard us have this conversation time and time again, two games to get to Super Bowl versus three, both of those games being at home as opposed to having to go on the road. So there's a lot of importance for the Broncos heading into this matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers. Again, no just and Herbert, see which other starters are maybe in and out of the lineup for the Chargers.

So I think we're all expecting the Broncos to win this game. At the end of the day, though, Cody, I just think I don't want to overlook this matchup, because I think division rivalries always have a little extra juice, a little extra umph. And also just with the way that the Broncos has been playing as of late, like, I mean, just look at the cheese game. I mean, they were two touchdown favorites in that game. They don't cover that number for whatever that's worth the people out there. But again, that was a game that I think the expectation was the Broncos are going to walk down

the Chiefs, right? third string quarterback, practice squad guy with no NFL experience, and the Chiefs put up a fight that could be the same case this weekend against the Chargers. I mean, maybe I don't think so, though. Look, I think the difference between these two games was that one's coming off of a short week where they didn't even practice, really. It was a walk-through.

These guys didn't even have pads. There was no full speed, nothing. It was just guys trying to get the lactic acid out of their bodies on that Tuesday and then that walk-through on Wednesday before boarding a flight to Kansas City, you know. So I think that honestly is. the biggest difference in some of these games to the point. I always think that Thursday night football,

it should always be where the team's coming off of a by week, in my opinion. But that's another conversation for another day. I think that Denver is just going to come out prepared this week. Look, they're not going to overlook the chargers in any way, shape, or form. They're still going to have to go against some starters that, obviously, you know, L.A. will have to play in this game, minus, you know, the Herberts and we'll see who else this week. But this is just it, you know, the Chargers Road has already said. they're going to have to go to New England or Jacksonville regardless.

Now, look, if they somehow were to upset Denver, then they would go back to be, they'd probably stay in Denver and play them next week in the wildcard round. Denver doesn't want to do that. Denver wants to win, have the rest, have the home field advantage, be able to study and watch the games because now, hey, with the wildcar round kind of plays out, you know as that number one seed you're going to face the lowest remaining seed possible. And so who is that going to be? I mean, it still could be a very tough matchup because I think the AFC playoffs this year

minus the shiny turd that is the AFC North this year. I think that there's six very good teams. I wouldn't say there's a good team in it in the AFC North. Whoever wins that between Baltimore and obviously Pittsburgh. But you just got to be ready. Take care of business. Point is simple. That's the only thing you got to do.

Win. And guess what? It's all yours. The road's got to come through Denver. And I think very much that the Broncos are going to come out very well prepared this week. And I'll be curious to see who's available to them as, well because Debra was pretty banged up last week going into Kansas City. Sarah, your thoughts.

Yeah, I think that when you talk about overlooking this team in the Chargers, the Broncos, they can't afford to do that for a number of different reasons. Obviously, they're still working on fixing a number of things that we've already discussed, but also I feel like they have to kind of get some momentum going in because, yeah, if you do have that by week, you, that's all you have. And honestly, it's kind of crazy to think that the last time before, If the Broncos win on Sunday, they will not have played a team's starting quarterback for about a calendar month by the time they take the field again in the divisional round because they played against Oledoken on Christmas. They're playing against Trey Lance.

Then you have a buy. And so the last starting quarterback that you will have faced would be Trevor Lawrence in Denver a couple of weeks back. And so it's kind of interesting from that vantage point. And I just don't think that this team has the, I guess, the statement on their record right. now to be able to say, hey, we can just go and kick back and relax in this one. Like Nick said earlier in the episode, I mean, Trey Lance is kind of the quarterback, the type that the Broncos have struggled with at times defensively.

And so I don't think that they have any sort of luxury. Although I will say this, guys, I think the dolphins and the Titans are kind of interesting this weekend when it comes to, I think the foregone conclusion that everybody else is just going to win. Like Cam Ward has been playing some pretty decent football out there. and I think the Titans are going to be playing really hard to kind of ruin things for the Jacksonville Jaguars. And then the Miami Dolphins defensively have been really getting after it lately. They've been really, really good quietly.

And they're playing against New England. And I'm not saying those teams are for sure going to win. But what I am saying is that I don't think there's any team that's fighting for the number one seed this weekend that can really just sit back and say, oh, yeah, we're just going to go easily take care of business. I don't think that's going to happen for I think the Broncos may have the easiest path. out of all three of those teams. I would agree with you, and I believe the scenarios off the top of my head.

Obviously, Broncos win into the one seat. In order for New England to get the one seat, the Broncos would have to lose. And in order for Jacksonville to get the one seat, both New England and Denver would have to lose. So Jacksonville very much on the outside looking in, as is New England. So I think, you know, I agree with you, Sarah.

And Nick, I'll get your opinion here. Like, I think the Broncos are in the most comfortable seat, I guess you could say. Like obviously all three of these teams are going to need a win. But also I think just no, like the point that Sarah about the dolphins and the Titans. Like those are two teams that, you know, are kind of putting it together later in the season

compared to where they were earlier in the year versus a team like the Chargers that kind of knows where they're going to be at in the playoffs. Again, their seating is in flux, but they know they're going to have to go on the road. I think Denver's in the driver's seat here between those three. Yeah, there are, they're in the driver's seat for sure, but really quickly.

Cody, I've never seen a shiny turd before. So that's kind of new to me. But when I look at this Denver the Broncos team, they definitely need some style points. It doesn't make a difference who plays for the Chargers. They need style points because like Sarah said, when you look back on this situation, the Broncos win this game,

they would have not faced a starting quarterback for a number of weeks. So you want to go into that by with a certain level of confidence that, hey, listen, we took the best shot from some of the best teams and we played those top quarterbacks. And oh, by the way, we played some quarterbacks that were not that great, but we were able to show what we can do both offensively and defensively. And the reason I say that because when we look at the past two games, the Broncos have played, you know, they've only scored 20 points, right?

That's 20 points, right? That's 20 points against a backup quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, albeit on a short week, but then also against another team that's looking to hope that you lose and the Patriots lose so they can get the number one seed in Jacksonville. you only scored 20 points in that game. And we can go through it and comb through it and pick through it and say, okay, well, this was a mistake where the quarterback wasn't on the same page with the wide receivers. That carried forward to the game against Kansas City.

Like, had you told me that somehow Evan Ingram and Cortland Sutton would drop multiple passes, I would have told you, man, you're out of your damn mind. But that is what we saw. So this team needs to show that there's a level of consistency that comes with confidence that shows that they can go out there and they can play against anyone at any time. They need to make sure that that is the narrative once they finish this game. We show this. We don't care that the charge decided not to play our players.

Excuse me. Sorry, you're going to have to bleep down. I got you. But forget it. But the idea is that we're going to play the team that you put out there in front of us and we're going to beat them silly, right? You have to do that, man, because this is kind of, the last time we could see them for a while.

Don't you guys want to see them play one hell of a game where there's an exclamation point. Like everything that people said about this team all season long, hey man, you can suck it because our team went out there and ball. That's what I want to see. Excuse me, that flood. I'm sorry. No, he's at the moment.

We're too passionate. We'll do it live. You're cool. You're cool. I'll make sure to edit that out after the fact. But I also think, like, it's a, fine tune for the offense, right? Because I think if Cortland catches those passes,

I feel much better about the offense right now than I do the defense, and I'm not sure I thought I would ever say that throughout the course of this season. Cody, like, what do you think it is? Because this also factors into our playoff conversation. Like, if you have to face it Trevor Lawrence again, a C.J. Stroud, or Justin Herbert, right? Like, we'll see how it shakes out. Lamar Jackson, if he's healthy.

What is it about that dual threat dynamic that you think gives the Broncos so much fits on defense? And Trey Lance kind of plays to that this week against the chart, with the Chargers, too. I can tell you as a corner I always hated going against dual threat quarterbacks. There was this one guy we always used to go against. His name was Anthony James. And this guy, you know, he'll drop back out of shotgun, you know, two step drop, three step, whatever maybe, under center.

And it's like, all right, our initial upfield rush, it's got to be careful not to get too far upfield because then he would dip underneath, extend to the outside as a corner. And I'm sure Nick can attest to this as a safety. We have our coverage responsibility. We are pass first always, right? Linebackers, they're reading run first. DBs, corner safeties, we are past first.

We got to get to our drops, whether we're a man, zone, whatever may be. But when you're in a situation, you're playing a dual threat quarterback like that, the moment he gets outside the pocket, you initially had to cover your first part of that route, whatever the initial route is. Then scramble drill rules come into place where it's, I got to make sure I find my receiver. If I'm in man, I got to stay on his hip. If I'm in zone, I got to make sure that I'm communicating. if my guy's going across and I got to keep my eyes that way to see if anybody else is coming

across my way that I might have to pick it up. It keeps you in coverage a lot longer and it forces, I would say, you to have to tighten up a little bit and you can't be too aggressive because then if you lose a guy, that's where you see the guy kind of sitting up field for maybe 25, 30 yards, just waving his hand in the air, quarterback throws it to him. It's like, wait, where is everybody because there's a breakdown? That is the challenge. I'm sure Nick can attest to that. Yeah, that makes life miserable because we've seen it play out all week long. And when you are in coverage with a guy and the idea is that, okay, well, you think that the rush would have already sacked the quarterback. And then you start to peak, right?

And you lose contact with your wide receiver who now gets open and gets free. And we've seen, you know, Russell Wilson was one of the better quarterbacks in the league at being able to do this. He gets outside the pocket. those receivers for the Seattle Seahawks know they have a mobile quarterback. So short routes go deep. Deep routes come back shallow. And this is where you need your wide receivers to be able to break free. Case and point.

Remember a couple of weeks ago when the Broncos hosted the Kansas City Chiefs? The Chiefs ran a two-man defense. There was not a single receiver open, not a single one until Cortland Sutton decided, you know what, I'm being covered. I got a safety over top of me. let me free myself up and make myself available to Bo Nix who was scrambling to the offensive right side and the Broncos converted an all important third down play. That is something that you need to do, but you only do that when you work on it in practice.

You can't get to games and say defensively, we're going to be great at it. Offensively, we're going to be great at it. So hopefully when the Broncos are preparing for the playoffs or even the charges now, they had that scramble drill that they constantly work because if you don't, I'm telling you, as a DB, you're thinking, I'm going to get a still. I'm about to get an interception and you turn your head back. Now that guy goes up and he goes vertical and then now is the catch. We shall see how the Broncos will put in that quick.

Here's my thought. Who, I mean, nothing against Jared Stittem, Sam Ellinger, who can best represent, you know, when you're practicing? Who can run that scout team, you know, to account for a dual threat? I think Ellinger maybe is the best. I don't know how Denver can actually simulate that in practice. It's hard, though. I'd say that's the challenge of today's NFL. No.

For McQuarrie. Harvey on the scout team. No, I know, I know. I'm just joking. Man. It would have to be. Ellinger. No, I would think Stidham.

I mean, not have to move like that. Stidham is underrated in how he can move, but I don't think Stidham can best represent like the mobility. I think that's where Ellinger comes in. Okay, but then, well, see, the reason I say, Stidham because Stidham has mobility, but I think that he's a little more accurate on the move than Ellinger. Yeah.

You need someone who give you a good look. So Stidia probably gave you from that standpoint. Hey, maybe Elijah Moore can help the Bronco secondary out, you know, since he's been on the practice. That's the whole right. I forgot they brought him in. Hey, insurance policy, man. And maybe someone who could step up for you, you know, next year or maybe at some point this season. Yeah.

Well, Pat Ryan's still dealing with what he's dealing with. I just completely spaced Elijah Moore. We'll find out of Pat's back tomorrow. Elijah Moore could be that secret weapon that we have not talked about. Ooh, you know, yeah, it's going to be fascinating. I think there's more to this game than we think. And then Sarah, I want to get your thoughts on this real quick before we hit a break. Like you talked about, I forget that they can't afford, you know, to take this game lightly.

I think the other thing, and this gets dampened a little bit because Herbert's not playing, this Chargers team has been a pain in their real. end for a minute now. I mean, really since Sean Payton has gotten here, I mean, before the Jacksonville Jaguars came in here a couple of weeks ago, the last team to beat the Broncos at home was the Chargers in last October of last season, right? We know how the first matchup went this year as well. So I think mobile quarterback, turnovers, all that stuff aside, much like you saw with Jonathan Cooper, you know, being all hyped up on social media about beating the cheese, I actually think this is a big game. Getting a win against the Chargers, I think does a lot for the morale of the

Broncos considering how those matchups have gone. Yeah, especially because, I mean, not to, not to diminish your point whatsoever, but I mean, also you're rocking these throwbacks. You cannot afford to lose in these throwback uniforms. You know what I'm saying? I mean, it's, it's so much going on because I think while the Broncos would never say it, they would never say like, oh, we're looking ahead to this or we're looking. Imagine, imagine being on the team right now and the scenario is like it's borderline a foregone conclusion that you're going to be the number one seed in the AFC, you're going to get a bye week next week, you're going to be hosting throughout the playoffs, and then you go out there and you somehow flub it against the, the chargers.

Now all of a sudden, you're facing a bunch of mental hurdles on top of the fact that you have to prepare for a game next week that I don't think necessarily you're sitting in the locker room right now, and Nick, correct me if I'm wrong about this, I don't think they're necessarily sitting there expecting to have to play next week. I think that they're believing that they are going to go out there and win this game. And so any results other than that could create. create some unnecessary mental hurdles for this team going into the postseason that I don't know if it would necessarily be a chip on their shoulder as much as it would be a detriment to, okay, this is what we felt like was going to happen. And now it's not happening. Now we have to make these adjustments on the fly. I just, I don't know. I feel like finding a way to lose this game, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory could end up sinking the ship regardless of what seed the Broncos would be if they lose this game. Sarah, I totally agree with that.

And there's always an 80-20 rule. And I'm sure Cody can attest to this. When you're in a game like this and everyone is proclaiming, hey, listen, you should win this game. You're going to win this game. Even though on what's in front of the Broncos, sometimes there's some players who kind of take a little time off. They don't study as much as they should because, you know what? We should win. Justin Herbert is not playing.

We're going to get the number one seed. And when that happens and it happens to a number of guys, then you're going to have a big problem. So this is a game that the Broncos have to start fast, they have to finish fast, they have to make sure that they leave no doubt and understand that you have to show the charges that you're not going to be in the game

because if this game ends up being as close as the Kansas City game was, you're giving Coach Harbar and Trey Lance an opportunity to say, you know what, we could actually win this freaking game. To me, you want to destroy them from the kickoff. You want to make sure that they know that there's not a chance that you can actually win the game. So be prepared to go in a row because we're about to send you pack it. And I think to that point, Nick, I think Sean Payton's done a good job of establishing a culture of players that won't think that way.

That won't get their foot off the gas. So we shall see. We'll see how it all shakes out come Sunday afternoon. All right. Let's hit our final break. When we come back, we're going to talk a little playoff football here, a little look ahead towards the postseason. As we know, the Broncos have clinched. We'll talk about some seating stuff.

all that more when we come back right here on your lockdown Broncos squad show. All right. Well, come on back into the program. And Ilo Piro Cody works here, Beninger, Nick Ferguson, real quick before we get to the playoffs. You were talking jerseys and throwbacks. Were we a fan of the Stormtrooper look that the Broncos deployed there on Thursday against the Chiefs? 100%. Yeah, I thought it was so clean.

That was nice. That was real nice. Yeah, it wasn't the first time in NFL history last year that they wore the white helmets, right? And so now, or in franchise history, excuse me, they've never had white helmets before. And now you put it with the proper look, because last year it was kind of weird with the all-navy uniforms of the white helmet. I liked it a lot. Yeah, the all-white. I hope we get to see that at least a couple times a year.

I like the Matt White helmet is legit. Like Matt White versus that Christmas Eve a couple years ago, the Bailey Zappy game that, you know, that shiny, just, I hated that white helmet with the old school throwback logo. I love the matte white. That was aesthetically pleasing. It was very good. I like it. I want to see more of it. Yeah, even just being in the locker room last week for practice,

because they hang the helmets like on the locker. I like me and Andrew Mason were like, these are pretty slick these helmets. And it looked even better on the field. So I was a big fan of that look. I'm big into the aesthetics and the jerseys and all that kind of stuff. I think maybe my second favorite uniform combination besides the throwbacks that they've wore this year.

I don't know. Luckily, throwbacks this week. Yeah. I wish those were just a permanent. at once, man. And then where the blues on the road, like, I just, oh, I love the throwbacks, everything about them. But, uh, okay, playoffs. I cannot believe that we're finally here, man. I mean, about the playoffs. Next time we talk to you guys, it'll be a new year, 2006. So, uh, you know, we'll have some fun with that, of course. Let me throw this one out

there because it seems like there's one team that I'm hearing about from Broncos fans that is like, oh, like this is the team I don't want to face, right? And I'll say this as well before I mention the team. I don't think there's a single team in the in the AFC right now. The Broncos should be afraid of, in particular if they have home field advantage. I like the Broncos in pretty much every single matchup, and that includes the Jacksonville Jaguars, which is not the team I was going to

mention. Seems like the Houston Texans, though, with what they've been able to put together on defense throughout the course of this season, C.J. Stroud, now healthy. Remember, Denver won that game 18 to 15 earlier in the year, but that was not CJ Stroud. That was Davis Mills. So you maybe take that with a little bit of a grain of salt.

But Nick, I'll default to you here. Are the Houston Texans the most fearful team in the AFC besides the Broncos, would you say? Or is there another one that comes to mind? Well, they, Houston Texans would be the number one team. There's also another team, and that would be the Buffalo Bills, and I'll get to them in the second. The reason why the Texans are a huge threat, man, they got two monsters on the end as edge rushers. And that's the Neil Hunter and Will Anderson, watching those two guys, hunt up Justin Herbert over the weekend, man.

It was it was crazy. I mean, it was so bad that I felt sorry for Justin Herbert. Like, I wanted to help him, but I couldn't help him. But there's something special about what Domech O'Reins is doing with that defense. And they have playmakers on all three levels. And the one thing that they do, and we were talking about it early on, is that not just the fact that they get after the quarterback at a high rate, but they create turnovers, right?

They create turnovers. And that is going to be something. big for the Broncos or any other team moving forward in the playoffs. And the Texans are a scary team because just like the Broncos, they bring with them a great defense. And then like you said, that game against the Houston, Texas and the Denver Broncos, we didn't get a real feel for what that game could have been like because, you know, C.J. Strout got injured in that game.

We can't do anything about that. He got injured. David Mills came in the game. It was still a close game. But that is a team that is dead. definitely scary because they're creating a turnovers, and that's a defense that looks eerily similar if you want to go stranger things and upside down, similar to that of the Denver Broncos.

But Buffalo, the reason they scare me because of Josh Allen and James Cook, because either one of those guys can take over a game at any time. If we have both of those guys on the top of their game, and we saw it last year when the Broncos faced them in the playoffs, that's a team. that is definitely a scary team, those two teams. I would agree, and I'd probably go Jacksonville third. We could debate about that if you guys want to as well. I think Jacksonville is going to be a machine, just Liam Cohen in that offense right now is humming.

But Cody, I think this Houston defense, like that's the thing is we didn't get the full sample size in that game, but they held the Broncos to 18 points. That says something. Yeah, and look, for Denver to go on the road and for Bo Nix to find Cortland Sutton beating Derek Stingley Jr. For a touchdown was huge for Bo to be able to set up that 25-yard run late to help set up

Will Lutz game-winning field goal in a game where they were trailing. I mean, that's an impressive win. And honestly, like, I look at C.J. Stroud, I still don't think, I still don't think that he's anyone that I would ever fear. Like, out of anyone in the playoffs, CJ Stroud's the one quarterback that I probably don't fear at all.

To be honest with you, I came away, my takeaway from watching him against the Chargers was, man, look, they opened up on fire. But after that, he kind of just went downhill a little bit. He couldn't hit a throw. He kept throwing it into double-covered windows through two interceptions. I was just not sold on C.J. Strout. So whether it's Davis Mills or whether it's freaking C.J. Stroud, it doesn't matter. But I agree.

I think that Houston Texans defense, they have the best defense right now going into the playoffs out of any playoff team right there. They got the talent on the back end of the secondary that can generate the takeaways. When you have a pass rush is vaunted and as good as those guys are there, I mean, you speed up the quarterback's clock and you force those interceptions. You force those takeaways. They strip sack dudes. They force fumbles like that right there is the scariest defense right now going into the postseason. And I do think at one point of the year, I think it was debatable. You could say, hey, like between the Broncos and Texans, who's got the best defense?

I felt like it was debatable. Now it's not debatable. It is Houston right now. And it's a pretty clear margin because of those things that I outlined right there. I agree with Nick. Like the bills and Josh Allen just you never know what you're going to get. One week, they look like the best team in football. The next week they're like, what the heck is going on?

They can't even beat the, you know, granted the Brown's defense is good, but we've seen the bills also struggle against a handful of other teams, teams that they should, you know, blow out. You know, narratives we've heard about the Broncos all season long, this, that, and the other. Those narratives don't get talked about when it comes to Josh Allen and the bills there. So I would say that. And then Jacksonville, yeah, I would agree with that.

I'm curious about New England. I do think New England's in a position. Let's say the bills finish with the seventh seed, or let's say, I don't know, Houston, somehow losing and the bills when, let's say Houston drops to the seven seat. I'd very much think Houston could go on the road and beat the New England Patriots in round one. I think that would be a very distinct possibility. I agree, Sarah, your thoughts.

I've just been patiently waiting to say that although CJ Stroud did not play the majority of that game, he did play some of that game. The Broncos also did not have Pat Sertan or Marvin Mims for the entire game. And that was a huge factor because Michael Bandy gave away some free points at the end of the first half in that game. but for those who like to talk about the fact, well, C.J. Stroud didn't play. They would have won if he had played. And I just, you know, I just can't.

I just had to bring it up. So I just think that with this AFC playoff race, everybody's on the same playing field. But it is. I mean, there's no question about it. Everybody this season in the AFC has had duds against teams that they shouldn't. I mean, you go back to week one for the Patriots against the Raiders. They had a dud in that game.

And they haven't had as many over the course of the season, but they have had the number one easiest schedule since the Broncos get accused of that all the time. The Patriots are actually the ones that have had the easiest schedule in the NFL. Not everyone gets to play the Jets twice a year. You know what I'm saying? And Brady Cook or whoever they're throwing out there at quarterback. Kendall Hinton is available somewhere. So I think that what the Patriots have done this year, I'm not saying it's not impressive,

but I don't necessarily fear anybody in the AFC. I think the Texans, because they have number one defense clear, like you said, above everybody else, that's that's why you fear that team regardless if you're playing them at home or on the road but also the brand of football the texans play allows for the 18 to 15 comeback wins that's just the way that they play football the chargers got out got down what 14 zero in that game 17 3 in that game and they still only lost by four points in a game where Cameron dicker missed a field goal miss an extra point so that to me is just their brand of football all year long if if anybody out is not beating the brakes off anybody.

It's Houston. And so I'm sitting here saying everybody's on the same playing field. You fear certain players, I think more than anything, you know, than matchups for the Broncos right now. And that's where Josh Allen comes to the forefront for me. He's got seven playoff wins. He's been in all these games. Nobody else in the AFC really has.

Am I right? I mean, who else in the AFC has been in these games besides Josh Allen? And if Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, King Henry, if they sneak in, I know Cody said that the the AFC North is a shiny turd, but I don't want to be facing against Derek Henry in January. So that's the thing. I want the Steelers to win this weekend.

And I think that ultimately the Broncos, regardless of who makes it, they don't have anyone to necessarily fear. They've proven they can beat all types of teams, like I said. But those are the players that I think you fear the most. Derek Henry, Josh Allen. That's where my mindset is at right now.

Yeah, Derek Henry is a machine. dude. I mean, his performance last weekend is just like... Great performance last week, but, yeah, I think, you know, he'll be willing himself to the playoffs if they didn't make it. I could see the Alex Singleton tweets, he'll be fired off when Henry... Who do you think wins? Who do you think wins that game between Baltimore and the Steelers? I think the Steelers, I think they're going to fire Mike Tomlin if they don't make it. No, they didn't fire Mike Tomlin. Another winning season. Same mediocrity that they get by through every single year.

That's how the Steeler West. Wait, that's the most preposterous thing that I've heard. John Fox got fired for less. But John Fox didn't have a lesser career like John Harbaugh or Mike Tomler. So he's not even the same conversation. He went to a Super Bowl, though. He went to a couple of Super Bowls. Yes.

At the face both the Ravens and the bills in the playoffs after last year, getting blown out by those two teams. I mean, that would be interesting. Look, man, here's what I'm going to tell you, as a former safety. right, you will get tired hitting that dude. And I can tell you, I'm not going to call any names out, but not everyone's ready for that contact that Derek Henry is going to bring. I'll just leave it there because I look at what I saw against the Green Bay Packers.

You have no Lamar Jackson. You have to figure in tight situations, the ball is going to go to one person or one person only. And I think Derek Henry had, what, like four rushing touchdowns in that game, something like that, So much so he was a reason I lost, you know, my fantasy, right? Because him, right? I'm screaming at the television. But I'm telling you, man, we all know this. When you get to the postseason, the weather gets cold, you got to have the run game.

When you have a guy of that magnitude, that size who's coming downhill, guys start making business decisions. And I'm telling you, the Broncos are missing Brandon Jones. That's all I'm going to say. I completely agree with you about the Brandon Jones dynamic. can dive into more playoff stuff. We're going to have hopefully knock on wood a buy week where we get to unpack this, hopefully a week from today.

And Broncos clinched the one seat and get the job done against the Chargers, so we can really do some deep matchup dives and all that kind of stuff next week as well. But just a little appetizer because playoffs are upon us. And we know the Broncos are in there. The question is what seat are they going to be and who are they going to play? All of that will be revealed in due time. But before we get out of here. Yeah, shiny turd.

Any closing thoughts, Cody? No, let's just take care of business. And, you know, hopefully we see what the injury outlook looks like this week for Denver. I expect that, I mean, I don't think they'll have Pat Bride back this week. I don't think Drake Greenlaw will be back this week. But you know what? We've seen Stranger Things happen. Let's see if that's the case.

Shout out to Alex Forsyth. He's the subject of our show on Lockdown Broncos tomorrow. I thought he did a hell of a job filling in for Luke Wattenberg, who is out for the playoffs unless the Broncos get to the Super Bowl. So a lot to unpack. Sir? Speaking of Stranger Things, guys, I mean, we get the finale, you know, this week. It's going to be exciting.

I'm looking forward to that. I've seen an episode. That's, you know what? I envy you. You get to watch it for the first time, Cody. You got to. You got to watch it. It's good stuff.

I think that when it comes to this Broncos team, though, I mean, guys, we may have to discuss this a later time, but where does the MVP come into play for, I mean, really anybody in the league this year? I don't know that anybody necessarily has created that sort of distance. Everybody's got an opinion. I would say for my money, I mean, who's more valuable to their team than Bo Nix for the Broncos this year? That's what I'm saying. I mean, in a year where there's nobody throwing 50 touchdown passes, nobody's got, you know, 30 rushing touchdowns or anything like that. I don't know that anybody's been more valuable than number 10 for the Broncos.

So, I mean, hey, maybe we just leave it on that hot take. Okay. Well, I'll say this to answer that. if there's going to be in the conversation about MVP, obviously Drake May has to be in that conversation. But for me, if I had a vote, I'm going to vote for Matthew Stafford. I mean, he leads the league in touchdowns heading into the game last night against the Falcons. He was leading the league, 40 touchdowns, five interceptions.

And I think he might have thrown two touchdowns in the game against the falcons. So that's a guy who has played out of control. And remember, that's the same guy that. that started the season with a back injury, and he's still playing just people away. So that's not actually him. He went into the chamber, man. They switched to somebody else.

The chamber, yes. But that would be my take on that one. But as far as, you know, wrapping things up, the Broncos need to go out there and have a great showing. No matter who's out there, offense, or defense, they need to put their best foot forward. And I'm saying heading into, I guess, halftime, I would love to see the Broncos have a 21-point lead.

I'm not going to say that's going to make me feel comfortable, but I want to see that and just so the players know what they're capable of, 21-point lead heading into halftime. Yeah, I'm with you guys. I think I speak for all three of you where we're expecting a Broncos win. How they get it, we shall see. If they get it, we shall see. But I would be very, very surprised if the Broncos lose this game on Sunday.

All right, that is going to do it for us on today's. Locked-on Broncos Squad Show. Hope you guys enjoyed it on your way out the door. Do us a favor. Hit that like, on smash that subscribe button and all of our audio listeners. We love and appreciate you guys as well.

We will not talk to you until the new year. So happy New Year's from everybody here on the squad show. Hope you guys have a good fun and safe holiday. And I hope for the Broncos bring in the new year with a number one overall seed clinching win over the Los Angeles charges. But for Cody Rourke, Sarah Bedinger, Nick Ferguson. I am Anilo Piro. We'll talk to you guys on a Sunday evening.

hopefully after a dub. Have a good one, folks.