Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - BRONCOS SQUAD SHOW: How Do The Broncos Stack Up Against Other AFC Contenders?

Episode Date: May 26, 2026

The Denver Broncos are fresh off a 14-win season that saw them in the AFC Championship game. If it weren't for Bo Nix getting hurt in the divisional round, the Broncos very well could have faced the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl. Last year is over and done with, where do the Broncos stack up against the rest of the AFC heading into 2026? Join Aniello Piro, Cody Roark, Sayre Bedinger and Nick Ferguson as they break down the latest news and notes in the world of Broncos Football. Everydayer Club If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Square If you’re starting a business, or running one that deserves better tools, Square helps you sell, manage, and grow without slowing down. Right now, you can get up to $200 off Square hardware at https://square.com/go/LockedOnNFL. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now new customers can bet just five dollars and get one-hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started — Play Your Game. Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast. Gametime Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Rugiet Get 15% off your treatment → https://rugiet.com/lockedonnhl Rugiet. Performance medicine for men. 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 look, we all believe that the Denver Broncos are one of the best teams in the AFC. But the question is, are they the best team in the AFC? I'm Sarah Bredinger. I think the path to the top of the AFC this year is going to be the hardest that it's ever been and it has nothing to do with the Broncos schedule. I'm Nick Ferguson. Great seasons from the Broncos last year statistically and record wise. Can they duplicate that? I'm not sure.

Let's go ahead and break it all down on today's. is Lacton 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 Lockdown 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 Locktime Broncos YouTube channel and audio feed. to Neil Appiro, Sarah Bedinger and Nick Ferguson hanging out with you guys on this Tuesday that feels like a Monday after Memorial Day weekend. So hope everyone had a good holiday weekend. And of course, we're here talking Denver Broncos football. And Sarah, you made an interesting point.

It appears that we are in the dead middle, the dead center of the off period for the Denver Broncos. Yeah, I can't remember where I heard it. It might have been from our guy Ben over at Sports Talk, Denver. but the point was that we're 15 weeks removed from the Super Bowl and 15 weeks away from week one of the NFL season. So I guess we're on the back nine at the very least, you know, at this point. But man, it just feels like even though we're in the dog days of the off season, like the Broncos, they have OTA starting up next week.

I mean, it'll be here before we know it, right? I mean, it's, yes, it's the very smack in the middle of the off season. But there's plenty of football to be discussed. Yeah, and it's interesting, right? Because, like, a lot of the moves have been made. Like, obviously, the draft is come and gone. The free agency is come and gone as well. You know, maybe there's an outlier move down the line here for the Broncos

or just some of these other teams in general. But, like, now is when I feel like we kind of get into forecast season, right? It's like, we'll get to OTAs. We'll get some vibe checks from that. We'll get the training camp. We'll get some vibe checks from that. For the most part, Nick, like, the puzzle is pretty much put together when it comes to how the Broncos wanted to address their off season.

I know there's the term run-in-back Broncos, which we've talked about on this show. So like it is a lot of more of the same of what we saw from this Denver Broncos team last year, which frankly was good enough for 14 wins. And we'll kind of dive into where the Broncos stack up against other teams of the AFC throughout the course of the program. But I think kind of as we sit here, you know, making the turn, as Sarah kind of alluded to, about 15 weeks away from week one, we know what the identity of this Denver Broncos team is going to be. And it seems pretty similar from a personnel standpoint.

I think where it could be different is obviously the offense with the play calling Davis Webb, among some other things. Well, I wouldn't say that we know exactly what this identity of this team will be. We know one aspect of it from a defensive side, the offensive side, we don't know. We have no idea. We know that Davis Webb is going to be assuming the play calling duties. We are very optimistic as far as what the offense can and should look like with the addition of Jalen Water. But we don't know as of yet.

And also, we know that Bo Nex is not going to participate in these. mini camps in OTAs. We probably not going to really see him in full participation until a training camp. And even then, he's going to be someone on the pitch count. I mean, not just in practice, but in the games as well. So we're not really going to know exactly what this team or who this team is from an offensive standpoint, probably until week one on the road in Kansas City on Monday night football, but it's going to lead to a lot of speculations on so many people apart. We're going to go and watch OTAs and mini camps and training cam and try to break down which guy on offense, you know, statistically and reach certain heights, which guy is going to fall off,

what this offense is going to look like. But once again, to me, it's a bunch of mystery meat and we get a chance to kind of try to figure this out and have our own takes on it. Mystery meat is a great. That's a great one. I like that. I don't know. I don't like mystery meat.

I always hated that. I always skipped that when they had that at school. lunch. I'm like mystery meat. I don't even know what the heck. What is that black olives in there? Like, what is going on with mystery meat? I will say, guys, you know, in the, since we brought up Bo Nix's name, I just remembered too, my wife doesn't really care about the Broncos. I mean, she does, but she doesn't. She cares about, she follows like the wives, you know, my wife is interested in that stuff. So I was, you know, over her shoulder last night. I see it. She's like, hey, did you know, Bo Nix is on vacation with the other quarterbacks.

And I was like, yeah, I did hear about that. And she was showing me the picture that I've seen going around of Bo, Jared Stidham, Sam Ellinger and their wives, like on a beach somewhere. And I was like, yeah, you can't see his ankle in that picture. And she's like, well, you can see it in this one. And she goes to the next picture in the story. And sure enough, there's nothing on Bo Nix's ankle right now, people. So sometimes you need to have like the TMZ voice, you know, around just so you know,

hey, what's going on with Bo Nix right now? He seems pretty unbothered. I mean, as far as like there's worry and concern, I think, from a lot of fans or some fans anyway about, is he going to be able to participate in OTAs? Like, is he okay? What's he looking like after the operation that he just had? I mean, he's, he ain't wearing anything on the ankle on vacation. He's standing up on both feet on vacation.

So I would guess that he's probably okay. I think that means he's going to be a full participant at OTAs, obviously. but definitely good to see that like, you know, if a guy's standing on a beach somewhere and there's questions about his future with the team or, you know, what have you, or if there's questions about his availability this off season, at least it's good too much. You know, Bo himself seems to be operating at a very high level of confidence in all aspects of life.

Yeah, I think it's definitely important. And here's kind of what I would say about the Bo Nix conversation, right? As long as Bo Nix is out there for the start of training, camp, I think all as well. Right. Like it's if we get like there's no more margin for error. And when I say error, like not anything on his end necessarily, but like we're at the point where like he can't miss any more time without it becoming a concern. Like that's kind of where we're at. Like if Bowdo Nix isn't out there for the first few days, first week or so of training camp, that's when the concerns are going to start to arise, at least from the fan base for

sure. And I agree with you. So like the fact that we're seeing him like look cool, common collected. I mean, you're talking about the biggest season of his career, not just from a competitive standpoint, but also financial standpoint. point knowing what kind of contract he's going to be able to get if he's able to match, if not exceed what he was able to do last year. So I think I'm trying to treat the whole Bo Nick's thing as a non-story as much as I can. Obviously, I know it's going to be his story because of who he is and the position he plays, Nick.

But all indications are that Bo's going to be okay. And we're talking about the Broncos's contenders and one of the best teams in the AFC. There's no way the Broncos live up to that expectation without it. No, they don't. And I'll say this. Did Sarah Beniger just break some news or his wife? My wife broke some news, even though the couples are on vacation with their quarterback husbands,

but there has been a picture of Bo Nix's ankle, and none of us have seen that, right? So, Sarah, you may want to tell your wife to kind of post that and put it out there because I think everyone would want to know in Brockos country. Here is a photo, just enlarge it of his ankle. Yeah, exactly, because there was the picture of Alex Smith's, like, going around for a while that somebody's jokingly said was Bo Nix, right? Yeah, I thought that was, that was hilarious. I mean, like, that's just hilarious. Like, people will believe anything, won't they? Like, that was, yeah. But anyway, yeah. But like Anillo said, it's news. That's going to be the topic of conversation throughout training Kim. I don't care what Jaylon Waddle does in practice, right? It's going to be like, well,

Bo did make, make that throw. That was Javis Stedham. That was Sam Ellinger. So what is the chemistry going to be like between him and Bo when he actually, Boe actually returns? And once again, will we not be able to see that chemistry and what it looks like until we want. But, you know, no, though, you said something very interesting. Like, the question is going to be about Bo in the conversation, obviously. You say, well, Bo out there. Well, what does that mean? Like, is he out there?

Is he out there at practice in shirt, jersey, or is he in pads? Because that's where we're going to have to draw the line. What does that truly mean? Are we talking about Boe actually being on the field, having actually dropbacks in pads so we can see exactly what that ankle looks like. But Bo just being at practice and just being out there, that's not going to be enough. And that's going to be a topic of conversation every single day until Boe actually steps on the field and takes first team reps.

That's going to be the question every day for Coach Peyton. Well, how far is Boe coming along? Why was he held out of practice today? Right. Those are going to be the questions that should be asked by the meet their local media. Yeah, newsflash, fellas. I just, I don't know if this story's going away. Because I think everything you just said, Nick is spot.

I'm sure there's going to be some days where he looks normal. Like, and I'm not talking about his performance, but I'm talking about in sync with the pads, you know, running the first team offense. And then I'm sure there's going to be a couple of days where he's off to the side. Maybe not, you know, working him with the first team offense, the whole time. I don't know. This is me just predicting.

But I would also think that the Broncos would have to be pretty protective of Beau. Like, and I guess, like, the question I was going to throw out to you, Sarah, is like, how important. it isn't for Bo to be out there and get a majority of the first team reps. I think, you know, just to answer myself, I think a lot of it is, it's very important because of the new installation of the offense. But like, has Bo kind of built that camaraderie and chemistry with the teammates that if he's not out there for a day or if he's missing a couple days a week and he's resting

and recovering and all that kind of stuff? Like, is that a concern or is Bo Nick's kind of shown in his own right that, you know, he can deal with this stuff that still be ready to go for the regular season? I think he's shown that he can be ready. I mean, Bonix at the end of the day is a professional football player, right? So, I mean, obviously you want that chemistry. You want to be able to go out there and build every single day in practice. But I think it is, I mean, remember last year around this time, there was all the talk about, like, Matthew Stafford and his back.

And like, is he going to have to retire because of his back injury or is he like, is he going to be himself or what have you? I think ultimately when it comes down to it, you've got the experience in the offense. You have kind of a mastery of the offense. You don't necessarily know at this point, how is Davis Webb going to call it? But we also got some kind of juicy info from Bend, Danucci that it seems pretty favorable to a guy like Bo Nix, because what Ben Danucci is saying is that the play calls are going to be condensed. It's going to be the fewer words will mean more.

When the play calls are coming into the huddle, they're going to be able to break the huddle in a timely fashion to get up to the line of scrimmage where Bo is going to be able to scan the field. and not have to be breaking the huddle, get to the line of scrimmage, you know, snap the ball right at one second or zero seconds, and the defense is able to get a great jump on snap. I mean, like all these sorts of things from a procedural standpoint,

yes, I think that stuff does matter, but that's not, I mean, correct me if I'm wrong. I mean, that's not all what you're working on in training camp. You're also working on situationally.

You're working on like goal line stuff. You're working on third down stuff. You're working on some parts installation. that's where I wonder, okay, how much does Bo Nix's presence out there matter in terms of weighing it versus his ankle's health? Because, you know, you're trying to get Jalen Waddle acclimated to this offense as a featured weapon, right? And so, yes, you want Bo to have the chemistry with him, but I think he can still get acclimated to the offense and the play calls and where he's supposed to line up and what's expected of him and how that affects everybody else without Bo out there. it's not like Bo has to go out there and make plays during training camp, like to escape pressure and, you know,

throw to Jalen Waddle and scramble drill. That stuff does matter, but I think he'll be okay if the Broncos have to pull back the reins a little bit on his everyday usage. Yeah, no, I think you bring up some good points, right? And, but when it comes to Jaden Waddle and like the integration into the system and all that kind of stuff as well, like there's a reason why I think the Broncos have been as successful as they are. and it's getting guys that, like, how's the way that, like,

they're very intelligent players that the Broncos game, right? Like, there are guys that I think understand the situation that don't always need that, like, you know, pat on the back type of thing. Like, I think Jaylen Waddle, if Bo Nix isn't out there for a day or two, and again, this is just pure speculation. I think he'll be just fine. And I think Bo Nix is smart enough and Jalen Wattle is smarter to have those conversations off to the side about, hey, just because I'm not doing this

today or you're not doing that today, we can still get better by doing this, right? And so, again, I think this is all just, just an interesting thought exercise because I think the hope and the hope for everyone is Bo Nex is out there day one, taking first team reps, in pads, doing everything he needs to do. And according to Sean Payton, that should be the expectation. And look, I think people are going to have their eye on a number of different positions, wide receiver running back with Jonah Coleman, tight end as well. And, you know, we'll have these fun shows where it's like, who won the day, right?

Like, I cannot wait to do our who won the day shows throughout the course of training camp. I know Cody loves those. But I think like I'm at the point, Nick, and I'm curious to get your opinion here. Like I will trust the organization. I will believe it until I see it that Bo Nix is going to be A-OK ready to go. When I say that, that means first team reps. And I'm kind of including some scheduled maintenance days in that. Like if Bo misses a day, like he's practicing four of the five days, whatever it might be.

Like I'm kind of factored at it when I say that, Nick. That's kind of where I'm at is they're going to try to get him ready for the upcoming season. But they're also going to try to make sure that they keep him healthy and play this thing's smart. Yeah, but we know the moment that Bo Nakes is not in the lineup. And what I mean, lineup for practice, that's going to be a topic of conversation. Well, he practiced these three days. Now he's not practicing this particular day. And the team may say, you know what, we're giving him a vet day, but we know how the media and the fans work as far as our mind. Oh, well, the first two years, he didn't take any days off, right? So now he's taking days off. You guys are saying that it's

It's a bet day, but doesn't have anything to do with his foot. That's going to become the line of questioning. And it may not have anything to do with his foot, but I can see how that would be a topic of conversation. Now, when we talk about, you know, Bo, you know, what this offense is going to look like in the timing and the rhythm he's going to need, not just with Jaden Waddle, but some of the other offensive additions and Jonah Comer being one of those and the couple of young tight ends that they add it, I'm going to look at the Dreve Greenlaw situation. And here's why. when you are standing on the side line, you're taking what coach is called mentor reps. It is not the same as being in practice

going through the minutia of what the scheme calls for. And oh, by the way, there are going to be some similarities to what Bo has learned over his first two years with Sean Payton. But there are going to be some differences when it comes to what Davis Webb wants to do. Like Sarah was saying, well,

Bend Anucci said, well, the play calls are going to be really short. So now we're talking about the possibility of speeding up the offense. And you got Jalen Wado and all these new additions, how that's going to come together. What is that going to look like? So Boa will need time to work and establish the rhythm to get on the same page with those guys long before a game takes place in Kansas City. I'll take you guys back just a little. Remember when the Broncos face the San Francisco 49ers in the preseason and Robert Salas.

You know what? I'm going to go against all the rules and I'm a blitz in preseason when normally people don't. The Broncos got upset about that. So Bo will need to see not in practice, but live action before you get to that first game because I'm telling you, Spag is going to test that ankle out. They're going to bring pressure. Oh, yeah. And you don't make sure that Bo is able to do that. And you're not going to get that in practice.

So I'm hoping that we see more bow maybe on the pitch count in preseason. But we actually see. him enough where there's enough confidence that he can go out Monday night football on the road in a household environment and do a decent job. Here's a couple of things too. I mean, I know for sure in the middle of June that Bo has a football camp for youth that he's hosting. And so a number of Broncos players have those. I think during kind of that dead period between OTAs and training camp that they're hosting some camps and Bo has one of those. So his progress at that point would kind of be interesting to monitor even how he's moving around.

the field there. I know we don't want to read too much into that stuff. But also, I wonder, based on what you're saying here, like, will we see Bo host any sort of throwing sessions with the guys? I mean, outside of the Broncos offseason work. I mean, that's a, I don't know. I don't know if that's going to happen. That's where I wonder, is a team going to shut that kind of extracurricular stuff down as well and say, hey, don't be out there with the throwing sessions. And, you know, I don't know because that could in theory help, but it could also hurt at the same time. No, it's a fascinating conversation.

I'm going to be honest, I didn't think we'd have like this Bo Nix kind of wax poetic conversation, but I think it feeds in exactly in the kind of the meat of the show, which is expectations for this Denver Broncos team. Like if Bo Nix is not healthy, if Bo Nix is banged up, I mean, it's going to be very interesting to see how the season plays out. I'll leave it at that.

So let's hit a quick break. when we come back, where do we think the Broncos will stack up? This Boe conversation certainly feeds into that because I think they have to at least be competitive in their first six games of the season. If it was not healthy, obviously that'll be more difficult. So we'll hit a quick break. We'll come back and we'll do a little Broncos with regards to the state of the AFC, right here on your locked on Broncos squad show.

Oh, my bad, sir. Real quick, let me tell you about our friends over at Square because support for today's show comes from Square, the system that helps fix one of the biggest headaches and running a business. Starting a business is exciting, but actually running it, that's where things can get complicated fast. Payments, inventory, staff, scheduling, online orders, it's a lot to manage. That's why Square brings everything together into one connected system. Square helps you take payments, track sales, manage inventory, and keep your business running smoothly without juggling a bunch of disconnected tools. One thing I've noticed at some of my favorite local spots is how seamless

everything feels when they use Square. Check out as quick, receipts are easy, and the whole experience just feels a lot more organized. As a customer, it's convenient, and from the business side, you can tell it helps owners stay focused on serving people instead of constantly troubleshooting systems. That's what stands out to me. Square helps businesses feel more efficient, professional, and ready to grow. If you're starting a business or running one that deserves better tools, Square helps you sell, manage, and grow without slowing down. and right now you can get up to $200 off square hardware at square.com slash go locked on NFL. That's SQUA-R-E dot com slash G-O slash locked on NFL.

Run your business smarter with Square. Get started today, guys. Be sure to check out our friends over at Square and let them know that locked on Broncos sent you. All right, well, come back into your lockdown Broncos Squacho, Nilo Piro, Sarah Bendinger and Nick Ferguson. Hope everyone is doing well out there in and around Broncos country. And Sarah, it's a good time to let the fine folks know about the everyday or club. Absolutely.

Every day, an ad-free version of the show, as well as when we do bonus episodes of the show, ad-free versions there. And I think there's a promo going on right now as well. So definitely worth checking out lockdownbroncos. com to get in on that action. Don't we all love an ad-free version of anything? I've been watching shows on Amazon Prime. Every time an ad pops up, man, I'm just like, dude, get this out of here.

Like, what are you talking? So we get that. And we love our sponsors of the show and things like that. But I think it's a great reason to sign up. So big time stuff. Yeah, I mean, you see the folks that are in the chat, like every single show and all that. If you're truly invested like a majority of you guys are out there, I could not recommend the everyday club enough. Not just with the ad free version of the show, but also all the additional cons you get from Cody and Sarah.

They do an absolutely phenomenal job. Okay, as it pertains to the forecast of the Denver Broncos in 2020. Let me throw this question out there. Either one of you can take it. Do the Broncos have to win 14 games? And do they have to be the number one C in the AFC to be theoretically better than they were a season ago? Or could the Broncos say win 11 or 12 games? And, you know, obviously you want the 1C, but it's going to be competitive and tough.

Like, do the Broncos, like, is your definition of success in this version of the upcoming seasons Broncos is better than last year's Broncos. Does that hinge on their record and their seeding or is there more through it than that? I think their record can be worse, but I think they need to get hot at the exact right time, right? I mean, we saw that case in point would be like the 2013 Broncos. That team was awesome. Highest scoring offense in NFL history, right? But did they get hot at the right time or they got ice cold at the wrong time, right? So I don't think they have to have a 14 and 3 record. in order to be a better team than they were last year

because we know and we saw like bad luck can influence your record even when you're 14 and 3, right? I mean, that Colts game, you get called for a penalty on a game-winning field goal attempt that otherwise you would have maybe been 15 and 2 or who knows, if you'd beaten the Colts in that game and no penalty on that game-winning field goal, maybe you lose more than three games last year. So we don't know what the butterfly effect is of one different outcome versus another, but I think that honestly, like I do think the Broncos can be a much better team this year.

And still the ball just doesn't always bounce your way. I mean, most games are going to come down to one score. The Broncos have only been blown out twice over the last two seasons. Three, if you include the Buffalo playoff game from two years ago. So they're going to be in a lot of close games. You might not get lucky in the end or you might not be able to have the ball last every single time. It just doesn't always work out that way. So I think they can be a better team.

and I think they, I mean, even if they win 12 games, I think they're still a Super Bowl contender. Maybe not the number one seat in the AFC, though, at 12 wins. Yeah, I would agree with Sarah because every year brings some different changes. Last season, the Broncos were able to get that 14 and 3, 7 and 1 home record because, guess what? They were blessed to be healthy. The chances of that happening in back-to-back years, it's going to be slim.

Now, once again, 12 wins, yes, number one seed, probably not. But then when you look at aspects of the game that will, you're hoping that would be better in 2026 than it was in 2025, that was with the addition of, you know, now with the addition of Jaylon Wamp. The Broncos should be more of an explosive team, space and pace. And we're hoping based on J.K. Dobbins, R.J. Harvey, and also the addition of Jonah Coleman, the Broncos should be better as far as the run game is concerned. I don't expect Bo Nix to be sacked more than he was sacked last year because he

led the NFL and at least the amount of sacks by a quarterback. So I expect everything about the offense running game, the sacks to be exactly where they were very low, but I expect the Broncos to be more of explosive a team, but they're not going to win as many games as they won last year. That is very hard to duplicate. If you want someone to answer that question, look at Tom Brady. answer that question. He answered it honestly. Every year it's something different. You have to find different ways to win. Last year, a lot of the Broncos games were won based on fourth quarter comebacks. A lot of those fourth quarter comebacks were laid by the defense, putting the offense in position where they could make those comebacks. So to me, wouldn't it be better this

year if the Broncos won games because of their offense, not because of their defense? Yeah, I think that's what I know you and I are definitely looking for, Nick, is that I think that was one of our, at least one of my biggest sources of skepticism with the Broncos. And look, the playoffs shook out crazy, right? Obviously, if Bo Nix doesn't get hurt, there's a good chance they play in that Super Bowl. We'll never know how that happens or how it shakes out

if they were to advance to that Super Bowl. But I also just think the Broncos, like, I'm not trying to say they got lucky because I think they were a really, really good, dominant defensive team last year, and they had timely offensive plays as well. But I think the floor of the Broncos offense has to rise, just moving forward, just knowing what the AFC is going to be. Like, look, it was a down year for, you know, perennial powerhouse like the Kansas City Chiefs, you know, the Jacksonville Jaguars on the rise. Where is Cincinnati going to be at, right?

I just think offensively the Broncos are going to have to be better if they want to continue to be in those conversations, which I fully expect them to be. I think that's part of a big reason as to why they put Davis Webb in as the offensive play callers to try to raise that floor of this offense, right? But I agree with both of you. but I think the Broncos could win 12 games, and as long as they start peeking at the right time and they're winning games down the stretch, right? Like, let's call it spade a spade, fellows. There's probably going to be an ugly loss or two in the first six weeks.

Right? I mean, I don't, if they go six and oh, more power to them, more power to them. More power to. I would love to see that. But I think there's going to be a game or two where Broncos country is going to be furious and you're going to get on Twitter and people are going to be losing their minds. And it's like, this team isn't the same and blah, blah, blah, blah.

But obviously that factors into it. but at the Broncos peak at the right time, they're playing their best football, coming out of the by, going into the playoffs. If they win 12 games, you could actually make the argument that they're more well-rounded and therefore potentially a better team come playoff time, guys. Yeah, I think to the point that you guys,

and I think we all want to make clear this off season, is that the Broncos offense can no longer be the temperature. It has to be the thermostat, right? It has to be what's controlling the temperature because every single week, we'd go into these games, not knowing are the Broncos going to be able to keep up? Let's just use the Buffalo playoff game as an example.

Are they going to be able to keep up with Buffalo? Because even as good as the Broncos defense is, like Buffalo is an offense that just gets theirs no matter what. Even in the games that Buffalo got beat last year, like it came down to, can you stop Josh Allen with the last possession? So we know going into each week, hey, you're going to have to do this offensively in order to win the Green Bay game.

Another great example, the Dallas game, another great example. And those are three examples right there of where the offense really rose to the occasion. But then there's games like the Jets in London or the Raiders on Thursday night where it's like, all right, guys, like go out there and put your foot on the gas pedal and press it down to the ground as hard as you possibly can. And instead, it's like they lay down in a dentist chair and was like, hey, pull these teeth without any novocane or without any. anything to numb the pain. And it was just hard to watch.

And it was hard to sit through. And it was like, okay, yes, we know you guys can win games a lot of different ways. But the unfortunate reality is that, and I think this extended, you know, obviously it was more prevalent offensively. But I think it extended to the defense at times as well, like games against like the Washington game, for example, where you're not being the thermostat in this game. You are the temperature. The thermostat is, okay.

you're playing down to your competition. You are a chameleon. You're like a cold-blooded reptile that no matter what environment and atmosphere we put you into, you seem to adapt to that. You're playing the Raiders on Thursday night. The Raiders suck and you guys suck too. But you managed to come away with a win. That's great.

But that can't be the case. Like when you're an elite team, you need to be able to blow somebody out when the opportunity calls for it. And that's what I'm looking for for the Broncos. 2024, you overachieved. 2024, you proved everybody wrong. That's awesome. 2025, you showed everybody that you belong.

Now, you need to entrench and establish yourself as one of the elite teams in the AFC because like I said in the show open, this is going to be the most difficult path to the top of the AFC that we've ever seen. Not because the Broncos have a hard schedule, but because you now, we saw last year, the Jaguars, the Patriots, the Broncos are included in this mix, how many breakout teams were there in the AFC last year? And now what we're expecting is that all these other teams with Joe Burrow at quarterback, Lamar Jackson at quarterback,

Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, all these other teams that disappeared for a year, they're all going to reappear into the mix. So now you've got breakout teams, you've got established teams, and you've got bounce back teams all in one season. This is, it's honestly the perfect opportunity, for the Broncos to take that next step to being the thermostat and not just proving they belong

with these teams, but saying, hey, we are now a powerhouse in the AFC. Yeah, when you gave that Dennis metaphor, my first thought went to this movie I saw back in the 80s and Little Shop of Horrors. And that's kind of what the Broncos season looked like when we saw the offense struggle. And obviously, you know, everyone had a lot of conversation about the Denver Broncos like, hey, they were winning games. They were coming back in the fourth quarter. The only thing that matters is that they won.

Okay, well, that was great for 2025. Now you fast track to 2026. You can't be that same offense. That cannot be the same narrative because if the Broncos hope to ascend where we all hope for them to be, and that is in the Super Bowl, right? They have to change that narrative. You have to come out and assert your dominance.

And you can't be a fallback. relying on your defense to kind of toll, told them the line and constantly pull you across the finish line. It comes to a point now where you have to assert your level of dominance because the quarterbacks that you mentioned, they play on those teams that were not that great last season. And each one of those teams got better offensively. They got better defensively.

So those are teams that going to be the challengers for the Broncos, not just, you know, in the AFC West, because they have their challengers, and we'll get to that later. Well, let's just talk about the AFC as a whole. I don't see Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals having another troublesome year. They fix some holes in their defense. They're going to be much better. And then there's no John Harbaugh with the Baltimore Ravens.

So everyone's shining the light on Lamar Jackson. Either you put up a shut up. So I'm expecting to see a lot of competitive football from a lot of those quarterbacks. and those teams are going to challenge the Denver Broncos for sure. No, it's an excellent point and a good segue topic for us. So let's hit a quick break when we come back. We'll talk about the biggest threats for the Denver Broncos in the AFC. All that more when we come back right here on your Lockdown Broncos squad show.

All right, welcome all back in. Enel O'Neilipiro, Sarah Beninger and Nick Ferguson here. Talk a little Denver Broncos football, of course, as we do each and every week here on your Lockdown Broncos squad show. We appreciate you guys as always for tuning into the program. you in Broncos country in the chat are the absolute best in the business. All right, let's get back to it. Biggest threats in the AFC for the Broncos.

I mean, is it a divisional type of team? Is it the Chiefs? Is it the Chargers or like, you know, Nick, you were talking about the Cincinnati Bengals? Like, you think they're going to bounce back. I don't think there's necessarily one clear threat because I think ultimately to kind to use Sarah's like thought process. They're like there's bounce back teams. There's contenders, right?

Like there's all these different levels of teams in the AFC that we're not sure, at least at this point, which team's going to be where? Like, I feel pretty confident that Buffalo is going to be as good as ever, right? I feel pretty confident that Kansas City is going to be better than they were last year. But what about Jacksonville? Like, I think Jacksonville's going to be good as well. Like, there's just like a lot of question marks. Cincinnati is truly going to bounce back? Is there going to be another year of them playing with their food? So when it comes to like contenders in the the AFC fellows, I think there's a number of different ways you can go. Like, let me put this on the record too. I think New England's falling off. Like, I'll come out there. I think it's

frable stuff, their schedule. I was never buying what New England was selling, but that's exactly where I'm out on them entering this year. The great news about the Broncos playing the first place schedule from last year is that I think they're the only first place team in the AFC that got better. I do. I think Jacksonville had a horrible offseason. They lost Travis A. Chan to the Saints, 1,400 yards of offense, 13 touchdowns,

and they replace him with Chris Rodriguez, Jr., with all due respect. I mean, that was a, Travis A. Chan is a first round pick. And I think James Gladstone's getting a little too big for his britches out there, thinking that he knows better and thinking that he can play this money ball game, getting rid of A. Chan, getting rid of Devin Lloyd, 81 tackles, five interceptions, 10 quarterback hits at the middle linebacker position, the leader of your defense. And you just let him walk and replace him with absolutely nobody. So, like, I know the Jaguars are looming as one of the teams that beat the Broncos badly last year.

as the second team on the schedule and the home opener. But I mean, I'm getting Peyton Manning 2013 vibes, you know, when he threw seven touchdowns against the Ravens type of revenge game vibes there from that one. We'll see what happens. I mean, that's optimistic me. But yes, the first place, Pittsburgh Steelers,

we think they got better? Absolutely not. I don't think the Pittsburgh, you, Mike Tomlin was at least a guaranteed non-losing season. And I think they're just, I mean, the way that they're playing with, I mean, destiny, fate, whatever you want to call it. You let go of Mike Tomlin.

The first year of the Mike Tomlin, you know, post-mic Tomlin era is going to be a losing season because they never had one when he was there. That's just, that just seems like it's destined to happen. And the New England, I think you're right. I just don't feel like they're, even if they get AJ Brown in a couple of days or whatever, it ends up being a couple weeks. I just, yeah, the distractions off the field, Drake May kind of showing his true colors in the postseason.

They swap out Caleb-on-Chayson, who, was their best pass rusher in the playoffs with Draymont Jones. Like with all due respect, once again, I don't think any division champ from last season in the AFC got better besides the Broncos. That said, the biggest threats are those teams that are coming back and saying, hey, we might have been out last year. You might have had a little bit clearer of a path last year. The Bengals are going to be good.

Like, they are going to be tough. And I'm glad the Broncos don't play them. I think Baltimore is going to be better. but I don't know if they're going to be back to elite status. And I think that Buffalo is another team that I don't want to put anybody ahead of the Broncos. I think they've earned the right at least at this point to be considered the best in the AFC. But when you look at the biggest threats, I mean, to the number one seat in the AFC, in my opinion, it's going to be the Bengals and it's going to be the Bills.

Nick? I look at the AFC as a whole as a toss up based on everything that you just said. any of those teams are capable of carrying the number one seed and having a massive turnaround from 2025. Baltimore definitely, they're going to be much better, more pressure on Lamar Jackson. The question is, well, what's the new offense going to look like, right? Because they have a new offensive coordinator who hasn't really called plays similar to that of Davis Webb. So what's it going to look like? We know their defense is going to look better, especially with Jesse Mentor being there,

than the Cincinnati Bengals. They changed. They made a lot of changes to their defense, brought over Dexter Lawrence. They helped stop the run. They got better on the back end just from a roster standpoint. And then you look at the Buffalo Bills. I mean, Joe Brady is taking over as the head coach now. How is that going to impact Josh Allen's relationship offensively?

And you have DJ more there. So Buffalo, man, they're going to be there at the end. They're always there at the end. Kansas City, we don't really know because Patrick Mahomes is coming off injury. We don't know how well he's going to play, but I will tell you that that offense is going to look a lot different, especially with Eric Vienemy calling plays. You got Emmett Johnson, running back out of Nebraska,

and you got Kenneth Walker. So you know they're going to tote the pill and he's going to be an abundance of play action. But the biggest threat, in my opinion, for the Denver Broncos, I'm not even going to talk about the rest of the AFC. It's within your own division yourself, and that is the Los Angeles Chargers. Because think about this. Justin Herbert was sacked 54 times last year.

And there's a difference between the number of yards that Bo Nicks threw four and the number of yards he threw four. There's a difference of 204 yards between those two quarterbacks. And Bo had 100 more attempts than Justin Herbert. So when you think about the problem that the charges had, their offensive line was banged up. And you can raise questions about the play calling, but I can tell you, it's going to be a lot different with Mike McDaniel calling plays. So if there was a team that was a threat to the Broncos, it would be not the Kansas City Chiefs, it would be Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers. Well, and Bo Nix has never beaten the Justin Herbert led Chargers, right? I mean, so that's obviously a monkey on his back is that whenever they've gone toe to toe,

Bo and the Broncos have not beaten Herbert. I mean, Sean Payton, for all intents and purposes, has not really beaten John Harbaugh. Like with Trey Lance out there in a game that ended up being kind of, you know, meaningless for the Chargers, I guess. Yes, yes, they won. But at the same time, that is a Schneid that I think they have to get off of this year is, you know, not being able to get past the Chargers because I know those games have ended up being one score games.

But also there was a couple, there's been a couple times of the Chargers have kind of, you know, beat the Broncos pretty good. And then the Broncos will mount a nice comeback late to make it close and kind of get you thinking, oh, could they, you know, could they hit a walkoff in this game type of situation? But yes, the Chargers with Mike McDaniel offensively, if those tackles are back and ready to go and healthy, which at this point, I don't know what the status is there. But if that is the case, what do we know Mike McDaniel brings to the table better than anybody else really in the running game is his run scheme like that's what got him recognized by

kyle shanahan that's what got him you know the offensive coordinator gig in san francisco that's what got him the head coach gig in miami and even last year as the train went off the tracks in miami what was that team doing every single game to every other team they run the ball and they run it well and they did it with guys that you may have never heard of who some of whom are now with the chargers like Ingold, I think the fullback is now with the Chargers. And so they've got those pieces and they have a veteran-laden defense. That's been my other big question with the Chargers is the loss of Jesse Minter is obviously substantial. Like he was hired by the Ravens to replace John Harbaugh, who's been there since 2008 for a reason, right?

I mean, he's one of the best in the business. He's going to elevate that defense. So you lose him in Los Angeles. You replace him with Chris O'Shea, I think. it is or Chris O'Leary. Chris O'Leary. And so you replace him with a first time play caller is essentially what it is. But what the Chargers have done is they've brought everybody back on the defense.

So a first year defensive play caller is going to have all veteran players who know exactly what they're supposed to be doing. And I just think that the more this offseason goes along, the more I do worry about the chargers, not from a vantage point of like, well, the Broncos can't match up with them, but they are in the division. biggest threat. And they are as normally this time of year, we're hearing everybody say like, all the Chargers are a dark horse Super Bowl candidate. I hate the fact that we're not hearing that stuff. I want to be hearing that stuff. People need to start talking about the Chargers. And so

then we could say, hey, you wet the bet again late in the season. But yes, that team on paper, if their if their tackles are healthy, which is a big if they are the number one threat in the division for sure. Let me add this to it for you guys. If I were to ask you, I'm not even going to throw the Raiders in the conversation. Kansas City, the Denver Broncos, and the Chargers. If you had to take a guess, well, which team kind of led as far as defensively, as far as points allowed? You would say who, right off the bat?

What would you think of? Broncos. Yeah. Right. So I looked up these numbers. This is crazy. This tells you how tight this race will be this year. So the Broncos gave up, what, 18 points a game.

The Kansas City Chiefs, 19 points a game. The Chargers 20 points a game, right? So the point is the defensive units have played well for the most part. Even the charges are going to play well even without having, you know, Jesse Minter because they still have the dynamic player enduring James, but it's going to come down to the offensive side of the ball. Which team can run the ball? which team does it turn the ball over? What do you do inside the red zone?

And more importantly, how many times your quarterback gets sat? Those are the stats I'm going to be looking forward to this year. And if the Broncos can outpace the Chargers, they not only win the NFC, F.C. West, they have a chance for a number one seed. If they fail to do that, then they're not the number one seed. They're playing on Wild Card Weekend, and the offense under Davis Webb would have stumbled.

Yeah, I'm happy you guys brought up the Chargers because that's exactly where my head was going as well. And I think Broncos country, like in the reason that I posed the question that I did in the last segment about, like, can they have a worse record but still be as good if not better? It's like sometimes I think we get so far ahead of ourselves. Like, oh, Buffalo this, right? I think Kansas City that, but I think Kansas City, obviously because they're a division

rival talking about Cincinnati as well. Like, do we think three teams are making the playoffs of the AFC West? Like, is there a chance? It's just two again like it was last year, right? And so I think like before we get to the Cincinnati's and the Buffaloes and the Jacksonville's of the world, I know some of which are on their schedule. Like you have to focus on trying to win the division. And if you're not going to win the division,

being an upper echel on wild card team to come out of that division because you have three playoff caliber teams. Two for sure I would say in the Broncos and the Chargers. And I'm expecting the Chiefs to be right back in the next this year. Like you're looking at three of those teams or you can make a strong case one way or the other to make the playoffs, which is why I think you have to control what you can. control. I think the biggest threat for the Broncos is certainly one of those two teams in Kansas City, the Chargers. The Broncos have the lowest over under and win total. I'm pretty sure out of all three of those teams. I think it's nine and a half for the Broncos and ten and a half for each of the Chargers and the Chiefs.

You can fact check me on that one. But I think that is the case. And I think that ultimately what it does come down to is, I mean, in that case probably does come down to the offense. I mean, everybody is still buying the brand name of Patrick Mahomes, even though the Rishie, right situation. There's just so much with the chiefs. Like, I don't know. I'm, I just, I agree. I think that until they're not, like, they have to be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs for anyone to truly say, like, the chiefs are out of it. But I do think it's a similar situation to recent years where what is the situation with the offensive line? What, how many times are the wide receiver is going to let Patrick Mahomes down? What is he going to look like coming off the injury? Are they going to be able to handle having so much youth defensively?

I think the Chiefs next year will be a different conversation, but then at that point is Travis Kelsey still there? I mean, what's going on with everybody else? I just, I don't know about the Chiefs right now, but the Chargers are much more of a threat to me to the Broncos than the Chiefs are. And that doesn't mean that the Broncos won't play tight games against Kansas City, because I think they will. I think even with Kansas City's youth,

they're going to play tight games. But just remember, I think the last time that Vance Joseph and his defense went up against Mike McDaniel was that fateful day. once upon a time that, you know, must not be named. So that's got to be in the mind of Broncos country as like Mike McDaniel knows what he's doing. He's, yes, he's a new coach in a new environment. But I mean, is Justin Herbert not the best quarterback he's ever worked with? But dating back to his time at Washington, San Francisco, Miami, I mean, he's got he's got a QB.

And I think he knows what to do in that situation. So I'm not excited for what the Chargers could be this year. But I think the other team that hasn't been brought up at all, the Houston, Texas. I mean, Houston has the best defense in the NFL. And they only got better. They add Cady McDonald's on the defensive line. They get Reed Blankenship as like maybe the most underrated defensive addition, you know, to an already elite team that somebody made is getting somebody who was really trusted by Vic Fangio

in that Philadelphia defense out there. now you've got an improved offensive line. They get Wyatt Teller. They use their first rounder on Keelan Rutledge. They bring in others on that side of the ball. Jaden Higgins is now rising alongside Nico Collins. I mean, the question mark for the Texans is, oddly enough, C.J. Stroud, like, who hasn't improved since his rookie year?

He's gotten worse. So now they get David Montgomery. So they're trying the same thing the chiefs are and saying, well, if we can get a stud running back to back up our quarterback and to take pressure off, can we be at least a more balanced offense and give our defense more opportunity to rest or take advantage of the turnovers they're creating? So I think it's funny that like a lot of these teams outside of probably Buffalo and Cincinnati, a lot of these elite teams in the AFC are having to answer questions about can our offense keep up with what our defense is providing?

Like the elite defenses of the AFC are elite. It's like they are top tier. They are outstanding. But can the offenses do their part when it matters the most? And that's why I buy the Broncos. I buy the clutch factor. I know that the big picture is 17 games. Can you be a great offense for 17 games and even get to that point?

But when they do get to that point, that's where I'm buying the clutch factor of Bo Nix. That's where I'm buying the playoff, you know, experience of Sean Payton and his, you know, has a Super Bowl in his history. That's where that stuff all really comes into play. It's absolutely fascinating, dude. I mean, this is easily the most anticipated season for me in quite some time. Like obviously the last couple of years with Bo rookie season, what was he into doing year two?

But like I said it before, like during a regular season show, like I think by winning 14 games and getting the one seat and, you know, being in the AAC championship game, I don't want to say expectations are unrealistically high because I know this fan base in this organization always has high expectations for them. themselves, but it truly is like a Super Bowl or bust. Like anything short of a Super Bowl appearance is going to be disappointing relative to the expectation with this team. And there's just so many good teams of the AFC, bow, the ankle.

I mean, there's just so many different things that are going on right now. I cannot wait for what the Broncos end up being this season. It's going to be some fun conversation for sure. Okay. Let's hit our final break. When we come back, we'll put a bow in the show. kind of an interesting big picture Denver sports brainstorm question that I'm going to throw out to Sarah and Nick based off some unfortunate events that are happening in the hockey world. We'll talk about that.

We come back right here on your lockdown Bronco squad show. All right. Welcome on back into the program. Anilo Piro Sarah Beninger and Nick Ferguson hanging out with you guys here on this Tuesday. I hope everyone is doing well out there. And look, we're in the middle of the off season. As Sarah alluded to at the beginning of the show, we're 15 weeks past the Super Bowl. over 15 weeks leading up to week one just about.

And so here's an interesting question that I was, I actually had this debate with my buddies over the weekend. And for those who I don't know, like I cover all the Denver sports out here locally. I was in the building. I've been in the building for every single Nuggets and Avalanche playoff game throughout the course of this playoff run. Granted, the nuggets did not have many of those,

but I was there for as many as they wanted to give us. But point being, like there's a commonality of heartbreak with all the Denver sports fans right now, right? You look at how the Nuggets went out of the playoffs, terrible. The avalanche are on the brink. They're down three out of the Vegas Golden Knights. Not very good. The Broncos and how they went out with Bo Nix and the ankle and Stidham and all that kind of stuff is just brutal.

So I'll throw it out to either one of you guys. Which of the three? And look, the avalanche could still come back down 3-0 and win this series in seven. I don't think it's going to happen. I don't think anyone think that's going to happen. But assuming the avalanche get bounced between the Nuggets, as and Broncos, which of the avalanche could, which of the three losses and shortcomings in the playoffs you think is the most gut-wrenching fellas? I mean, I know I have my answer because I'm not a Nuggets fan.

I'm not an Avalanche fan. Unless Team Mussolani and Patrick Wahar are still playing because I had those little action figures back in the day. But I think here's the thing. Like imagine the Nuggets making it to the Western Conference finals and they're going to be the number one seat or whatever. they're going to host, they're going to have home court advantage. And then the day after they make it, or just an hour after they make it to the Western Conference finals, hearing that Yolkich has, you know, a torn ACL or he's not going to be

able to play for the rest of the playoffs and be like, I mean, I don't know that anything is more devastating than that feeling of like thinking that something was fake news because it was so bad. Like when we were sitting there getting ready to record the post game from that. Broncos bills. It was like, it was complete like catharsis. Like, like they had exercised some 10 year demons of winning that game and making it back to the AFC championship and feeling like, man, they could like they can beat the Patriots. They match up so well with the Patriots and then finding out that bow wasn't going to play. I mean, just devastating. I don't know if it gets worse

than that. I can come to grips with the idea that, man, you lose a game. You get blown out in a game that you're expected to win. Are you favored to win? I mean, that happened in Super Bowl 48. Like, they're blown out against Seattle. And you're like, dang, like, that really sucks. But at least our best players were out there to play other than Von Miller, right? So, I mean, yeah, you wonder how things could be different.

But I don't know. That's just, to me, losing a guy to injury after you've won a game and finding out less than an hour after you won the game is worse to me than blowing it when, you know, you have an opportunity and you just got beat, you know? That was one of the craziest days. Well, I'll say this, even though the Broncos win a great situation, one game away from making it to the Super Bowl, Bow Nix gets injured, I'm right there with you, Sarah. But if there was one that trumps that,

I mean, it would have to be the Colorado Avalanche because you look at their roster. They bring back Nazam cadre, right, which I thought that they should not. never got rid of in the first place, I'll let go. And you look at the roster within itself. It's like, well, all season long, we were being told, like, this is the winner of Lord Stanley's Cup. And you couldn't tell me anything different.

I'm not a hockey savant, but I know talent when I see it, I mean, when you think about Landiscau, Mika Rantonett, Kail McCarr, right? I mean, you hear those three names. You're like, there's no way they're going to lose. and you watched the first two series, the Aves, and especially what they did against Los Angeles, and then when they faced against Minnesota, they were showing as though they had the ability to come back.

But I knew they were going to have difficulty against the Knights. The Knights were in this situation, I think, maybe two or three years ago where they were down O2 to the Aves, and they ripped off four games in a row to win that series. And can the Aves now do that? I don't think so because the Aves, I mean, they were at full strength. I mean, think about the last game.

They were a 3-0 in the first period. To come back into a lot of nights to come back and win the game four to three. That's like being in a fight with someone, and I don't know if you guys ever been in a fight where you give that next guy your best stuff. And he still keeps coming. And you're like, hey man, can someone stop the fight?

That's kind of what it looked like for the abs. And that's why it's so disappointing because they were like the preseason favorite. to win the whole damn thing. And then now they're on the ropes, on the verge of being eliminated. Winning no games at all. And the Knights won on the Aves' home floor.

They won on the home floor, not once, but twice. So what do you think Jared Bednar is thinking right now? He's thinking he's trying to get his team ready to go, but they're telling themselves, and they know this, we've given them our best shot. And it still wasn't good enough. And that's kind of the only reason why we'll put the abs over the Broncos because from top to bottom, they have a more talented roster.

Game four coming up tonight. We'll see if the avalanche can extend the series or if they'll ultimately be balanced in the playoffs. And look, I agree with the brooms. You're pulling out the brooms? I kind of think so, man. I just think they're cooked. I think to your point, like, you go up 3-0 in the first period of the game for your life

after dropping the first two on home ice and you let Vegas come back and kind of punch you in the mouth like that. I mean, it just seems like a team that's ready to roll over and die. I mean, ultimately, we'll see what happens, but I think they're cooked in this series for sure. And I agree with you, Nick. Like, I think the only reason, not the only reason, but one of the primary reasons why I'm choosing the avalanche is because of the expectation entering into the season. Like, I thought the Broncos were going to be a pretty good team, a really good team.

Like, I thought the Broncos, you know, I was surprised more so about the entire AFC landscape, more so than I wasn't about the Broncos. I'm not sure if I would have picked the Broncos to beat the Seahawks in the Super Bowl. Like that's just me keeping it a buck there. Like whereas with the avalanche, like that was the mantra all season. It's like this team's going to go out there and win the Stanley Cup. Like with the Nuggets, for example, unfortunately, you could see that coming from a mile away. They'd been up and down and in and out throughout the course of the season.

So I think for me it's just relative to expectation. I think the avalanche had, for lack of a better phrase, the clearest path to a championship. If you had to choose one of those three teams before their seasons that you think would win a championship, I think most of us are choosing the abs, probably followed by the Nuggets, to be honest with you, at least with myself, and then the Broncos, and that's not a slight to Denver. I think it's just more so of like Nuggets, Yokic, Murray, all that kind of stuff as well. I mean, but it's three, assuming the abs lose, gut-wrenching ends to a season in different ways. I mean, you think about it.

As Sarah alluded to you, the bow-nick's ankle out of thin air, like the highest of highest to the lowest of lows. the Nuggets getting punched in their mouth but the Minnesota Timberwolves like what what year is it like Yokish and Murray no shows like that was crazy in the first round and then you've got this championship caliber team in the Abilis that find themselves down three games to nothing against the Vegas golden nights

who you have to tip the cap to I mean it is truly stunning but fellas if I could do a silver lining it's better to have it this way than the other way where your teams aren't competitive at all and not making the playoffs very true yeah better better to be this way than to be like the Cleveland Browns wondering if

should do it do a or Sanders or if Deshawn Watson's going to be your starting quarterback. I mean, that's just tough stuff, man. It's tough to, I mean, there are, we know what that's like in a way, right, wondering if it's going to be, is it going to be Trevor Simian? Is there going to be Paxon Lynch and who's going to be taking this team that just won the Super Bowl out onto the field in week one? And feeling like legitimately a guy who was a seventh round pick just a couple of years before

was your best option. I mean, so yeah, there's, we get it. it. We understand it to a degree, but I think all of it comes back to the idea that the expectation is to win in the city of Denver, right? I mean, when it comes to pro sports, and even the, I know the Rockies are a different story in that regard, but, uh, but yeah, the expectation is to win. When you have star players, when you have paid a lot of money to a coach or when you've invested a lot into the stars on your team, the expectation is, is that you're going to win. And that's expectation that has, you know, prior reasons for it, right?

Like the expectation is there because winning has happened in the past. And so that's what people want to see. And that's why they come. That's why they attend. That's why they, you know, buy the jerseys. That's why they put their butts in the seats is because the expectation is that you're going to win a game and that you're going to be there in the end because that's what that's what Denver sports do, right? So that's where I think, yes, the disappointment level, it's, it's funny how different it is on each level, too, isn't it? It's like the Broncos one is complete heartbreak out of your control.

The Nuggets one is like, I could kind of see it coming, but they just, you know, they failed to live up to expectations. And then the abs is like, you guys wet the bed, you know, like in the worst possible way. So in a way, there's almost like three different categories for how it's like a torturous, you know. It's like that dragon meme, except all of them is the, you know, the goofy looking one instead of the tough looking one. Yeah. No, it's tough, man. It's tough. And look, we'll see.

We'll see. The Av's down three. All that game's coming up tonight. I don't expect them to. I can see them winning tonight, but I don't expect them to win the series. I don't think anybody does at this point. But, yeah, I mean, everything Sarah just said, I think we'll ultimately hold up. And it's three promising seasons that are probably going to end in shortcomings for different reasons between the three.

But, you know, the interesting question. and maybe we say this one for Cody is moving forward, assuming if the abs do lose, which team do you feel most confident about to win a championship? I actually think I'd say the Broncos, which is kind of my inverse of my shock level, just because I don't know what's going on with the Nuggets. The Avalanche have run this thing back time and time again. At some point, they're going to have to blow that thing up, and the Broncos are kind of that young hungry team on the up and up.

So that's a fun, interesting conversation for sure. I still would go with the abs on that one, buddy. I think you can make a case, but I mean, if they lose this series, I think they might fire the coach. Like I just don't like. That would be so stupid. I agree. And so what's the cronkey thing to do?

The knee jerk reaction. Just blame Derek Benton. Hey man, you ran up against a better team, right? What did you do all season long if you were an abs fan? You watched that team win a number of games, right? And sometimes it happens, man. You run up against a team that's better than you.

I mean, think about it. What was the last year they ran up against the Florida Panthers, right? The Aves last year knows the day. Dallas Stars. Oh, Dallas Stars. Okay. But the abs did play against, didn't they play against it? But two years ago against the Florida Panthers.

Did they not? There was Dallas two years in a row because Florida's in the Eastern Conference. Okay. It was Dallas two years in a row. Okay. The idea is still the same. You have a very competitive roster. You've made a lot of changes in season and out of season.

And the abs of state competitor, right? So you don't fire Jared Bednar and bring someone else in. It just, you just have to be. be realistic about what's happening. It's not like you are the Rockies and you know that you don't stand the chance at all. Yeah. I mean, did you watch the Rockies blow the game against the Dodgers? They were winning 3-1 heading into the 7th.

The next thing you know, all the things changed. They became the Rockies again. Yep. No, that's how it goes. That's how it goes. You know, it can't always be good things, right? You've got to take the good with the bad at the end of the day when it goes to sports fandom. No, you're spot on.

Well, ultimately, we'll see what happens with the album. We'll see what happens, of course, the Denver Broncos, and we'll be back at it again later this week with another episode of your Locked-on Broncos Squad show. Really, really appreciate you guys tuning in today. If you get that like button and smash the subscribe button on your way out the door, that would be awesome. Let us know in the comment section. Who do you think is the biggest threat to the Broncos in the AFC? All right. For Nick Ferguson and Sarah Beninger, I'm Mnilo Piro.

Thank you guys so, so much for tuning in. We'll talk to you guys later this week. Have a good one, folks. Peace.