Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - BRONCOS SQUAD SHOW: Denver’s Defense Delivers as Broncos Edge Chargers Despite Ugly Game

Episode Date: October 12, 2026

After a frustrating performance for most of the game, the Broncos managed to pull off a nail-biting win against the Chargers—and we’re breaking it all down on the latest BRONCOS SQUAD SHOW! The offense struggled to find a rhythm, but Denver’s defense and special teams absolutely stepped up, making key plays to keep the Broncos in the game and set up the late surge they needed to escape with the victory. Join Aniello Piro, Cody Roark, Sayre Bedinger and Nick Ferguson as they react to the win, discuss what went wrong, who made the difference in crunch time, and what it means heading into the next matchup. Are there real concerns with the offense, or did the defense prove they can carry this team? We cover all that and more! Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Tempo For a limited time, Tempo is offering my listeners SIXTY PERCENT OFF your first box! Go to http://TempoMeals.com/LOCKEDON60. Quo Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months when you go to http://Quo.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Odoo Great organizations win because operations matter. And that’s why you should get Odoo. Try for free today at https://Odoo.com/lockedon. Butcher Box If you're looking for an easier way to get great meals on the table, give ButcherBox a try. Go to https://ButcherBox.com/LOCKEDONNFL to get $20 off your first box, plus your choice of free ribeye, new york strip, or filet mignon in every box for a year — with free shipping always. Apple You can earn up to 3% unlimited Daily Cash back on every purchase you make with Apple Card using Apple Pay. Apply in the Wallet app on your iPhone today. Subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank, USA. Salt Lake City Branch. Terms and more at apple-card-dot-com. https://learn.applecard.apple/unlimited-daily-cash?cid=apy-318-2000008800000-400000000000039&itscg=2030032&itsct=srvs-crd-P3004756-C3004897&mttnagencyid=c1a&mttnsiteid=133087&mttnpid=LockedOn%20%28Audio%29&mttnsubad=srvs-crd-P3004756-C3004897&mttnsubplmnt=&mttncc=US PrizePicks Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFL and use code LOCKEDONNFL and get $150 if you win your first $5 lineup! KALSHI Today's episode is brought to you by Kalshi. For a limited time, Download Kalshi and use code Locked On to get $25 when you trade $25. Kalshi. Trade what’s next. Gametime Today's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. FanDuel Get three hundred fifty dollars in Bonus Bets — GUARANTEED — when you bet five dollars every day for seven days. Join all the action at https://FANDUEL.COM 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 going to do a Piro, and I want to make one thing clear. It was never a play-calling problem in the first place. Cody, work here. The Broncos offensive issues are multifaceted, and if they don't fix it, it's going to get ugly fast. Sarah Bedinger, I think Ron Burgundy said it best. I'm Nick Ferguson, and I thought we were intended to see somewhat of a spark, but it never really transpired. Let's dive into it on tonight's Locked on. Broncos Squat show. Let's go, 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 Lockdown Broncos squad show right here on your Lockdown Broncos YouTube channel and audio feed. Hope everyone is doing well out there in and around Broncos. Broncos country. Tonight's episode of your locked on Broncos squad show is brought to you by our friends over at Fanduel. Make this your most rewarding season ever with Fandul Rewards Club. Every week, check the Fandul out to see what's waiting for you. Anilo Piro, Cody, Sera Bedinger, Nick Ferguson, hanging out with you guys here on this Sunday night reacting to a win. 2317, your final score for the Denver Broncos in this game over the Los Angeles charges.

Plenty to unpack. And let's kind of start here. Let's bring our behind the season. conversation to the live show of yet another game where about 80, 90% of it was filled with frustration and disgust and like, let's rip our hair out. And then you get to the fourth quarter. Bo Nix does what he needs to do to get the win. The defense played incredible today. And ultimately, the chargers are going to charger when it's all said and done. 2317, your final score. Talk to me, fellas. Hey, look, shout out to the Broncos defense. They brought the heat as, you know, I think specifically in that, that fourth quarter

after things were kind of spiraling a little bit, right? You know, you had to turnover by Bo late in the third quarter. And on the next play, the defense gives up a 42-yard touchdown run. And it almost felt like at that point, like, wow, this whole thing is slipping away, right? Especially considering what we knew coming into this game, the Chargers were down an entire starting offensive line. I've never seen anything like that. I'll be honest with you.

Down their top wide receiver. though they had, I think, Ladd-McConkie dressed just in case of an emergency. But really this one, I mean, it's just compounded by, okay, hey, the defense, they gave the Broncos offense great field position. And fortunately enough, to end the game, the Broncos were able to put together 13 points because of that to ultimately help them win this game. Yeah, it's like Bo Nick said after the game. I mean, without the short fields from the defense, you probably don't win this game.

And that's just the reality, right? And we saw the Chargers nearly bleed off the entire third quarter with one drive from their offense. It was as frustrating as not seeing the offense out there at all was seeing the Chargers out there constantly in the third quarter and kind of just felt like, okay, they're shortening this game. Broncos can't move the ball. This is bad. And then you see that rushing touchdown from Vidal and you're like, all right, well, it's going down like this. Like it's going to be doom and gloom, all that. Will Lutz misses a kick after Marvin Mims finally has a big punt return, which.

I was wondering what the heck was Marvin doing this game? He's fair catching with nobody around him. And then finally he busted one. And it's like, all right, we got a little something going here. Then Lutz, you know, it was like we're filling out the bingo card of all these terrible things that could happen.

But once again, the Broncos, the fourth quarter kids, the comeback kids, they just find a way to come away with a win. And right now you're three and two with the Seahawks on deck. I mean, we're kind of on pace for what we thought it might be. You know, at this point in the season to, figure out, okay, what's this team really made of with a short week against Seattle? Well, I'm going to say the quiet part out loud of this Broncos offense is on life support. So get out your defibrillator because they're going to need some jumper cables on Thursday.

Because when we look at what we've seen thus far, is it not just repetitive of what we've seen since both first year as a Denver Broncos? But we would continue to be told that things are going to change. We're going to hand over the play call into Davis Webb. Things are going to change. Now after four games, we're going to go back to Sean Payton. Things are going to change. But as they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same. And that's exactly what we saw.

And yeah, the defense, man, they deserve a game ball. And hopefully when Coach Payton gave out game balls, hopefully gave a game ball to the most important person in his locker room. And that would be Vance Joseph. Because it's Vance Joseph and the McGuiver defense. I call them because just like the character in the 90s series, they come through when you need them the most. And luckily,

you were playing against a decimated charges team that were playing with a couple of rookie guys at front that we saw some activity, some action. Like Hugh Robinson got into the mix. We saw a lot of guys in or around the quarterback area, something we haven't really seen in a while, like they would get around the quarterback, but somehow he would escape.

but this time they were able to bring the quarterback down. So there's still some problems with this offense. And, I mean, so much to talk about both next to offensive line, Sean Payton. But hey, man, I'll leave it there for right now. There is so much. I could have 26 points. I mean, that's crazy to think about how bad it is and that they could have still had 26. If Lutz made all his kicks, they would have had 26 points.

That's insane. I mean, for the offense to have been as incompetent. and as inefficient and as frustrating and maddening and as disheartening. There was a point in the game in which I was thinking to myself, there's nothing positive to take away from this. Like there's nothing good is happening. I mean, right? Like you guys were in the chat.

Like darkness. It was pure darkness. But this team constantly finds a way to pull us back to the light. And what's so frustrating about it, what's so confusing about it, is that they don't just do it against the now 0 and 5 chargers. They do it against the Rams. They do it against the Jaguars.

They do it against everybody. They do it against it doesn't matter who. They play down to their competition. They play up to their competition. That's why I know we're going to get to Seahawks later on, and we'll talk about that later on. But like, obviously, well, if they play like this, they're going to get absolutely rolled over by the Seahawks.

I don't know, guys. I don't know. because they seem to always find a way. Well, Sarah, are they really truly playing up and down to their opponents? I don't think so because it's the same thing every week for the past two, two and a half years because we watch this offense not run the ball. Now, they get their attempts up so they can say, well, we got to balance attack. Look at the amount of passing attempts to rushing attempts,

but you're not really running the ball with the intent to actually produce high productivity on the ground. You're just running the ball so you can just kind of make sure that all the critics can say, well, the Broncos at least attempted to run the ball because this is not running the ball. I don't know what this is. And if anyone thinks that, and I've heard this before, what, Nick, why are you being so negative? I didn't know one could be negative actually telling the truth about the team in an organization they love. Now, I know that some of these facts are hard for people to swallow, but I'm not going to sit here and lie to you. I'm not going to pacify you. We know what we're seeing.

You can't say that you saw what you saw today and you just really enjoyed it. Yeah, the Broncos got the W. But what if the defense wasn't a top five defense, right? What if this wasn't even a top three defense? Where would this team have been over the past three years? You have to ask yourself because the offense, no matter who is said to be calling the plays, it's not getting better. I will say this, though.

I don't feel like right now they're a top five defense. They certainly haven't been playing like that. They still a lot of buck 55 on the ground today. They gave up some big run. They gave up a really big third and 15 as well, some missed tackers. Like they had some inconsistencies, but you know, here's the thing like the game of football, it's ebbs and flows. Like the one thing I'll say this, right?

Like this Broncos team, we've said it from the onset going back to last year. They are a resilient bunch. And I like the fact that when things get tough, they don't blink. They just go out there and keep grinding because I think very much like after they gave up the 40, two-yard touchdown on. These guys could have easily just quit, hung their heads, walked through the sideline, be like, you know what? All right, shoot, there's going to be another loss.

It's going to be a loss that we should have had. Like, no, the defense went out there and they went back to work. Like, the thing I'll say this, about this 20-26 team is like right now, this team is not playing fully complimentary football, right? The offense certainly isn't playing well. But I will say, down the stretch, they did play complimentary. The defense, they forced a takeaway or a turnover on downs on three straight possessions, the Broncos, they scored points on each of those. That right there is complimentary

football. But I'm talking about in the sense of early on in games where, okay, hey, Denver's first drive, hey, we were just clapping and say, you know what, their first drive to open up, they didn't go three and out. They got three first downs. They still ultimately punted, but hey, progress, right? That's the one thing we want to measure. In five weeks, you're always trying to find the progress. Their second drive, I felt like was great because they go out there and they, Bo Nex finds Evan Ingram. J.K. Dobbins punches it in. It's like. oh, the Broncos are playing with the lead. And then it's just small things, the offense sputtering.

Like this team hasn't figured it out. And that's the thing I think that is the most frustrating is like, hey, okay, they're three and two right now. Offensively, they haven't even played close to as good as they did last year at times. And even last year wasn't great. But they haven't even reached their potential with the guys that they have, the personnel that they have, they keep shooting themselves in the foot. And if they could just find a way, and I made this analogy in my postgame report,

I said it's like the first fast and the furious movie. Yes, we're going there. We're making another analogy here. You know, they have the first initial race, and Brian O'Connor's laughing, he goes, dude, I almost had you. And that's the Chargers, right? Dominic Turto is like, you almost had me?

You never even had your car. That was the Broncos in this game here. And what did Brian O'Connor end up owing Dominic Torretto, a 10 second car? Well, right now the Broncos, and he pulled it up, right? He brings it up. He said, that's not a 10 second car. That looks like a 10-minute car.

Right now the Broncos' offense is a 10-minute car. But what happened? that orange supra eventually became a 10 second car. So hopefully, right, and this is just optimism. Hopefully they can figure it out because right now the offense is the biggest thing holding this team back. But Cody, how many weeks are we going to continue to say that? How many weeks? It's the truth, though.

Even though it is the truth, how many times we're going to say that? Remember when Nathaniel Hackett was a head coach, he would go to the podium and say the same thing over and over again? We didn't cut him in his slot. So how many times are we going to be told, oh, it's going to be. to change. It's about the change. You can't continue to do what you're doing offensively and then go plant your flag and go, okay, this is it. See what we did in the third quarter? So you're telling me in the first three quarters of the game, they couldn't have given Bo Nix a design quarterback run to selling them down. You're telling me they couldn't have moved the pocket like they did. Even Ross Tucker,

who was calling the game, even he said it himself, right? Oh, now they're doing it in the fourth quarter. when it's time for desperation. But he even, he said, you're telling me they couldn't do it for fourth quarter? That's the biggest question. And for me, we can't keep being told the same thing every single week. Oh, it's about to do this. When? When, dog?

I think we're all waiting for that. Broncos countries wait for that same exact thing. But that's the thing. That's what I love about sports, right? There's always hope. even if you have a dog crap team like the cowboys for example like you still have hope Jerry Jones every day wasted because I know I got hope tonight and these cowboys go figure it out but sorry I was taking a shot of a Nilo there love you I got I got one in the chamber don't worry

bro we'll figure it out but yeah that's what I'm saying like the thing with this team and this is what I think is the most enjoyable about him like with them you still always have hope even at times when a large portion three or four quarters it feels hopeless at times, right? But like, you are right. Eventually, rubber's got to meet the road. Eventually, the Broncos offense has to figure it out. Oh, Knicks has to figure it out. The run game has to figure it out. The offensive line has to figure it out. Like, as you mentioned, you could change play callers, but until the execution changes, nothing with the process or the outcome of the results of this unit specifically is going to change. And that right there, I think we can all

objectively say this offense is the reason right now that they're struggling. And even though that's the case they are three and two, which is wild to say, like we were even saying in the off season, this six game stretch, if they could go through and be three and three or four and two at this point, that's a big success. They're one game away from either of those things coming to fruition, but the offense has to figure it out. Plain and simple, I don't know other way to put it. Do you like it? Any of you guys, anyone is on this thread, be real with yourself, right? Do you really like what it is that you're seeing? If you say that you do, I'm going to tell you to take off your orange and blue glasses, right?

And that's not me being a hater. That's me watching this game and breaking it down. Like Cody, before we started, you were talking about the offensive line. Has the offensive line been playing well? More specifically, has the right tackle been playing well? Has the center been playing well? Has the left guard been playing well? If anyone can sit here and tell me, yes, I will shut the hell up.

and I would now say another word from the rest of this episode. But I bet no one can actually tell me that. No, I don't think so at all. I don't think any of those guys have played well. And once again, I have solutions and I have ideas, but I feel like this probably is not the show to share it with Broncos country. I think we have to wait until it gets like if the same issue persists for another two weeks, then I think we bring up maybe some of the perceived changes that we talked about before we went on.

Okay. Yeah, I think it's all valid, right? And I think it's the right thing to do to kind of take a critical look at this Broncos team. Because here's the thing, like, you can't complain about a win, right? I don't think that's what any of us are trying to do. But it's more so like the sustainability of going out there and trying to build towards winning a championship. Like the Broncos have not looked like a championship team collectively body of work-wise, right? There's a lot of improvement for them to have offensively and defensively as well.

I know the defense was great today. And we'll kind of get into some of that spotlight as the show goes along. Doesn't matter if it's an inch or a mile Winning winning I'll say this too To just throw another Fast and Furious reference out there Like you don't want to be like Jesse Right?

And fast one more It's like he's all pumped up And then he you know He's racing for pink slips against What is it? Not DK That's Tokyo drift But you know racing against Johnny Tran

Johnny Tran There you go bro Like you don't want to be like Jesse Right It's like you're building all this confidence Because of your record Then you get smoked When the rubber meets the road

So let's let's hit a break though when we come back, we'll continue along with the conversation, kind of piggybacking off of Nick's thought. I'll ask you guys a question and I want to get the YouTube chat involved here as well. All that more when we come back, Lockdown Bronco Squad Show. Today's episode, Lockdown, Bronco squad show is brought to you by our friends over at Game Day Men's Health. A quiz on your phone and a box at your door isn't exactly a clinic. When it comes to men's health, things like energy, sleep, drive, and how you feel day to day deserve more than just a basic old questionnaire. Game Day Men's Health is a real in-person men's health clinic with more than 430 locations across the United States and Canada.

Men can meet face-to-face with a licensed clinician, get labs drawn in the office, and receive initial results, and as little as 15 minutes. Game Day looks at the full picture, your symptoms, and your lab results before developing a treatment plan. And because they continue testing and evaluating, care can be adjusted over time based on your data. Guys, look, it's easy just to kind of chalk up changes in your energy and sleep and your drive and your most. motivation and even difficulty keeping weight off just to getting older or simply being busy. Having a place focused specifically on men's health can make it easier to actually get those concerns evaluated so that way you have a better understanding of what's going on with you guys. Book your complimentary test and consult with our friends over at Game Day Men's Health at

Gamedaymen'shealth.com. That's Gamedaymen'shealth.com and let them know that Lacton Broncos sent you. Today's episode of your Lacton Broncos squad show is brought to you by our friends over at Pizpics. Football is finally back, and that means Sundays are about to get a whole lot more interesting. Every week brings new matchups, breakout players, big performances, and plenty of storylines to follow. Prize Picks is bringing out its best offer yet for kickoff. New users who sign up can get $150 in lineups if they win their first $5 lineup, and prize picks is now available nationwide. What am I on this season? Look, anytime Bo Nix has the football, in particular late in games,

It's always pretty interesting, but I always want to take a look here. First year of Jaylen Waddle looking at receptions, looking at yards. Our friends over at prize picks are here for you guys. One of my personal favorite features of prize picks is their injury protection policy. Price Picks has your back when other apps don't. Did you know that prize picks invented the injury reboot? If a player in your lineup gets injured in the first half and doesn't return, your lineup can still cash.

The Price Picks, Injury Protection Policy Health Users win over 31 million in the 2012. 26 season. Guys, like I said, the Broncos offense at time can be a mixed bag, right? But we've seen Evan Ingram have a couple of big catches. We're waiting for Jilline Waddle to get going. Quarland Selt we know has been steadying this Broncos offense. And with our friends over at prize picks, you'll be able to keep an eye on their projections with them and see if the numbers match what you expect from them on a week to week basis. Download the prize picks app today and use code locked on NFL to get $150 instantly in lineups if you win your first $5 lineup.

Fix, run your game. Be sure to check out our friends over at Price Fix, guys, and let them know that Lockdown Broncos sent you. Come on back into your Lockdown Broncos squad show. Appreciate everyone tuning in live and listening after the fact as well. You can check us out. You got a Lockdown Broncos YouTube channel, as well as the audio feed, Anilo Piro Cody Work, Seer, Beninger, and Nick Ferguson breaking down and reacting to the Broncos coming from behind victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. And this is where I'm obviously going to get all three of your guys's opinions, but I definitely I'm curious to get the chat's opinion.

And I'll ask you to kind of just try to look at this from a neutral perspective as much as you can, right? Take your Bronco fandom out of it. Like I agree with everything Cody said, right? Like here you are. You're on the doorstep of getting a three and three, which is what I and all of us have talked about should be one of the main objectives, obviously, through these first six games. But if you kind of take a step back and just think about it, do you feel good about this Broncos team? Like collectively, like relative to where we were before the season,

with Super Bowl expectations and Bo and Waddle and offense taking a leap. Because, again, like not trying to complain about a winner, anything like that, but kind of where I started the show, like there's like this sick feeling, I feel like inside of most Broncos fans, like 80% of these games right now. So I guess just to kind of keep it simple in chat, I want to get you guys involved here again. Do you feel good about where the Broncos are at right now? I feel good about where they're at right now record-wise.

I don't feel good about how the offense has been so up and down and how the defense at times has kind of been up. It's been down. There just hasn't been this same consistent feel, right? I think especially with the defense, I think they're really trying to navigate a couple of changes. Obviously, not having PS2. Riley Moss is big.

That didn't matter as much in this game specifically. Thankfully, I thought Chris Abrams-Den did well. But I think they're really struggling without Jonathan Cooper, opposite of Nick Benito. I think they're struggling without JFM here. And for me, I would say specifically, I feel good about the teams being at, you know, three and two right now.

I just don't feel good about how the offense has played. The defense has buckled down over the last handful of weeks compared to what we saw in week one. But there's still so much room for improvement. I think the only thing I feel good about right now is kick coverage, punk coverage, and Jeremy Crosher. I don't feel great about Will Lutz. I'd say those are like the one things I feel good about.

Yeah, you guys know I'm an Iowa Hawkeyes fan. So, I mean, I've dealt with this particular. issue for most of my adult life, right? I mean, the Iowa Hawkeyes have had many good defenses, many great defenses and many terrible offenses that couldn't move the ball whatsoever. And even Iowa's best teams, you would sit there and you'd watch and you'd see them play Ohio State, Penn State, all these other teams, and you would just feel going into these games like, well, like we have an elite defense, one of the best in the nation, but we can't compete with Ohio State. I mean, we can't compete with Penn State. That's kind of where I am with the Broncos right now. It's kind of like

you're dealing with a team that has a great defense, a proven defense, a championship caliber defense. But at the end of the day, is this offense going to hold you back? Like, once again, is this just our identity offensively that we can't do anything? It's going to be uphill sledding to even get, you know, five yards on a first down carry. Or are we going to be able to figure things out as we've seen in the past against Buffalo, against Green Bay, against Dallas. I mean, plenty of instances where we've seen this Broncos offense absolutely explode and do really well and be consistent and be explosive

and have balance and all these things that we want to see now. Are we just, have we just devolved? Have we regressed? Have we gotten too old at certain spots? Are guys not recovering properly from injuries and not just Bo Nix? But, I mean, to the point that we were talking about before the show, like Ben Powers with the Liz Frank that we didn't even find out about until late in the off season. Like, what else are other guys dealing with? There's so many different things right now

that's just like you don't even know where to begin. So you kind of start to accept the reality of, okay, is this how we're going to have to win if we're going to win? It's going to be sloppy offense and hopefully a lot of turnover is forced on defense. Because if that's the case, I know how that script plays out. I know how that story ends. And it always ends with a bowl game. in Florida somewhere that nobody cares about. The beef or Brady Bowl. Yeah, exactly. Listen, man, fans may hate me.

You know, my media mates may hate me. Hell, the team may hate me. But I'm always going to be truthful. We can't settle into, well, this is who this team is. That's not who we are as Broncos country. Now, maybe Cleveland can do that. Arizona can do that. we don't do that here in Denver because that's not part of this standard.

It is Super Bowl of bust. Like Sarah will say, it's 17 and 0 today. And I know obviously right now that's not the goal for the Broncos, but the standard is for me is what I look at, is what I walked into as a player. So I just can't accept this idea that, well, for the next couple of weeks, we have to accept this is who this team is.

This is their identity. man, flip that. No, I'm not, I am not going to do that. Because I know that the players on this team, it's a very talented team. We all sat there and we watched them during training camp. And there's a bunch of ooze and Oz as they were taking shots down the field. They were doing a whole creative things in training camp that we were like, ooh, wow, I can't wait until they kind of wrote that out on the field, right?

It's going to be a track meet. We haven't really seen that. and to use a track metaphor, the Broncos offense, they've already dropped the baton multiple times. So I don't know what it's going to take to get these guys in gear. And with Sean taking over, it was more of the same, man. And as a player, you got to take a deep look in the mirror. Look at yourself and say, well, what is it that I'm not doing?

But more importantly, we know the offense is struggling. You know, Sean is struggling. Hell, we can see both struggling. So as a pass catch and receiver, you got to ask yourself, how can I help him be much better? You can't help him dropping passes in critical moments. You can't help him where if you got a dig route or a deep over route or a comeback route, you're pushing a guy off. No, this team is suffering.

I mean, what were they? They were one for 12. Third downs. That's ridiculous. That's terrible, man. They got to change that. That was disturbing. But that's the thing is, it's a lot of it, right?

It's, it's, you know, SSDD, if you know what that means, right? It's like same stuff, different day, right? I had a great fast and furious quote in reference to the Broncos defense and the offense here today. Like, for example, you know, they escaped the cops, Dav and Brian, and, you know, they get to the house. You know, what's the Buster doing here? The Buster kept me out of handcuffs. The Buster, though, was the Broncos defense here today. kept them out of hand.

Sorry, I was just popping up my head because I know we're in the chat right now. We're having fun. We got nothing about fast and furious quotes going on from Beavis in the chat, man. So I'm just rattling off, man. But that's how it felt. Yeah.

I agree with everything that you guys said. I mean, it's one of 12. I mean, what was an issue for this Broncos offense last season? Third down. Third down was on it. What was an issue for this offense last season?

Penalties. Another issue here. I mean, they do have the same things. I think G. Jay in the chat, he actually made a great point. He said, look, like even last year as they were winning these games and they were going the stretch, there were signs like, hey, all right, this is something you probably got to

keep an eye on here. And here we are. And the emphasis from Sean this off season has been talking about highlighting, hey, we understand, like, things can regress, you know, to the mean here. We got to find a way to not do that. And they talk about fast starts has not happened so far yet, right? And I'm praying, right? usually the Broncos have slow starts in September and kind of pick it up.

Hopefully the offense does pick it up here. But right now. But here's the thing. Here's also the other thing too. I mean, yes, Demer went out and they got Jalen Waddle. But ultimately, the Broncos as a whole, they didn't get much better across the board. Right. Bringing all the same guys back.

And I was one of the ones who said it as well. This off season said, you know what? Like it's an unorthodox approach. Watch it be a genius here for a thing. Right now, everybody. else I feel like around the league, at least through five games, right? And it can change and it can change. I want to preface it by saying that. Everybody else has gotten better where it seems like Denver still has not. They're still stuck in the same rut of some of the issues that they had.

But also at what point do we even talk about maybe the approach changing instead of these long, developing intermediate routes, why not get these quick hitters? Why not get more slants in this office, right? Yes. When? Like that's the one thing I think that can help bone nicks. Sean said it after the game specifically. He mentioned he said, hey, some of these things, like we also have to have better protection early on so his clock doesn't get sped up. I think that's also part of the problem, at least early on here in this season. Look, dude, like you've seen these offensive minds, you know, that are coming up through the ranks that are going out there and making an instant impact with their new teams. And like when we talk about when is it going to change?

I'm not holding my breath for it. Like, I want it to change, right? but like here's this thing like minus one catch like you wouldn't even know that the Broncos had a jail in a while this off seas like seriously like the off it is almost perfectly a carbon copy when it like the eye test wise as to what it was last season and that's troubling right and like i understand like pat bryant wasn't out there but like i don't know man it's just i'm watching these games and i just i get this nauseating feeling it's just it's the same stuff right like it just it looked so similar to last year and obviously last year it was

good enough to get them 14 wins, but it was also a year in which Kansas City was super down and out, right? Kansas City looks a lot better than we all expected. And so that's something to consider. Like, the cream of the crop of the AFC looks really competitive, like, whether it's the Buffalo Bills, I know they beat. I know Jacksonville, you know, they beat them this year too. But point being is, like, I don't know if the Broncos are essentially last year's Broncos, I don't know if that's good enough to get them to the point that they got to last year. And again, this is us just voicing concern. I still believe in this team. I'm not down and out on this team, but it's got of change and that comes down to coach.

And that's the thing is like the offense with this big conversation this week of changing play callers. Like it looked exactly the same. Like none of this stuff looks any different. I think that's the frustrating thing, fellas. But I also think there's this, there's this disconnect where it's like people thought, oh, hey, Sean, take it back play calling. The offense is going to look entirely different.

They're running the same offensive scheme. They're running the same offensive system. True. I mean, the system was never going to change. I think there has to be some changes within the system, right? but at this point, five weeks into the season, are you going to be able to do that? No, not really. Like, your hope is you can make a couple of tweaks along the way.

But, you know, these guys have already been learning so much terminology dating back to the spring. You can't make widespread changes. Anything, you've got to make some personnel changes here. And I think it happens at other positions on the offense before it ever even gets considered with Bo Nix, you know, and I know right now Boe's a very polarizing topic in Broncos country. A lot of the fan base is done with him.

And look, I understand, but I'm not ready to close the door on a QB who in his first two years has shown us a lot versus this five-game slump of where it's like, man, like, and even then it's like I would even say five games is a little generous because I liked what he did against Jacksonville. I really did. I like what he did in the second half against L.A., right? So that's where it's tough. You know, we spend so much of our time here, you know, fans, media, and I would even say maybe organizations alike where we see one. good game. It's like, all right, we need to see it again. We see one bad game and we're ready to close the door, right? It's a weird game to play. It's, but it's backing and building, right? Like, sorry, Nick. It's like you got to stack and build and, you know, grow throughout the course of a season.

I'll make it like a gambling reference, which I know Cody's going to roll his eyes about. But it's like when you're playing blackjack, right? And it's like, okay, you're going to buy in for a hundred bucks or whatever. And it's like, you're down to your last $10 chip. Right. And it's like, okay, you're going to go on a heater and you're going to run it back up to your hundred and make some money that way, right? Like, we haven't seen this. Broncos team like, positivity, they stack wins in bunches at times,

but it's like stack momentum, like see the offense progress, right? Like we understand what the defense is in their floor is pretty high, all things considered, but offensively like they just, you know, they're down to their last, you know,

roll the dice or whatever it might be. And they're able to hit on it, right? Like nothing against them. The one thing you cannot criticize or say anything about the Denver Broncos is they're a resilient team, right? That's in their DNA. That's a great thing.

But when it comes to winning a championship, you want to see them stack some more. momentum offensively and kind of fit the part if that makes sense. Well, using the gambling reference, I don't gamble. I know some people who do. But sometimes people hit big and then they lose big. And they think, okay, well, maybe if I double down, that it gets me back where I need to be and get me back on top.

See, that philosophy never works. And for me, that's what the Broncos are doing right now. I know everyone talks about Coach Payton and being very brilliant as far as play calling. and a lot of things he's done in this league, and he's been sensational. So I'm not trying to water down that. But here's what I would approach it from a coaching standpoint. When you look at a lot of these hot shot coordinators, they got these elaborate schemes, and they got these long, drawn out plays.

I say, well, would it be easy to just simplify? And I know that's kind of a dirty word in the game, because it seems as though if I got to simplify my play call and my offense, that means the players who I'm working with, with they don't have the IQ or the acumen to run the plays. I say to help with that. No one cares how smart you are as a coordinator if your players can't effectively execute. So I think it's time to just kind of, I'll say water down, not dumb down, water down the play

calls, just kind of focus on what it is that this team does well. Figure that out, right, because we don't really know the identity, but focus on that, sit down with Bow and say, well, what do you like to run in these particular situations and build the offense that way. And even if it looks more simplistic to people, we don't care if they can go out there and execute. Yeah, no, you're spot on, no doubt about it. Let's hit a break.

When we come back, let's focus on some positive things. I think there were some really nice takeaways from this game, in particular on the defensive side of the ball, as I have something on my camera. Sorry about that. We'll hit a quick break. We'll come back and do just that right here

on your Lockdown Bronco Squad show. What's going on, everybody? My name is Ross Jackson, Locked on at Saints Podcast. And today's Lockedown episode is brought to by our friends at Basque and Lather. I've been using Bask and Lathers' all natural, 100% organic hair care products for my beard for a couple years now. And it's been a lifesaver because I used to have some bad beard care habits. I'm talking over-the-counter shampoo and the beard type stuff that created this brittle,

scratchy and uncomfortable beard that I just had to wear around all the time. But now the game done change. Thanks to Bask and Lather, I got their beard care starter kit, which gave me shampoo, conditioner, oil balm and their hair growth stimulator formula as well. And now my beard is full. It's soft but strong. And the confidence is on 10. And it's all thanks to Basque and Lather.

Explore viral bestsellers and products of healthier hair of all types from Basque and Lather.com. And use the promo code locked on for 20% off. That's 20% off at Baskin Lather C.O.com. All right, welcome back into your lockdown Brockwood Squad Show. AP Cody, Sarah, and Nick. Well, yes, I'm going to say, Cody. I was going to say too much tuna on white, no crust, my friend.

Cody's in the fast and furious mode. Brother, I am. I'm going to get him out of, but I love it. I am. Once I'm on a roll, man, it's, I'm good to go, you know. No, you're right. Let's talk about some of the bright spots. Obviously, I think the defense stole the show today when it comes to good things that we

saw collectively across the board. Nick Benito, welcome to the season, right? I thought Nick Panito really got after Justin Herbert today. And also a guy that, you know, has received a ton of flack from Broncos country, Jade Barron. You know, I think in his sample size going back to last week and obviously the full game sample size here today, starting to click a little bit. Like, you see why they use the first round pick on this kid? Let's start with Jade just because I feel like a lot of the conversation around him since he's been to Bronco has been critical and negative.

He made some nice plays out there today, fellas. Yeah, he did. I always felt like the flack on Jada. I always felt like was a little bit of a reach in a lot of instances, right? They're like, oh, he's a first round pick. He should be starting. Look, I understand the optics of that. But considering where Denver was at with Riley with PS2 with J-Quant, it's like, no, like,

that's a unique situation. That's, it's different. It's an outlier compared to like other situations there. So, I mean, I really enjoyed what we've seen from Janath. Here's the thing I really like about him, too. I feel like he reacts on the ball quickly. And I always felt like, too, like I was a little concerned. And I kind of questioned it.

It's like, can he play outside cornerback? I feel like he can. I feel like he's got good reaction skills. He T steps very quickly, breaks at 45 degrees, I think at the necessary level. But the thing I love about him, man, he's physical. Like there was a run where Justin Herbert was running to the left side. And I think it was where he was actually short, right? And they made it fourth and one.

They went for it. He's like, you know what? If Herbert's going to go low, I'm going to go low. I'm going to make sure he feels it, right? I'm going to hit him. He's not just going to get a free run to try to extend to get the first. I love that about Jada. Yeah, I think the whole discourse with him has always been about, well, should the Broncos have used a first round pick on a corner when they had their starting lineup entirely set, right?

So you understand, oh, well, I get it. Yeah, he was not supposed to be available. He may be the best corner in this draft class. And yeah, that's a premium position that the Broncos really value in their organization and things like that. And he's got all the qualities that they look for in a player and Vince Joseph's cousin or whatever it is on the Texas. coaching staff and yada yada yada but i think the discourse has always been like well the broncos didn't need him they needed somebody else in that end they needed schwessinger the guy for cleveland to play linebacker for him but now that you get him see a chance or see a chance

of him out there actually playing right you're starting to wonder why was he not competing with riley moss for a starting job like he looks like a legitimate starter he looks great out there he's playing physical. What did he do in this game against the Chargers that Riley Moss has not done this season? Make a freaking open field tackle. And that is a huge problem this year for the Broncos defense, open field tackling. Riley has had a problem with it. Others have had problems with it.

So I just think not to be complaining this whole show and not to even turn a positive into a complaint, but I think you see Jaude playing like this and you start to wonder, well, why wasn't he considered for snaps sooner than this. Why did it take an injury for him to get on the field? And then you start to go back and start to think, hey, why was there not any starting jobs really available at all during training camp? And is that something that can help us sort of diagnose what's going on with this team? A bunch of guys who had their jobs handed to them for lack of better term,

no competition, no high draft picks coming in, no starting jobs up for grabs. And all of a sudden now we're wondering, well, Why does this team lack fire? Why does this team lack passion? Why is this team having to come back when the talent has seemingly only gotten better, if not stayed at least the same? I think it can be traced back, at least in some ways, to the fact that there was no competition this entire offseason for anything in Denver.

Well, I'll say this about- Except long snapper. Well, yeah, that's the only thing. But with Jardé, it's hard to get on the field. And when you're thrust in that environment, when you got two better, guys and say whatever you want to say about Riley Moss. He's a guy that's kind of made some plays. He's a guy who's had

some plays made against him. That's life living on the island playing corner in the NFL. And Jadie Barron, the biggest thing problem I saw with him dating back to even training camp, it was confidence. When you come out of college and you come out of a program like Texas

where they have a lot of dogs, I mean, they got a lot of guys who are in the league right now. And that program was built over competition. And then you get to the league and you realize that, you know what, I got to take my game up to a whole different level. And when you're not getting those reps to really prove it to yourself, you lose a lot of your confidence. And I think, remember, let me go back for a second. We watched Jadae get that interception. Remember, Kareen Reed, tip ball against Atlanta, it was a pick six. That helped Jadae to

stabilize his mental to say, you know what? Help, man, I can't play in this league because when you're not getting those reps, People are constantly talking about you about, well, you're a former first rounder, you can't break the lineup. It's hard to do when they got dues in front of you. And sometimes the Lord works in mysterious ways, an individual gets injured.

You get your opportunity. The reason why I say that, guys, that happened to me, right? I was just a reserve player. You know, I could play strong. I could play free. You can play every special teams. But it was just hard to crack the lineup. someone got injured, I put my foot in the door, and I never gave it back.

And watching Jadee get these opportunities along with Chris Abrams drains, it is only going to help the Broncos because they're going to have to make a decision. Riley Moss, Brandon Jones, and Jaquahm McMillan. If these two guys, you know, Chris Abrams drain and Jada continues to build and that confidence turns in production, and the Broncos are going to say, well, you know what, guys, if you want to leave to pursue other opportunities because they want to give you other money, we cool.

We are all right, dog. But I want to see these guys continue to play. And both of those guys are going to get a hell of a test on Thursday night when Seattle rose into Empire Field. Let's do a straw poll here real quick. And obviously, chat, feel free to get involved. Out of three players that are up for contracts here, Brandon Jones, J-Quan, Macmill, Riley Moss.

You've got to pay two of them. Who are the two guys you're paying? Sarah, let's start with you. Brandon Jones and J-Quain Macmillan. I mean, it would have been Riley Moss, you know, two months ago with the camp that he was having and the hype that he was building. But, I mean, Brandon Jones and J-Quon-McMillan have simply been the most consistent players out of those three. And now you see even in a small sample, Jadae playing well, I mean, you invested a first-round picking the guy. You've got to let him play.

And you've got to trust him. Like, we're seeing a great conversation happening in the chat about drafting a guy high. He wins a Jim Thorpe Award. like you got to trust that guy to come and play for you and that is a problem that this coaching staff has is I know they haven't had a ton of high draft picks but like there is a huge disconnect between the guys that they're drafting high and who's being trusted early on versus the guys that are like you know the devon valets and now the Jonah Coleman's that are getting drafted late and they're there all of a sudden like just winning the favor of the coaching staff for you know reasons that's y or it's a weird thing.

It's a weird thing like, oh, well, we have to get Devon Valet on the field. Absolutely. Seventh round pick who nobody knew who he was when the Broncos picked him. And if anybody in the chat says they knew who he was, you're either a Utah fan or you're lying. You did not know who Devon Valet was going into the draft. And so he's out there on the field. And yeah, he made some plays. But it's like, why is it so non-negotiable for him to get on the field versus somebody like Troy Franklin,

who's actually going to be on this team? And I understand you've got to make plays with the opportunities you're given, et cetera, et cetera. But it's the same like rookie doghouse that we see some guys in and other guys not. Like, Audric Estime probably could have helped last year's team a lot down the stretch. And they cut him for really no reason other than Sean wanted to keep his guy, Jalil McLaughlin, who by the way, he's no longer with the team. So I just think this idea of continuity, not having competition, needing guys who are hungry to be out there playing for this team and fighting for this team.

That's what the 2024 and 2025 teams had for the Denver Broncos. Those guys were hungry. Those guys were hungry to bring, first of all, a playoff appearance back to the city of Denver and the franchise, to the ownership to say, hey, we can do this. Like, we're good enough to make it. And then the 25 team, they're saying like, hey, we don't want to just make the playoffs. We want to prove that we could take the freaking AFC West. I know the chiefs had a down year, but that has a. nothing to do with the Broncos.

Like they won 14 games and they were hungry to prove that. What is this year's team doing? They're acting like they had the AFC stripped away from them because of Bo Nix's injury. That's how they're playing right now, just specifically offensively. So that's my frustration is like you've got to light that fire somehow and you brought in the good vibes with Jalen Waddle, but you didn't bring any competition for this team on either side of the ball. Nick, where do you go?

If you had between those three guys, you've got to bring back two, where are you going? Hey, man, I'm going J-Mack and Jones. I love the combination because as we've been seeing over the past couple of years, regardless of the hype and how this league builds up quarterback, so you can't do anything without defense. And the ability to stop people, force turnovers, get the ball back to the offense. To me, I'm all about that.

So those would be the two guys you definitely would have to bring back. I don't think I have much more to add to that, truly. I think you guys nailed it. And I like Riley Moss. Like I do. I understand he's another controversial player. I guess you could put it in Broncos country. Like some people like them.

Feels like the majority is kind of down on Riley as a whole. But I think we've been high on J. Mack for a long time. And obviously I think Brandon Jones has been, like you don't hear a lot about Brandon Jones. He's a quiet guy. But that guy goes out there and makes plays, man. Yeah, he does. When you have Jod A. Barron, right at the end of the day, like one of these cornerbacks is going to have to be expendable. And I think it'd be right.

You also have Chris Abrams drain still, too. You still have two of these guys right in the mix. I'm also very curious, too, like obviously, one of the bigger losses of today's game was Taleno Hu Fonga leaving with an injury. Yeah, that's a big. Hopefully he's going to be okay. Maybe, you know, my hope is that, you know, maybe they rule them out because, hey, it's a short week.

You got Thursday night. But, I mean, right now you probably wouldn't expect to have him. So it means Devin Kee probably getting a start alongside B. Jones. And then they might have to change up what they do in the dime. Because today, in the dime, because Riley and Pat were out, it wasn't as judey, it was Devin Key playing in the dime. So once again, your personnel gets impacted. When you have to have Devin Key probably start for you on defense,

then that takes away one of your better special teams players from being able to go out there and impact the special teams department. But J.L. Skinner, Tyson, Anderson, those guys, man, those guys have been playing so damn well on special teams. You know, it doesn't get talked about enough. But as Darien said, maybe it is a little bit more of, you know, Taylor Rap. Maybe Taylor Rap will get a call up this week and we'll see. But, man, anyways, Sundays.

A win is a win. You know, it's good. But yes, and I like that we could talk like, that's a thing too. It's like, you know, yes, we talk about the wins and we talk about, you know, this, that and the other where they can get better. It's like you have to be able to have conversations on both things. Yes, talk about the good. Talk about the wins. Talk about where they struggled, though.

Because if this was a loss, we would be focusing primarily on everything that went bad. I think it's healthy whether you win or lose to talk about, okay, what went well, what didn't. what didn't go well. What are your action items to address that? Because we could sit here all day. I mean, it's a common practice for a bit. We could sit, ah, bench this guy, fire this guy, move on from this guy. That doesn't solve anything. Like what can you actually do right now? And the Broncos have to ask themselves that on a short week where you're not going to have a lot of time. Well, I mean, they're having the same conversations that we're having. And they've been having them for a while. And it's not that we're having conversations that only highlighting the negative, but if the negatives were only brief, coincidental, every so often, they would not be a big issue.

But these are the same things that are showing up game after game, week after week. So at some point, you have to look at what you are not doing well and then ask yourself, well, why are we not doing well? I mean, is it that we don't have the players to execute what we're trying to run? And if that's the case, you need to change your system, right? I know how crazy that sounds because most teams try to do it during somewhat the by week. I mean, then we see a Broncos officer coordinator change somewhat over their offense in the by week for Tim Tebow, right? So this is what you get paid for.

This is why you spend so many hours looking at what your team has not excelled at. You say, okay, well, we can't do this. For whatever reason, we've tried, we can't. So let's just take that, crawl it up, scrap it, and do something else. But bumping your head against the wall thinking, hey, listen, we've tried this 16 times, but maybe on the 17th time we're going to get it, I'm going to say no. This team is still a very talented team. They still have to find their identity, so they've got to do some inner soul searching to figure this out,

but it goes back to the head coach. what are you going to get out of this team? Some things you're trying to do that you haven't been successful, don't do that, man. Let's look at what Bo does. Let's even look at the offensive line. If you have McGlitchie, Wattonberg, or even, you know, Ben Powers,

struggling to do certain things, well, let's not put them in those situations. Let's put them in an advantageous position so they can actually succeed. That advantageous position might be the bench. because, bro, like Mike McGlinchie, here's the thing, I love Mike McGlinchie as a human being. I think he's a great leader, but he has struggled this year. And look, the thing about Mike that I'll applaud is even when things are bad, he will always talk.

Like he will always talk. Some guys never want to talk. He'll always talk and he'll be reflective. And he's very honest. He's very self-accountable. But at this point, when do we have that conversation that, hey, like the Broncos have an issue at right tackle. They have a center issue and they have a left guard issue. The only thing you could do at this point is at this juncture, you might have to make changes, right? I imagine,

I would say after this year, I think there's going to be several, several changes across the offensive line here. But there was one drive in particular on this game. I think it was Denver's third offensive drive, if I'm not mistaken. They try to run a screenplay. Mike McGlunchie can't block his guy, can't stop him from getting into the running back, and the running back loses five. Now it's second and 15. Then he has a false start. Like on the same exact thing, he accounted for minus 10 yards on one specific drive. And it's just there's far too many times he's getting bowled over. You know, on the quarterback sneak that Bo Nix is trying to pick up the first down,

Quinn Miners does a great job getting push. But then Luke Wattonberg, on a QB sneak, your center should never be getting pushed backwards. Like that to me is like, gosh, man. Like these guys just got to get to work. And look, they know it. They know it. Like, look, we got to point it out. It's a talk of point.

And look, there's things that maybe we don't know. Like, I'm not going to. I'm not going to ever sit here and pretend. I know the call that the Broncos are running where they're supposed to go, what the read and the progression is because that stuff is stuff that I do not know, right? And I'm not going to pretend to, but it's the execution. It's what we see. And right now the offensive line has too many issues where they're not consistently executing

where there's one deficiency here, there, or somewhere else. And that right there has to get going. I'm with you. All right. Let's hit our final break. When we come back, we'll put a bow on the show. A couple of closing thoughts here from this game. as the Broncos get their third win of the year.

All that more, we come back right here on your locked on Broncos squad show. Today's episode of your lockdown Broncos Squacho is brought to you by our friends over at Fanduel. Welcome to your most rewarding NFL season ever only on Fanduel. How rewarding are we talking? More rewarding than a touchdown with time expiring. More rewarding than an 18-point comeback. Maybe even more rewarding than an offensive lineman catching a touchdown. This season, Fandul is making the excitement go beyond.

what happens on the field with the all new fan dual rewards club featuring exclusive offers, surprises, and more. Every week, check the FanDual app to see what's waiting for you guys. I'm an active fan dual user. It is my personal favorite sports book out there. College football Saturdays are awesome, but NFL Sundays are the best because I open up the app. I'm getting with the rewards club. I get like a profit boost.

Sometimes I get a no sweat bet, a refund token, right? There's so many different options with the brand new fan dual rewards club, which just really enhances is your sports wagering experience any given Sunday. So make sure to check them out, guys. And make this your most rewarding season ever with Van Duel. All you got to do, visit Fanduel.com to get started and let them know that Lacton Barranco's sent you. All right, winding down here on your Lockedon Broncos Squad show, really, really appreciate everyone

tuning in as always. Everyone in the live YouTube chat, you guys are the best or audio listeners. You guys are awesome as well as everyone that watches after the fact on the YouTube channel. We would not be here without you guys. so we appreciate that big time. I think we've covered most of our bases, right? And I think obviously the Chargers are just a mess.

Like, my goodness. Like, that is shocking to me. Like, I know we like to, like, you know, rain on the Chargers parade and we love it when the division opponents struggle and all that kind of stuff. But this is, like, crazy for them. I don't know if you guys saw Harbaugh's answer after the game where he's like, what's the message?

And he's like, I don't know. There is no message or whatever. I mean, it is, you know, As frustrated as we could be with the Broncos sometimes, at least you're not a Charger fan, all 12 of them out there. So it is what it is, man. Let's hone in. I don't know if everyone's picked up on this.

I saw it after the game, though. Sean Payton. What, Cody? I'm saying you firing Zingers at Chargers Nation. They're going to come after you, man. It's brutal. I feel bad for him. I do.

I feel bad for it. You know, you can't detail a car with the cover on. That's right. That's right. It's a great time for the Chargers to get their first win, though. we can flip right around and be fans of the Chargers, you know, because they play Kansas City this coming weekend. So great time for their first win.

I mean, like just like with the Broncos, hey, you don't want to be the first team to lose to the Chargers because they're going to get a win at some point. They're going to get on the board at some point. Why not this week against the Chiefs? You know what I'm saying? So I'm not holding my breath, but you never know. Broncos country ran up in that trap and took over the trap.

They did. They did. Harbaugh might be coaching in Michigan. you know, by the time to get to the next year with how this is going. Oregon might need a new coach as well, Coe. What's going on with the ducks? That day to be a duck. Herbert,

Hey, Beau. Saturday? Oh, man, I almost texted you, but. I don't know what's bad about being a duck. I mean, it's still better than a two and three CU buffs that have no hope at all. And guess what? You can't get out of the D-on contract. Oh, yeah, who's you got to get the dog?

She's like, got out to get here on Travis. Travis Hunter's ball out, by the way. Travis is balling. Now, we'll say. Hey, come on, Cody. Don't move your pivot. FD foot, man. Don't move your pivot foot.

We're talking about Oregon. You're talking about a good. Bro, that was a disappointing loss, man. Ducks don't got the juice this year. At least I can admit it. Ruh, Ruh. CU fans think they're going to the Natty every year.

It's not C you fans. I'll say, it's the prime fans. It's Prime fans. I actually, I have respect for C.U fans. It's the prime fans that I don't really care too much to interact with

because they're crazy, dude. Bad days for the gut. Yeah. Hey, they got their only sports, man. Bama, Lane Kiffin lost yesterday. What was the other big one?

Texas. I mean, Oh, Arch Manning, two, I and T. What if Arch Manning's name wasn't, his last name wasn't Manning,

like this dude's like a fourth round pick at best. It's crazy. He's going to have to stay another year of Texas for sure. No doubt. No doubt. I wish so. I wish like, I mean, the charges are doing a great job, but they want Jeremiah Smith. They're in line to get him right now.

That dude is a freaking cheat code. I would trade my right nut and my kidney to be able to get a player like Jeremiah Smith, man. I would. What I said about Marvin Harrison, Jr., bro? I never said that. We'd be sitting on here doing a squad show wondering why the Broncos don't give Jeremiah Smith more targets. That is so true That is so true

And I'd be without a kidney You'll be on dialysis, right? You'll be with Game Day men's health, bro They've got to be helping you out if that's the case Hey man, might as well, shoot Sean Peyton's post game comments on Bo He used a comparison from the TV show The Bear, he wants Bo to let it rip, right?

And I think that's been one of the main criticisms of Bo is like a lot of checkdowns, right? Like maybe like not looking through his progressions, missing open receivers. And so I like that from China. It wasn't like in a distasteful way or anything like that, right? Like the quote before he said, let it rip was, you know, we drafted you like you were the guy, right? We want you here. Like there's still a full belief in Bo, right?

But I think that's the big thing, man, is we understand just how important the quarterback position is. And Sarah, you talked about it being an Iowa Hawkeye fan. Like you need consistency on offense to comp to complement your defense. And the reality situation is like you're going to need competency at the quarterback position. And the Broncos have had competency late in games. The body of work, it hasn't necessarily been there. And so that's the, I think the one thing, right, is you're looking for this Broncos offense.

Like I don't need them to go out there and hang, you know, 35 points in a game or anything like that. But like look dangerous, right? Like, I don't think we've ever really felt like the Broncos offense has looked dangerous this year. They made some big plays in big moments, no doubt about it. But when I hear Sean say we want them to rip it and this and that, I don't know if it's confidence. I don't know if it's the ankle. I don't know if it's a looming contract, whatever it might be. Bo has to play with a little bit more sauce and get out there and just deliver some strikes down the field, man, no doubt about it. I just think it's a confidence

thing for him. It's very clear when he's got opportunities to run. I mean, I think there's the mental aspect of the ankle. I think it's very, like you watch him. There's some lanes that certainly open up. It's like, hey, if he just takes it and runs, he's going to get a first down, right like he's far too hesitant um and as darian kind of mentioned like he he's kind of gun shy like he has been at least for like the last two weeks i'd say he's been gun shy and i don't know if he's being over coach right because you know he's chucking balls downfield against the jaguars on the run like looking good the rams he's chucking balls down field a little recklessly right where you know your wide receivers turn into defenders and then you don't

even pull the trigger against the 49ers on maybe some things that you should have done it up for right And in this game, it was almost a little bit of the same, but it's like, all right, well, how do you do that? How do you get that clock to slow down in this head? I think early on, instead of the, hey, let's let the 15 yard deep in start to develop here. Why not slant? Why not quick hitch, right? Get the quick hitters going where you have a chance to just play backyard football with Bo Nix and Cortland Sutton.

Cortland Keynes the size to box out, guys. You can do that with Evan Ingram. Snag concepts where you sit and show the quarterback your numbers. you get six to seven yards. Then that changes the menu a little bit. I just think that right now the offense, a lot of the times it's the longer developing place. And right now, Bo, until the Broncos start running the ball,

defense is going to drop seven guys back. Like, you and I both know this as defensive backs. Like until there's a threat of a run, they're not going to respect the Broncos offense. And that's the problem right now. You can drop seven guys back into coverage. And what do we see the Broncos typically do? They run two to three man route concepts against seven guys in

coverage and a checkdown option with the tailback. I mean, it's not adding up. Like, it's not, the pieces aren't fitting into it. And Bo certainly, he's in a slump. Like, that's the thing. He's in a slump right now. And he's got to find a way to shake it because his confidence. I've never seen Bo look less confident ever in his playing career than I did today.

And every team keeps giving them cover two. And the way that you get a team out of cover two is you run the ball. I mean, it's as elementary as that. But when you can't run them out of cover two, it makes things very difficult. And Cody, I'm glad you pointed that out because I try to tell fans, when you look at the route distribution, I mean, you're not getting that many receivers out in coverage. And then the idea is that if you know they're sitting in cover two and it's going to take your players, your wide receivers or skill players, longer routes to get down there to even threaten those guys,

well, let's change it up. There's a multitude of different ways to attack cover two, but we're not seeing the Broncos and Sean Payton actually go to it. Like the route to Evan Ingram, that's the first time I've seen somewhat of a switch route downfield like that. And I was like, yeah, that's what you want to do. You want to give a little more creativity in that particular way, but give Bo more options instead of, hey, here's a two-man route.

And if this guy's open, this is where you go. If he's not open, guess where you have to go? Check down. That's not helping him. That's not building his confidence. No, it's not. And it's unfortunate to see because I think that's the mojo that's missing, right? That is the one thing that's missing is Bo Nix's magic.

You know, when Bo Nix is making plays, like we've talked about the Jaguars game, the Rams game, second half of those games, when he's making plays out there, the offense is firing. And when he's not making plays, it's just, Nothing is working. Nothing is happening. And so I think we can talk all we want about, well, the Broncos need to toe up and just run the ball. Well, they ran the ball 29 times in this game. And it, I mean, well, it was 3.6 or 3.8 yards per carry for the entire game. That's not enough.

And so it's not just about volume in the running game. You need your quarterback out there to make plates. Like you need Bo Nix to be the guy. Remember the run that he had against Houston? I know it was late in the game. Yeah. But where's that guy? Where is that dude?

I agree. Like I don't see him out there. He can say all he wants that he's, his ankle is fine, that everything is fine. It's not fine. I'm not saying that he's, I'm not saying he's hurt.

We're not seeing him necessarily limp out there. But what I am saying is that that dude that ended the game against Houston by running the ball against the best pass rush in the NFL and the best defense in the NFL and just sprinting down the left side of the field for a huge gain to set up a game winning field goal. That guy hasn't been on the field. for the Denver Broncos yet this season. No, no.

Before we get out of here, I got a quick question for you guys. Just, just, you respond to it really quickly. You just think about it for next time. When the Broncos lost to Buffalo and Boe's first year, remember what we learned after the fact that Boe had a broken bone, essentially in his back that no one knew? Do you think at the end of this season, we're going to get something else like that with Bo that,

hey, something was wrong with him, that they never told us that I'm not going to say it justified, but it validates what we're not seeing from him now, opposed to what we saw from him last season. I don't know. I don't know if he's dealing with anything else. I know, like, when they fly, like he deals with swelling. But any time you have, like, a surgical procedure and you fly, like, you are going to have where you feel like you swell. Like, that's normal. It happens to me still to this day with my knee.

But I think it's more mental. Like, you know, for me, like, luckily, I got a master's degree in sports psychology here. Well, my whole thought process on it is like, I think that there is this mental block in front of Bo that simply as he's going out there, he's got a lot of noise, right? A lot of noise not only internally, but also from the coaches. Don't make a mistake. Pull the trigger. It's like, do this, do this, do this. Don't do this.

Don't do this. Like, how do you calm down the noise in Bow's head? I think that's the number one thing the Broncos have to try to figure out right there. And look, yes, Boe's going to have to. to obviously do some work, but the organization also has to do a really good job of trying to piece things together. How do you make it a little more clear? How do you remove the voices a little bit? That's one of the biggest parts about sports psychology, just with anybody. Like, we talk about it from the sports side because when you talk about the mental anguish and like the things you're

dealing with from a psychological standpoint, that can impact the physical performance. Same thing in life. If your mental is not where it needs to be, it impacts your physical, your ability to do things in other areas of your life. Like that's, there's a process. And he's got a, find that. Yeah, man, I think, I think it's a little early, but I kind of agree with Cody, right? I think there's some lingering, I don't know, man, like whatever it is with the ankle. Like, he just doesn't look comfortable, right? I think that's the biggest thing you see.

He does not look comfortable. So we'll see if Bo can look a little bit more comfortable and hopefully play a little bit better here on a short week with the Seattle Seahawks coming to town. Oh my gosh. The show we do on Tuesday is going to be. an interest loan we kind of preview that matchup here a little bit but uh that's that at the end of the day it is a 23 to 17 victory for the denver broncos over the chargers they get to three and two on the year and away we go for cody work sarah bedinger and nick ferguson i'm anilo piero thank you guys so

so so much for tuning in as always and we'll talk to you guys later this week peace out y'all