Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - BRONCOS SQUAD SHOW: Super Bowl CONTENDERS, Bye Week Chance To Reset

Episode Date: November 18, 2025

The Denver Broncos are riding high following their upset victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. The 22-19 win improved the Denver Broncos to 9-2 on the season while their win streak was extended to eight games. 11 games into the season, the Broncos have cemented themselves as Super Bowl contenders Aniello Piro, Cody Roark, Sayre Bedinger and Nick Ferguson breakdown the latest news and notes around the Broncos as they reset during the bye week. The fellas analyze the play of Bo Nix, the coaching of Sean Payton, the dominance of the defense and where the Broncos stand in the AFC. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Peloton Let yourself run, lift, flex, and push forward. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ today at https://www.onepeloton.com. PrizePicks Download the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LO... Gametime Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. FanDuel Right now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app. 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.

With their win over the Kansas City Chiefs, the Denver Broncos solidify themselves as a Super Bowl contender. I'm Anilo Piro. This is your locked on Bronco squad show. Bo Nick said after the game, if you're scared, go to church. Everybody should be scared of the Denver Broncos. So them pews better be lined up on Sunday. The Denver Broncos got to stay hot and find a way to not let time be the only thing that keeps their winning streak from ending after the buy. I'm Sarah Bedinger.

I'm Nick Ferguson. And why is this receiver number 14, Coral and Sutton, not involved in offense? We break that down and more. Here we go, Broncos Squad Show. Let's get after it, folks. 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. Yes, it is. You're locked on Broncos squad show. We've actually got the full squad together for the first time since we started this iteration.

Sarah Bettinger back from assignment. I am overcoming a sickness, so playing a little bit hurt today. But hope everyone in Broncos country is doing well out there. And Elo Piro, Cody Warc, Sarah Bettinger, Nick Ferguson. This is the crew moving forward here on your locked on Bronco squad show. And today's episode is brought to you by Fanduel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you'll get.

$300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Fellas, I know you guys held it down for me while I was sick over the weekend with the Broncos big win over the Kansas City Chiefs, but the win streak continues. I looked it up. The Broncos last lost a football game in the month of September. So they are streaking right now. Things are going well. Vives are high. Sarah, I want to toss it to you first because this is the first time that you've been on the squad show with myself.

How we feel in on this Tuesday after a big Broncos win? Look, we're on cloud nine right now. I mean, this is the time right now where if you're a Broncos fan, you get to kick your feet up. You get to, I was talking to the guys before, but man, we just get, like, get to go get some movie theater popcorn this weekend, watch some other teams struggle right now because the Broncos, they ain't doing it. They're not struggling. I mean, it's been a bit of a struggle at times, but when you're winning, man, things are good. So kind of on cloud nine right now for this Denver Broncos team and just feeling like, all right, you get a little time off. you know absence makes the heart grow fonder you come back from this by week refocused and ready

to keep rolling here into the months of well December and January yeah no I mean it's a great win for the Denver Broncos has been a great stretch of games for the Denver Broncos over the last month and a half or so and of course this is your locked on bronco squad show on the number one podcast network in the universe and Cody you were there as was Nick what was the vibe like in the locker room after the game well it was lit I mean I don't know we talked about a little bit in the squad show after the game club dub was podcast If you saw Nick Benito's story. I mean, it was a scene.

I mean, once again, the vibes were great. And really, it kind of just set the tone that, hey, we earn this. Look, we're nine and two. We're having a chance to get a little bit of a breather. How they go about this by week, I think is going to be important. Because I think it's good to kind of step back and reset a little bit, get some time off, get the body right, get the mind right, and then come back for a second half stretch, which I think we all can agree is probably going to be the most brutal grind possible

because this stretch involves trying to make it deep into the playoffs, trying to make it to a Super Bowl. So your best effort is required. I think that's an important thing here. And I'm approaching it the same exactly way. I got me a cup of coffee at the mid-afternoon. We're just hanging in there. And I'm just glad we can enjoy football this week without having to worry about covering a game.

Yeah, it's definitely a nice little break. And Nick, you know, we'll talk about the by weekend. I think why we all agree this is coming at the right time for the Denver Broncos. But, you know, we've gone back and forth time and time again on this show and with the offense, you know, kind of clicking there towards the end, Nick. I mean, a really gutsy victory for this Denver Broncos team against a team that's given them some fits the last nine years or so. Yeah, this is the first time we've seen all season long contributions from all three phases

of the game. And we'll get into a later, but a great return by Marvin M. Sets the Broncos up. But I'll say this, even though we are, you know, all, you know, living on cloud nine. I just want to be careful because I remember this story in school about Icarus and his dad and having waxed wings of what happened to him because he flew too close to the sun. So I'm happy to be on cloud nine, but I don't want to be full Icarus because I need to see more production, consistent production from this offense. Yeah, and I think that's fair. And look, a win is a win.

And like I listen to a lot of national sports talk. And there's a lot of similar conversation. I need to yourself. Because I like it. I like to get different perspectives. you know me. But like point being is like I hear a lot of Philadelphia Eagles fans, you know, that are a lot of the same thing like what's wrong with our offense, right?

But they're winning games. And I bring that up as an example because, yes, to your point, Nick, like the Broncos are playing really good football right now. They're winning games, which is most important. But there's still room for them to grow on offense, which is why I think everybody in Broncos countries excited. But I'm personally not sitting back. And I know, yes, the Broncos are suitable contenders because of the way they've been playing

overall this season. But Nick, they're still. room to grow with this team. Yeah, it's definitely room to grow because one aspect that you speak about, and now people are starting to kind of get on a train and speak more of it, when you start to talk about this team as far as being Super Bowl bow, before at the beginning of the season, people brought it up, but it wasn't really sure that it can happen,

but now seeing the defense, and it takes me back to this. Remember in 2015, Peyton Manning was a shell of himself, how did he win all of those games and end up riding off in the sunset? Oh, I'll tell you, it was because Vaughn Miller in the defense and those same are showing the face again, and that's why more people in Broncos country are starting to what I know. I know the deeper you get into the playoffs, the better the defensive units you're going to face, and those teams are going to have a robust run game. These are all things we haven't seen from the Broncos.

I'm happy the team is 9 and 2. Don't get me wrong. But I can't allow to say, well, I'll put it this way. Let me back up for a second. I'm allowing my ability as a former coach in this league and a player in this league to rear his face because I know what lurks down the corridor for this team if they don't write the ship. And you don't have J.K. Dobbin. So Sean Payton is going to have to find another evolution to this team.

and what we saw on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, it doesn't drop the bar. It only raises the bar. So I hope they do more in this by week. Yeah, I'm with you. And we'll definitely dive in. I want to have a conversation with you guys a little bit later on the program just about the running back room, right?

I mean, J.K. Dobbins has been so dynamic for the Denver Broncos. And look, they beat Kansas City without them, but what is their shelf if moving forward per se at the running back position without J.K. Dobbins. So we'll dive into that a little bit later on in the program. but Sarah, I'll toss us one of you and then we'll go around the horn with it and Cody and Nick. Because Nick, you brought up something about, you know, we're having this conversation with the offense needs to take steps. And I agree with that completely.

But as I've kind of taken a step back and looked at the league as a whole, not even just this year, but even last year. And I put it in the little rundown there, offense greater than our defense greater than offense. I think we all want the Broncos offense to be a lot better, right? And I think we've been accustomed to high octane offenses with Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen and Brady and Manning and Rivers. and all these Rothlisberger, you know, all these quarterbacks of the past and whatnot. But I'm starting to get the vibe that this might just be a defensive era for the NFL. And the Denver Broncos find themselves in a really good position with their defense. And maybe it's not this awe-inspiring offense that wins you games and leads you to Super Bowls as we've seen the last, you know, decade plus, Sarah.

Yeah, definitely. I think that you look at the struggles, even just this past weekend like Justin Herbert, I think, had 81 passing yards against the Jaguars and 21 rushing yards. I know he got banged up in that game, but it's still one of those situations like Josh Allen, a game that he just played. He scored six touchdowns. He accounts for six touchdowns, right? At one point in that game, he was five of 13 passing with two interceptions. So it's just funny how it can shift on a dime.

And that's where I think what we talked about in the post game squad show, that there's a lot of things that you see in this Denver Broncos offense that we just have yet to see consistently from this Denver Broncos offense. Like we've seen it they have it in them to score 40 plus. We've seen that Bo Nix has it in him to score four touchdowns in a quarter. But can we see it from you consistently? That is the thing that's like I know a lot of times it gets perceived as, hey, we're frustrated with the offense even when they play well.

No, it's just like the concept if you guys, I know you guys all work out because you're all jacked. But when you have progressive overload, things don't get easier. You just get better at it and you have to make it harder for yourself. So when you're talking about getting better as an offense, it's like Nick was talking about. You consistently set that bar higher every single game that you play. Bo Nick throws $2.95 against the Chiefs. Okay, so how can we get better from that? How can we execute better in the Red Zone?

It's not saying that while he didn't play well against the Chiefs. We're saying how can we cash in and make it even better than it was because you're going to need those moments of execution. You can't be two of nine in a three game stretch in the Red Zone when it comes to the postseason. So yes, you can lean on the defense, but how can everything, the whole operation be better going forward? That's got to be a huge focus here during the buy. Yeah, I think you said that well. And Cody, I'm curious to get your thoughts on that from Sarah because I think he lays out a ton of good points. And the good thing is the Broncos have a foundation.

It's just a matter of building a foundation, Cody. Yeah. And look, I think that foundation is just having a little bit more balance, I think, with the run game compared to the past. I think they can compliment each other well. And I felt like in this game in particular, in the third quarter, you started to see that get going a little bit. You know, if you are, let's say it's first and 10, your first play is a drop back and it falls incomplete.

Second and 10, okay, well, let's say you try to pass it again, falls incomplete. Now you got third and 10. You don't want to be in third and long situations. I would say early down efficiency is key and the best way to do that. And I think we saw this in the fourth quarter. There were times where they ran the ball on first and 10, and you get three or four yards.

Now you have second and six. You've got second and manageable. Now you might be able to run again and maybe get two or three more yards. And then all of a sudden it's like third and one, third and two. So I just think that the foundation of this team, it is there. Denver's at nine and two. The offense has had some moments this year, but they haven't even played their best football yet. And if they can get to that point, and I'm talking about avoiding the penalties,

which really for the offense, that's been the number one thing. I talked to a handful of players in the locker room. And I asked them point blank after the Raiders game, what is it? like what's going on with the slow starts with the offense's production. And three or four guys told me we're fighting ourselves behind the sticks too much. And that right there changes everything. It changes how we call plays offensively. It changes how the defense plays us.

And so when we see that change, it changes how we attack certain defenses. So all that is just all that to say that has to be complimentary. It just has to be cleaner operation from top to bottom. You're not going to get perfect play. Look, we've seen that. I haven't seen an offense this year that has played perfect. And that has been consistently dominant. it on a pretty much down-to-down basis.

There's some really good units in the league. Denver's faced a couple of those units, and they've gotten the best of them when you talk about Denver's defense, but you have to at some point, especially if you're going to make a playoff run, keep that defense fresh. Keep them off the field. If they're on the field too long,

that's where things can wear down. And that's what we saw against Buffalo last year in the playoffs. Denver's defense was on the field for 40-plus minutes of that game. Yeah, well, I think two things can be true at the same time, right? There's plenty of things that the Broncos need to clean up. and I think that's why this by week is coming at the perfect time. But they're winning in spite of some of their flaws, which I think is a great thing for this Denver Broncos team.

Nick, I want to toss it to you. One term that was thrown around amongst some media members and some colleagues that I was talking to leading up to the Kansas City game, was this a validation type of game for the Denver Broncos, right? The win streak had been great, but Kansas City's been the team that's been a pain in their rear end. You know, Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, off the vibe. you heard all of these talking points leading into that game against Kansas City.

And for Denver to win the game in the manner in which they did, is there any validation for the Broncos that you think comes from that, Nick? Yeah, absolutely, especially against this particular opponent. If this was like Buffalo Bills, probably not. It just would be another win. But when you're talking about playing against a team in your division that is historically, let's just be totally honest, they've beaten the crap out of the Broncos and everyone else in the AFC West. So to beat them at full strength, that was game or this was the game on Sunday that was truly needed because we know to start the year, the Broncos beat the Chiefs backup 38 to zero, right?

And it was a dub and you play who you play. But at the same time, I was left with the feeling as though, you know what? My cup is still just kind of not flowing over. And to watch them on Sunday collectively. Now, we watched the offense move the ball down the field. they didn't score inside the red zone, but this was kind of a marquee win for the organization, marquee win for Bow Nix, a marquee win for Sean Payton, and that was something that he was searching for because let's remind everyone, this is not the NFC South. This is the AFC West,

where teams are historically played better football, and Sean needed that type of win. But when we look at where the Broncos are at this time, what I would love to see them work on is situational football because that's the part that's going to be needed for it to push them over the edge playing backed up playing you know being down you know three or four points or even seven points but more importantly you know a team if a team is going to get to a super bowl you have to be efficient and proficient inside the red zone that's where you make your money as an OEC and as a quarterback third down and inside the red zone so if this team wants to say that they are for real, which I think that they are just a couple of ingredients away from being

able to say that they need to get better in that area because we know the defense is going to shut people out. The Broncos just need to close the deal offensively. Yeah, 100%. Look, I mean, there's a lot for them to clean up, but they're also in a really good position right now. And when we come back on the other side, I want to break down how the buy week is really just coming at an absolutely perfect time for this Denver Broncos team, an opportunity to take a step back, re-evaluate some stuff, get healthy, clear the mind, and get back after it with his home stretch games this season. So we'll talk about that next when we come back right here on your Locked-on Broncos squad show. Back in just a moment, folks.

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Be sure to check out our friends over at Fandual and let them know that it locked on. Broncos sent you. All right. Well, come on back into your Lockdown Bronco squad show. Nilo Piro, Cody Rourke, Nick Ferguson, Sarah Bedinger. Hope everyone is doing well out there. If you're watching on YouTube, do us a favor. Hit that like button, smash that subscribe button.

If you're on the audio feed, appreciate all of y'all as well. And if you want to watch us, you can always come over to YouTube. And of course, this is your Lockdown Podcast Network, the number one podcast network in the world. And we're talking a little Denver Broncos football here after a emotional victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, the Denver Broncos. was letting the good times roll with the wind streak, getting the monkey off their back by being the Kansas City Chiefs at full strength, and away we go.

But Nick, I want to toss it back to you real quick because obviously you played in the NFL. You know, I think it was Adam Troutman, or there was a couple different players that I heard from talking about how, you know, it's kind of rare to have a buy this late in the season, but it actually seems like this is coming at the perfect time for Denver, all things considered. Yeah, it is. One importantly, because it allows a team to kind of get press. because when you think about the season thus far leading up to this point,

the Broncos play the Jets in London. And typically, in a cold fashion, usually you have a couple of days off between your next game, but the Broncos didn't have that. They went straight through. And that's a very difficult arduous cycle because we all know this game is both mentally and physically tough and to try to push through that, the daily grind, and then during the process, you're watching some of your guys get injured. but this is a great week for the Denver Broncos.

They get a chance to have some self-reflection, do some self-scouting, guys get a chance to get away from football. They had a couple of days between the Raiders game and the Kansas City Chiefs game. But it's coming at the perfect time. At the beginning of the season, I was like, man, this is the worst time to have a buy week.

I mean, that's a grind that you go through, but it's at the perfect time because, one, you get a chance to work on your run game and get Jolipa McLaughlin more involved than the offense. You give PS2 an opportunity to come back. Maybe you don't bring it back for the Washington game. You do that for the Raiders game.

But also the situation with Alex Singleton, which everyone is kind of, you know, looking to see him overcome this. When he's going to make his return, this may give him an opportunity to get back in the lineup and just think about it. You know, no Drew Sanders all season long, but you've got now three of your linebaggers,

potentially playing their best ball in Greenlaw, Justice Renard, and Alex Singleton. if he returns in the next two weeks. Yeah, that's huge for the Broncos 100%. And I'll toss it to either you, Cody or Sarah, whichever you guys want to take it. Like when I, I agree with Nick, when I saw the schedule first come out, and in particular, when I saw the Broncos lose those two games early to Indianapolis and Los Angeles, I was like, oh my gosh, if they go on a losing streak right now, like the buy can't come soon enough.

Now, thankfully that did not happen. They were able to snip that in the butt and they're on this win streak. So I'll toss it to either one of you really does seem like this buy week is coming at an optimal time for them. Oh, we want to do rock paper scissors. You know, behind, folks who are listening can't see it, but it says all disputes are settled by rock paper scissors here. So Sarah and I, we're going to shoot real quick.

We'll go rock paper scissors shoot, okay? And then we're going. All right. All right. Here we go. Oh, man. I win. Scissors beats paper.

So anyways, I think it is at a great opportunity here just because of all, I'd say the energy you've expended so far in the first half of the season. John Payton says it all the time. He's very much of the process of observing how much mental calories do we burn, essentially. And when you're playing a, like, what was it, Monday night football against CINC, you go to Philly to play the Eagles, you go to London to play the Jets, and then you come back to play the Giants. And you have a fourth quarter comeback, we score 33 points in the fourth to come back and win that game.

Then you have a tough matchup a little bit against the Cowboys, you know, initially, and then you run away with it. Like all of that, like what the Broncos have had to do to get to nine and two, the mental calories, the physical calories, they've certainly burnt them quite a bit here. So now you get a chance to kind of reset because as we talked about, that second half grind is going to be crucial. I'm glad like early on there's downside sometimes.

Like some teams have a buy after week four, which in my head I'm like, that's crazy because now you're playing so much football from after week four on. And if you want to go far, like you're not going to get rest. you're not going to get time for guys to maybe have a week to get healthy. When the NFL ultimately adds another regular season game, I am pounding the table for a second buy week. But maybe it's a buy week where it's the entire NFL.

One week at some point of the season, the entire league is off for a week. And maybe it's during one of the more crucial junctions of the NBA season or the NHL season, something along those lines. Mandatory league by week, just so guys and teams can get healthy. I think that's going to be a big thing here. But yeah, that's my opinion on it. I think it's important that you get guys back. You get reset and kind of just refocus.

Sean Payton gave coaches and players the week off here. Do you think Sean's taking a week off? Absolutely not. He's in that office right now, burning candles, watching film, and he's going crazy trying to figure out how he can throw the ball 40 more times a game. An NFL siesta, a yearly siesta for the NFL. That's a thought, Cody. I like that.

Sarah, what do you think? Yeah, I think honestly, knowing what we know, now, right? The way that things have transpired, it feels like the buy is coming at the perfect time. But I kind of feel like it would have been best placed where the Broncos played the Raiders because that was clearly where they were the most physically and mentally exhausted. That's one of the worst games that we've seen from, at least from the offensive side of things, right? It was just a sloppy performance, you know, and so you kind of get the sense that, okay, short week right there. You've obviously come off a number of emotional, dramatic comeback.

wins over the past month, two months, where you just beat the Texans and then you had the aforementioned games that you guys talked about. So I think right there would have been the ideal spot to have it. However, knowing what we know now, especially with the PS2 injury and the opportunity to have him potentially be coming back now after the buy, it does feel like a bit of fortuitous timing because you've got those eight wins in a row. You made it through those dog days. And I think that a lot of people unfairly evaluated this team when it was in a burnout mode in a way. Like I know that these guys, they go through a lot of different stuff and I can't speak directly to a lot of it. I know Nick can and you guys.

But like to me, being in the realm that we're in, even, we get into these like, oh my gosh, we're doing all these shows during the week. And we've got to go, you know, you guys got to go to practice. You got to be at the stadium and you got to write stuff and you got to record stuff. like I can't even imagine what it's like having that seven-game win-streek happened in 39 days, right? So I like where it's placed knowing what we know now. But if I could go back and rewrite the script at the beginning of the year, I probably would have put it right where the Raiders game was placed. Yeah, I think that's fair.

And I'll tell you this, this Sunday, I'm getting Chinese takeout. I'm sitting on the couch and I'm not doing a darn thing. I'm watching football. I got my red zone on up to go. I am going to enjoy this by week for sure. But Nick, and Sarah brought it up there a little bit, as did you. You know, this idea, and I believe it was Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, who reported it yesterday, that Alex Singleton and Pat Sertan, you know, there's a chance that both of these guys can return after the biweek.

Two different injuries, right? Pat Sertan with a pectoral injury in the Cowboys game and then Alex Singleton just dealing with some real life stuff with the cancer. So I think we need to kind of separate the two because it's like one is a football-related injury and one's a life thing. Do the Broncos, because here's the thing. in Sean Payton's shoes. Like he's probably looking at this win streak and the buy and he's like, we got to go get that number one seat, right? Because he feels like they can do it. So Sean Peyton is a pedal to the metal type of head coach and a guy in general when it comes to the football. So what's the risk versus reward and what do you think the process is with the Broncos about,

hey, let's get Pat Sertan back out there and Alex Singleton back out there as soon as possible for this Washington game. Or is there the other school of thought of we've been winning games in spite of this. Let's go out there and handle business and make sure these guys are 100%. So when they come back, they're ready to go for the rest of the season. I'm thinking, think, a long term, because you're going to need these guys down the stretch, especially if the number one seed is your overall goal, which it should be because you get that number one seat, you get time off as is. And why throw PS2 back into the mix and then he suffers a setback?

And then now he's out for the entire playoffs and Super Bowl run. And the whole thing with Alex Singleton, it is just one of those things that we really don't, No. It just, you got to have to rely on his doctors, how he's feeling. If he can get back out there and play, I'm sure he wants to get back out there and definitely play. But I think it's kind of a slow burn, just kind of milk this situation. And just think about it.

Over the next two weeks, when they come off the by, you have the commanders and the Raiders. Those are winnable games. And you're always, you're winning those games with Chris Abrams drain in the lineup, with Jidei Barron in the lineup. Let's not push it because. I've always told people this. When we get to the Super Bowl, it's not necessarily the best two teams that are fighting for that Labardi trophy.

Don't get me wrong. There's talent on both sides, AFC and MC, but it's the team that's the healthiest. When you're at your healthiest, that gives you the best shot to hoist up that trophy. So right now it's pump our breaks. Let's just try to get a couple of guys healthy. But I will say that the Broncos during this time period, they are looking around. round on other rosters to see if they can bring in a running back for sure. Yeah, and the running back conversation is definitely important.

And Cody, I want to get your take on the defense real quick as well because, you know, a guy that you're, you know, you talked to in the locker room like Jayquan McMillan has stepped up in a big way, you know, with some new opportunities. Chris Abrams-drains done some stuff as well. And to me, when it comes to the defense, Cody, as long as they're healthy up front with JFM and Nick Benito and Zach Allen, I think they're going to be able to survive in the secondary without Pats or Tanner, without an Alex. singleton at the line backing position if they do decide to hold them out as Nick was, you know,

alluding to it the long-term upside. Yeah. And look, I wouldn't be shocked if PS2 doesn't play against the commanders just for that reason there too. I think that there's this side on obviously Pat's side, you know, people around him where it's like, like, hey, let's just get, let's get it to 100 and, you know, percent because think about this. And Nick, you know this as well.

Like when we play press and you're, you're extending a hand to punch. Let's say you jam, but then the movement, like exactly what we saw happened. to PS2 with the injury initially, you get pulled the wrong way and it's not 100%, boom, setback right there. Because that's one of those softer tissue ones in your upper pectoral. It could be tricky. So you just want to make sure Pat's where he's at. I haven't had a chance to check out his closed on Sundays pod yet this week.

But I'm sure he'll have an update for us. Maybe it's on biweek as well, you know, with where they're at. But I just think if you can get him to 100%. And if he's 100% against Washington, play him 100%. I agree. If he's not 100% there's no harm in waiting another week and having them come back when they take on Brock Bowers here once again. You're getting

good contributions from Jay Kwan inside the nickel. You're getting great contributions from Jaudey Barron who's seen an uptick and snap since PS2's been down. And then obviously, you know, Riley Moss is still playing hard despite some of the penalties. He's still making some plays on the football. He's got to correct those one issues. And when he does,

think things will transpire. And then Chris Abrams drain is playing really well as well, getting valuable reps. Denver's in a good spot right here. We're through without PS2, but then again, against Debo Samuel, against Scary Terry, you maybe want to have PS2 back for that game. But you know what? They don't necessarily need him, though. Yeah, I think it's a good point.

And, you know, I think the Broncos with how they're playing overall right now, you think, look, any NFL games are. Like, I'm not going to sit here and say Washington is an automatic win, right? They're going to have to go out there. When it was easy, everybody would be doing it. A hundred percent. But you know what? To go back to our conversation, what we started this second about by week coming at the right time, Sarah.

You know, if there's one guy that I think deserves to just like go to Cancun for a week, it's Vance Joseph because of what he's been doing with this defense. And it kind of feeds into this conversation of like, you know, you lose the defensive player of the year and you're fine. You lose Alex Singleton, who's a key player on your team and you're okay. The defense is in a good place in spite of those injuries, Sarah. Yeah, it really is. I mean, he's employee of the month for sure.

There's no doubt about it. Whatever that gets you, he deserves it. And I think, look, when you talk about losing a defensive player of the year, candidate, not just a candidate, somebody who has won the award. But, I mean, the job that these young players have done, we talked about it after the game as well, it's a huge testament to Vance Joseph putting these guys in positions to succeed and do what they do well, but also creating a plan on a week-to-week basis that is tough for opposing offenses to handle.

And I think that he deserves all the credit in the world for that. And personnel-wise, I mean, Nick talked about it. When you get to the Super Bowl, the war on attrition. is the most important factor there. Obviously, you have to have a well-built roster in general, but if you can get to that finish line with the majority of your roster healthy, you have the better built-in margin for error as the season goes along. If you just have that talent discrepancy over teams who are dealing with injuries,

and that war on attrition is hitting everybody in the NFL this season, even the Broncos, who haven't struggled as much with it, but when you're able to play as well as they have, especially like we talked about way earlier, situationally, third downs. The Broncos are still number one in the NFL. Red zone defense. They're still number one in the NFL. They are dominating on that side of the ball,

especially when you need to to atone for whatever weaknesses or whatever the offense is dealing with on that particular day. So Vance Joseph is the source of that at this point, putting guys in positions to succeed every single week. Yeah, no, I think it's well said. And we're all in agreement, you know, it's hard to complain when you're on a win streak like the Broncos are. It's hard to complain when you beat the Kansas City Chiefs like the Broncos did.

But this by week is coming at an absolutely proper time for this Denver Broncos team as they get ready to retool, get healthy, and lock in for these home stretch of this NFL season. All right, let's hit a break when we come back. Nick, you alluded a little bit to it, the running back room. What is Sean Payton going to do? Is he going to do anything? Is Joliel McLaughlin the answer at running back? We'll talk about that in the Broncos' offensive identity on the other.

side right here on your Locked on Broncos squad show. Today's show was brought to you by friends over there at Peloton. Look, folks, it's time to break through the busiest time of the year with a brand new Peloton cross-training, Tread Plus that's powered by Peloton IQ. It's Peloton's most elevated technology and equipment yet that gives you real-time guidance and it gives you endless ways to move whether you want to work out by yourself or if you want to work out with your favorite instructor, like my personal favorite, Alex Toussaint.

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Hey, welcome on. That's what they pay me for, man. There you go. There you go. Welcome on back into your locked-down Broncos squad show AP, Cody Rourke, Nick Ferguson, Sarah Beninger, all hanging out with you here on this Tuesday afternoon. Do us a favor on YouTube. Hit that like button, smash that subscribe button.

really, really helps us out. Okay. So obviously the unfortunate news that came out last week that J.K. Dobbins is likely done for the season, although I believe it was Adam Schefter who put out the tweet that if they do make the Super Bowl, there's a chance that J.K. Dobbins could be ready to go back from his injury as well. But the reality situation here is the Broncos are going to be without J.K. Dobbins for the rest of the regular season and likely a majority of the playoffs,

which is a major blow because, you know, he's been the one semblance of consistency for the most part with this offense this season, right? Bowdox has been good in sports, not so great in others. But J.K. Dobbins, for the most part, has been relatively steady for the Broncos in the backfield. So I'll toss it to Cody first. I know you're there just about every day for the Broncos. You talk to the players, you talk to the coaches and whatnot. We all kind of know Sean Payton from afar.

First things first, do you think Sean Payton and the Broncos will look to the waiver wire or a free agent potentially to add some depth to this running back room? or as a guy like Jile McLaughlin who made his return to the lineup on Sunday, maybe the best option along with RJ Hard. Yeah, I mean, I think it's an interesting question. I think that they'll do their due diligence. I mean, obviously, the Broncos pro personnel department, they do a fantastic job of turning over every leaf,

like looking high and low for anybody. Look, there are a couple free agents out there, I think from a veteran standpoint, maybe the best option, Sarah and I talked about this on yesterday's lockdown Broncos, maybe a guy like Jamal Williams. If you really want to bring in a veteran guy, maybe Jamal Williams could be that. but it's going to be hard to replace a guy like JK with how JK, I think, runs.

You know, he's a patient guy. When the Broncos pull, he gets right behind that polar hand on the backside there, and he's patient with his footwork, and then he finds the crease, he gets skinny, gets north, south there. You know, they're going to feel that. It's also the perfect opportunity for you to continue to develop R.J. Harvey, Jellum McLaughlin, Tyler Badee. They have Deuce Vaughn on the practice squad.

And look, nothing against Deuce. I just don't see a scenario where Deuce ever touches the field, at least for the Broncos on game day. I do think that they may be looking at the, you know, other teams practice squads, waiver wire if there are some moves. Sarah made a great point in our show yesterday talking about the fact that maybe there's somebody that Denver had their eye on in the NFL draft that was undrafted or something like that. And there maybe just slip it through the cracks.

And but Denver had a higher grade on maybe one of those players. Certainly you can look at that. I think right now they stick with RJ and Jalil and Tyler Badeh. But I think they could look. It just depends on who's out there. Yeah, and looking at the rushing attack from the Broncos against the chiefs, nothing that lit the world on fire. RJ Harvey had 11 carries for 30 yards.

Juleem McLaughlin had six carries for 19. Bo Nix had, you know, three scrambles there for eight yards as well. So, you know, you'd like to see them bolster the running back room a little bit. But, Sarah, do you think that Joliel McLaughlin, a guy who's been on this team, obviously, for a handful of seasons and was kind of, you know, just relegated to the shadow realm, as I like to say, just was not a part of this offense up until, last week. Do you think he's a guy with his, you know, understanding of the offense and come in

and make an impact right away? Yeah. And I think we saw a little bit of that on Sunday, right, against the chiefs where a guy who seemingly, you know, I guess in the proverbial doghouse, because he was only active for one game before that, or at least just kind of back in the pecking order based on what last year he was the second leading ball carrier on the team, right? So you trust a guy like that because he practices hard. I know Bo Nick's talked about that, how, He always gives good looks and practice. And he's like, I'm sure he was dealing with stuff, you know, between the ears. But he wasn't letting it on in any way, shape or form with the way that he practice.

And we know that Sean Payton loves him. It's just a matter of, okay, now you got to wait for your next opportunity because last year wasn't good enough. And we've talked about that a number of times. And so I do believe that he's somebody that you can trust in a certain role. However, I also think that there's a bit of redundancy with the size of all these different guys, that the Broncos have. And I think that's the one area where I would say, hey, not to just have one to say you've got one, but we need a 220 plus pound guy that can win between the tackles, even if it's just in, you know, third and one situations or goal line situations,

whatever that may be. It wouldn't be the first time Sean Payton tried to call somebody out retirement. Maybe he calls up Latavius Murray and is like, hey, you know what? Why don't you come back for a little bit here? But I just don't think there's anybody available that you could say, this guy is going to run the Broncos to the Super Bowl or replace what J.K. Dobbins brings. It's just all about that depth and maybe situationally seeing, hey, that can fit in short-yarded situations or what have you. I was literally burned a little bit with Latavius. Just because, Anil, remember we went to the Super Bowl?

Sean, you know, Sean had just become the head coach. Radio Row. He's going around. And Latavius was texting Sean, like after the Broncos, like, we're in this whole Latavius, like, hey, you got to come to Denver. Sean's like, I'm coming to Denver. and then Sean releases him. So I don't know. Yeah, I was literally about to throw that out there. Like, could I interest you in a Latavius Murray reunion?

I mean, we saw the Broncos pick up a little Jordan Humphrey at the wide receiver position. You know, some familiarity there as well. But Nick, I think Sarah makes a good point about a different style of running back, right? Because, like, I'm even thinking of like Jal McLaughlin, right? And we know that R.J. Harvey's been most potent in the outside running attack. But I'm looking at Jal and I'm saying if you want to run him outside, R.J. does that. They also use Marvin Mims on these gadget sweet plays as well. So it kind of feels like three guys with similar skill sets.

If they do add another running back, would you like to see them go for a big body bruiser? Or is it just a matter of having another body right now? I'll answer that by first giving this. Does size really matter? No, don't answer that question. But in this case, I'm going to say, no, it doesn't. Yeah, everyone wants a big bruiser type of running back

because we see Derek Henry kind of run over guys. But I'll just remind people, even with Derek Henry, when he was with the Titans and with Baltimore, he's not running between the A-GAPs. They're running him on the edges because they know there's less defenders outside. And here's what's going to happen with the Broncos. It should happen with the Broncos as they move forward. Yes, if you can go out there and get a guy who may be 6-2-2-25,

I get it. I understand it because when that guy falls forward, he's falling forward for that first down. And the vertically challenged guys, this is where they're kind of evaluated a little different because of that issue. If you are 5-9-58 guy, the idea is that you're not falling forward. And if you do, you're not getting the first down. But we've seen teams in the past.

And I'll go back to what I've seen with Josh McDaniels. I know that's a bad word here in Broncos country. But there's a point I'm trying to make here. when you look at the Patriots offense under Josh McDaniels and Bill Belichick, historically, they've had smaller backs. But those smaller backs had a very unique skill set that the officer coordinator utilized to their strength. So there's no reason that Talibadee, he didn't get a lot of, you know, touches, but he's been shown, you know, to be able to catch the ball out of the backfield. Sometimes he didn't. So the reliability may be an issue.

But Jalil McLaughlin, he didn't get a lot of kids. carries, but he got that touchdown. And for him to have that grind and that grit to just kind of mentally kind of push through to he got this opportunity, this is what you want. So it's going to force Sean to be a little more creative. And that's what we saw on Sunday. He opened up the formation. So instead of running these guys between the tackles, you can actually put them on the edge

and let them run routes because guess what it does? It creates a favorable box if you wanted to run design quarterback runs because you've moved linebackers outside because the threat of these guys running route. So this is why I say this is the only time that I would say size doesn't matter. No, it's fair. And I think the other thing that needs to be said, and I think most of Broncos country understands this as well is there's no one that they could pick up that is going to make a tremendous world-changing impact on this Denver

Broncos team. I mean, this is like a cherry on top. You're sub-dressing on your sandwich, right? Like the thing is built. It's just a matter of a little accent here, an accent there and have an additional body say. I think the Broncos offense, for lack of a better phrase, kind of is what it is at this point. I don't think any free agent or an elevation of any sort would change that dynamic. Yeah, 100%.

And that's where to Cody's point, maybe you do dust off some of your scouting reports from the offseason. You look at, hey, here's the positives from some of these guys that are on practice squads around the league. What do we want right now as that dress? What do we want as that extra sauce? We're going to utilize Harvey more. We're going to utilize McLaughlin and Badey more. But who's that other guy that we could maybe shuffle onto the practice squad? Because that's another important factor here is that you get these three free practice squad

elevations as well. So if there's a free agent out there, you can sign them to the practice squad. But obviously, if it's somebody that's on another team's practice squad, you're signing that player to replace something that you already have on the roster. Right. So there's nuance to it and it's not just as simple as, hey, let's sign this guy and he's automatically going to upgrade our short yardage running or he's automatically going to upgrade our tight red zone or whatever it may be.

But I think that's where you brush off some of those scouting reports and say, hey, during the draft, we liked this guy's ability to fall forward or we liked the fact that he always kept his legs churning in the short yardage or whatever it is like Nick was talking about, too. So I think that's something that you could look at. but like you said, nothing right now. There's no, I mean, the Tatum Bell situation where he came, you know, in the middle of the year, that one year and was just lights out for a handful of games. Like the Broncos don't need that, right?

They don't need somebody to come in and carry the load. They just may need somebody to come in and upgrade the depth and situational abilities of this offense. What game was that, too, that we saw Tatum Bell come back? I know, trivia question. I want to see if any of you guys know it. The game. Day color was the quarterback.

Yeah, yeah. It won in a place that it was very, very hard to win with the quarterback who is very, very hard to win against. No. Atlanta, Matt Ryan. Oh, yes. That's right. I remember the story. We'll talk about hard to be.

You weren't even born yet, Anilo. It's okay. Oh, come on. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, yeah. Good stuff. I want to put you on the spot, though, real quick, Cody. And then we'll hit a break.

Do you think the Broncos make an addition in the running back room, or do you use When I say addition, like somebody from the outside or do you think it's a promotion from within? Or do they do anything? No, I think they stand pat for now. Look, I think an injury change. We also haven't talked about Adam Prentice, who's kind of been playing, like in third down situation,

they bring him in as a running back. They keep him in there for Passbro. He's Molleywopped a couple of dudes in Passbro. It's been nice to see. Even on that third and 15, he ran a little route to the flat. So they're also using Prentice, who's obviously the fullback by nature. They're using him as some running back as well.

Yeah, and I tend to agree with Cody. Like, I just don't, I don't think there's an, like, an obvious move to be made. I think you want to- An injury changes that, though, I think. Yeah, and I think Joliel McLaughlin's kind of that guy. Like, I think that's part of the reason why they've kept them around. And Sean talked about his work ethic and his mentality and training camp. So hopefully he is rewarded for that with some additional touches moving forward this season.

Okay, let's hit our final break. When we come back, we'll continue to go around the world of the Denver Broncos with the news in the nose. take a look at the upcoming schedule, some housekeeping notes as well as the home stretch of the season is rapidly approaching. All that and more when we come back right here on your lockdown Broncos Squacho. All right, welcome on back into your locked on Broncos squad show. AP Cody Work, Nick Ferguson, Sarah Beninger. Hope everyone is doing well out there in Broncos country. Still probably feeling good from that victory on Sunday, a victory Monday.

And you're going to be riding that wave for the next, you know, week and a half until the Denver Broncos get back out there against the Washington. commander. So all in all, man, look, the state of the Broncos, state of the NFL, kind of where we started this episode. Like, I'll toss it to, I'll toss it to Sarah first here. Because I personally just think, like, I'm not trying to say the NFL is mid as a whole, but I just think on offense, it's not nearly as explosive in the point totals and all that kind of stuff as it has been in years past. And so when you get to this conversation of like, are the Broncos contenders and you see their record and you see where they stack up in the AFC, all of those things are true. And I,

think that because we haven't seen this offense be explosive game after game after game after game. There's some reservation in the minds of Broncos fans, national media as well. But the reality situation is they're dynamite at home. Their defense is rock solid with two potential big players coming back sooner rather than later. And John Payton seems to have a relative grip on this offense. So when you're looking at the rest of this season as a whole, what needs to happen for the Broncos to lock up the AFC West to be that number one seat? I understand that's not completely in their control because of the Patriots, but they're in a position to accomplish all of these things there.

Yeah, they've got to find ways to make other teams make mistakes, right? I mean, last year at this time, where the Broncos were losing to the Chargers in L.A. They were losing to the Bengals around Christmas time, right? And so you've got to take care of business. However, it has to happen. Of course, all of us want to see the offense make strides. All of us want to see penalties get limited at the,

very least, if not eliminated, right? I mean, that's too much to ask at this point, but limit the penalties, right? So when you come out of this by week, you've got to be the team that makes everybody else make mistakes, worry about your own stuff, win your games, however you have to do it, and be more efficient and just in general. So I think it may seem boring, but like, to your point, I mean, do you guys know off the top of your head who's the number one scoring offense in the NFL right now? I mean, you know?

I guess the Rams. I would guess the Rams. I would guess the Rams or doubt. Dallas are the Rams. It's the Colts. The Colts are number one. Oh, wow. So to your point, I mean, yeah, nobody really is lighting it up.

The Lions have the fifth best scoring offense and they've gotten blown out. They've gotten shut down. They just got shut down this past weekend against the Eagles, right? So everybody seems to have a fatal flaw in the NFL this year. And the Broncos, if it's misery loves company, great, let's have a party. but everybody has their flaws that they struggle with that, okay, it's not just the Broncos this year. And it's not, you can't do this if you want to beat teams like this because the Broncos have beaten the reigning AFC champ. They beat the reigning NFC and Super Bowl champ.

They've done all the hard stuff. Now it's just a matter of keeping it going, going forward and not losing focus. Nick, care to respond? Well, this game is about consistency, right? And you can go out and see an offense or defense do it for. one or two games. But the idea is where you build your culture is doing it time and time again. Right now, when we look at the Broncos as a collective team, we'll say, okay, well, what's their identity? The identity is their defense. Oh, by the way, if put in a situation, they have been

shown to be able to win some of those games late. These are all the foundational pieces and ingredients that you're going to need to make a late playoff push. And like I said earlier, once you get into the playoffs, the teams are going to get better. And the one side of the ball that's going to get better for sure, and it's happened, I don't know, for the past 20, 25 years, is you're going to face stiffer defenses. So being able to come up with creative things that you can lean on, whether there's being a great four-minute team where you're playing keepaway,

or you're a great two-minute team where, hey, you're behind and you know you have the ability to move the ball down in the field, that's where we saw Josh Allen. in Excel. That's where we saw Patrick Mahomes excel. But now things look entirely different. The NFL gods have blessed us with an even playing field. Because like Sarah said, there's not too many teams that are scoring points at a high clip every single week. So the idea is to stay healthy, stay schematically clean from a defensive standpoint, and come up with more creative ways to move the ball down the field for four minute offense and

minute offense and the Broncos will be fine. Well, the good thing is they've been pretty good in the four minute and the two minute offense. And I also think as frustrating, it's hard to say frustrating because they've won the games, but the situations in which the Broncos have been in this season, I think will ultimately bode well for them because they have some resiliency and some tenacity that they're going to be able to lean on when the going gets tough in a playoff game like that. And Cody, you know, I did not think the number one C would have been in the realm of possibility for the Broncos entering this season. Right. I looked at Buffalo. I looked at Kansas City.

I looked at Baltimore. You know, there was a lot of teams that just on paper, I was like Broncos aren't in this class. Well, here we are. It's the Broncos and the Patriots kind of in the driver's seat right now for the potential number one seat in the AFC. And Cody, with the way that the Broncos have been dominant at home, in particular on defense,

if they can figure out a way to secure that one seed and take care of business the rest of the way in the regular season, they will be a tough team to beat in the playoffs. 100%. Look, you know, a wise man once said the best to be the man, You got to beat the man. Woo, anyways. One thing there, we've seen it.

Last year, who went to the Super Bowl? The Eagles, the Broncos beat them. The Eagles, since the Broncos have beaten them, have, I mean, yes, they had a let down against the Giants on that Thursday night right afterwards. But the Eagles, despite them winning games and all the drama that they're still dealing with behind the scenes, the Eagles are still very much right now, probably the best team in the NFC, based on what they were able to do against the Detroit Lions. You look at them beating Kansas City, who was in the Super Bowl last year. The Broncos have beaten these teams. You know, everyone wants to move the dang goalpost these days.

Well, the Broncos haven't played anybody. You know what they played? The teams that are on their schedule, and they played the two teams that they lost to early on when the charges were predominantly healthy. They should have had the chargers in that one game. You miss a field goal in that game. Justin Herbert has a miraculous throw on fourth down that just seemingly lands in the hands of Keenan Allen. You lose because you committed a leverage penalty against the Colts. we're talking about one or two plays of this Broncos team.

And those two losses that they had, never trailing in the fourth quarter. We're talking about walk off losses. We're talking about this team being potentially undefeated at this juncture, 11 and 0. If they found a way on just a couple of plays to buckle down, right? Would it could have should have. Yes, it's great in hindsight. Nine and two. The Broncos have played who they played.

They've found ways to win. And at the end of the day, it's about winning. You know, you and I used to say it best. Dominic Turas, it doesn't matter if it's an inch or a month. mile winning is winning and that's what the broncos are doing right now they got to continue that trend here in the second half can i can i tell something out really really quickly fell ahead i was sitting here and i was looking up and as we're talking about you know the broncos you know potentially being a number one seat i thought about which team in a fc would be a bigger threat to the denver

broncos and i want to see if you guys agree i'm thinking about the baltimore ravens because they're getting healthy at the right time and i just look at from a matchup standpoint their quarterback versus ours, what they're trying to do. They're getting better defensively, and they had a lot of injuries to start the season, but they're getting healthy once again at the right time. And that's the team that I would fear right now. And I'll never say that I'm scared of any team,

but that's the team because of what they can do from an offensive standpoint and their quarterback that presents some challenges and some match of issues. Well, remember what happened when the Broncos played the Ravens last year, And I believe that game was in Baltimore. Memory serves me correct as well. Yeah. That did not go so well.

I'm playing in my high city. No one in January, who wants to come to Denver to play this defense? It's cold. You get hit by those guys. You know, the cold weather. Nick, you played in cold weather games. You know, every hit hurts a little bit more. You know, when you play in that weather, nobody wants to come to my high city.

But Denver would have had that avenge. But I admit right now, the Ravens, they're catching a little bit of fire. And you got the injury to Aaron Rogers with the Steelers right now. I feel like that. that division used to be, in my opinion, the best division of football, right? At least season, it's one of the worst, I feel like. It's one of the most overrated ones. Yeah, I agree.

It's been disappointing from that division for sure. And, you know, I'm looking at the standings, right? And I'm seeing Denver. I'm seeing New England. I'm seeing Indianapolis. And I'm like, Nick, what year are we living in right now? Like, is this, you know, early 2000s back when it's Peyton Manning with the Colts and, you know, all that kind of stuff.

I mean, it's a little throwbackish. when you look at the standings in the top three or four teams in the AFC. It does. And here's what we know about throwback. And I know you guys may be Gen Z or whatever. I'm a millennial. Come on.

I'm a Gen. I'm 30 years old. Well, I had to toss it out. But going back in a day and I'll say it's not to get off my long top of moment. But that was an era where it was defense and running the ball. And we're seeing a lot of that. come back. This is why I keep harping on it and I did it all season long for the Broncos to be more consistent with their running game. We know this. Being able to lean on your run game as

as whether as Cody mentioned it starts to pick up. That's what you need and that's where the value is going to come in. And it's wow. It's sort of like a throwback seeing the teams of the old, you know, now we knew kind of being in that in that conversation as far as playoffs and possible Super Bowl. So we'll see, but you need a physical running game. And even if you're a running game isn't as physical as it was back in the 90s, you just need a consistent and complimentary run game. Yeah, I think it's well said. And I just get excited when I see those three teams, you know, near the top of the standings because it just takes me back to the football that I watched growing up, which was obviously an awesome era to watch it. Back when you could hit

receivers and they wouldn't get flagged. The good old days, man. able to do when football was football you know it is what it is in this day and age but uh all right wind it on down here on your lockdown bronco squad show appreciate everyone hit that like button smash that subscribe button one more time for us on your way out the door but uh some closing thoughts cody i'll start with you then we'll go to sarah and nick anything you guys want to get off the chest before uh we wrap it up here well nothing football related it's gonna be nice to relax this week my wife and i we've already put our christmas tree up uh so i'm gonna enjoy football What?

Happy wife, happy life, fellas. I mean, Nick knows this. I can't argue that. Sarah knows this. AP, I don't know if you know this yet. I mean, you got a girlfriend. I'm just happy girlfriend. I don't even know what the rhyming reason would be there.

Worldwind, girlfriend, something like that. You'll figure it out. But I just hope everyone has a great week. We won't have a squad show obviously on Sunday because Denver doesn't play. So with them Christmas trees up. Bro. Yeah, I've got the Christmas tree up too. I don't know.

Maybe you and I Cody, I don't know. I guess. Well, my man just got back from Disney World too and he's got the Christmas. It's like, hey, November 1st is here. I ain't missing out. You know what I'm saying? Like Home Alone was on earlier. My kids are all about it.

So, no, I, you know what? Look, when we say we started the show, I talked about being on Cloud 9. And I think that when it comes to just watching this team finally be at a place where we can have these conversations, man. How cool is that? It feels like we've been grinding for the last 10 years. I know the Broncos before Super Bowl 50 and obviously during that time, the winningest organization in pro sports, right? That's what they become known for.

And to see it go down to a point to where, man, we're like justifying Brandon Allen being out there. And we're having to root for these teams that are just terrible, right? But to be back in this position and to be talking about a by week, you've won eight straight games, your coach is talking mess after games, your players are confident, everybody in the fan base is kind of galvanizing around it. That's what's exciting to me right now. That's what's cool to me right now about this Broncos team. So now how do they capture that going forward? How do they

maintain focus like we've been talking about? That's what I'm excited to see as this team jumps into the post-by games. For me, it is seeing remnants of the culture that I was a part of under Mr. Boland, actually start to come back. And I know fans have been frustrated for so many years, having so many losing seasons, watching the Kansas City Chiefs kind of kick our teeth in, and the Chiefs fans talk about it, and certain national broadcasters go on air and air their grievances, but now the tide is seem to have changed. And I'm all four, man, and I want to see this organization get back to where it's been

and I have been a part of building that culture. And we have great ownership. And I would like for them to fully understand because I don't think that they understand Broncos country in that way and what that time was like. But to be able to give that to them and this emphasis stage of their ownership would be a great memory.

But I still have to say this. Fasare and Cody, you guys are like one week early on the Christmas trees, man. I thought traditionally you were going to do. it, you know, after Thanksgiving, that's when you start, you know, the Black Friday. So you guys are a little... Too much work after the turkey, man. Wait a minute.

So that's a little to head of the curve, and I just have to ask this final question. Do you have live trees or do you have the one that you put together? It's the one you put together. You know, I got the, you know, the apartments don't let you have real ones these days. Yeah, I'm not Clark Griswold, you know what I'm saying? The fake tree is the way to go. My mom, my parents used to get the real tree when I was a kid. And then once we got to high school, they were like fake tree.

It's like three pieces. Good to go. It's got a Bluetooth sound system on it. It's pretty scary. But it's like 10 years old. So this was like Bluetooth. Like wasn't, you know, like it is in cars today, right? Ahead of the time.

I'm sure my mom has it set up. Next time I go up there, I'm sure we haven't put our ornaments on just yet. That's what we'll get today. Wait, so you have just a naked tree. It's got lights on it. It's got lights that go with different colors. It goes the white lights, you know, flashes, blinks. I got a remote control.

It's got nine different light settings on it. So Bluetooth's weird, but a remote control isn't. No, no. I feel like it's a little more natural. You got to turn Christmas preparation into something entirely different. We got Bluetooth. We got music. That's not a Christmas tree.

Right? I don't know what I mean. Get my dog still likes it the same. Oh, my gosh. There you go. Oh, my gosh. Good stuff. Well, we'll be back again next Tuesday.

As Cody alluded to you. show this upcoming Sunday, as the Broncos do not have a game. So get some Chinese food, get some pizza, do whatever you want to do, go touch some grass, go up to the mountains if you're here in Colorado. And we'll be back at it again next Tuesday. And then, of course, back in the saddle after the Broncos game after the buy, against the Washington commanders for Cody Roark, for Nick Ferguson, for Sarah Beninger. I am Anilo Piro.

This has been your locked on Broncos squad show. Really, really appreciate all of y'all tapping in with us. Enjoy the bye week. And we'll talk to you guys next week. Oh, ho. I can't believe you got...