Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - BRUTAL: Denver Broncos Lose Patrick Surtain II For Several Weeks, CB Depth Test Incoming?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Debra Broncos cornerback, Patrick Sertan the second is going to miss some time, but who's going to step up and rise to the occasion? We'll break that down. And much more on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. The Denver Broncos is going to have to navigate some life without Patrick Sertan for a handful of weeks as he suffered a peck injury. We'll go through who steps up in his absence on today's brand new episode, Lockdown Broncos, your daily. Denver Broncos podcast or the Lockdown Podcast Network where you know it's your team every day.

Starting point is 00:00:40 I'm Cody Roark, Broncos reporter from Mile High Sports. Join as always by Sarah Bedinger, site expert over there, predominantly orange.com. Thank you so much to everyone in Broncos country, all the everydayers out there. Thanks for tuning in and making us your first listen, however you choose to do so. And here's what we got in store on today's episode of the show. We know Pastor Tan's going to be out quite some time here for the Broncos. Luckily, it's not a season-ending injury, but who is going to step up in his place? and could the Broncos be creative with the cornerback usage?

Starting point is 00:01:07 We'll dive into that. Plus, we'll take a look at the state of the AFC West, the Broncos. They sit atop of the West after week eight, but they got a couple of people who were right behind them looking to take that top spot. And then we'll take an entire glance around the AFC as a whole to see where the Broncos stack up after week eight and how they can build some momentum going into the next handful a week. Should it all on today's episode of show brought to you by our friends over there at Fandu. And right now new customers can bet just $5.

Starting point is 00:01:32 And if your bet wins, you'll get $300 and bonus bets to use across the app. Sarah, we got the unfortunate news about Pat Sertan's prognosis. Look, there are some varying reports out there. Jordan Schultz says four to six weeks here. The Broncos are officially coming out and saying week to week with a chance of him potentially landing on short-term IR, which means he would have to miss a minimum of four games, which would mean that the Texans game, the Raiders, the Chiefs, and then the Commander's game coming out of the by week, the Broncos have a very interesting decision to make here, and that could have come, obviously,

Starting point is 00:02:06 as early as today, whether or not they put him on IR. It's the one position on the roster where you feel like you can sustain with a injury like this. And it's also, you're losing the best player on the team, right? So there's a great tension right here, Cody, for the Denver Broncos, because obviously you load it up at that cornerback room. I mean, you and I talked about it, and we didn't just talk about it. I think we've seen it on the field.

Starting point is 00:02:31 Like the Broncos have the deepest cornerback group in the NFL. That doesn't mean you can just poo-poo the idea that you don't have Pat Sertan out there. We saw last year when Riley Moss went down with an injury that landed him on short-term IR, right? The Broncos shifted everything that they kind of did defensively. And it wasn't necessarily the most welcomed change. You know, with Vance Joseph shifting from more man coverage to obviously zone coverage, that didn't work out well for Levi Wallace. It didn't work out well for the Broncos, and they gave up a lot of points.

Starting point is 00:03:05 They gave up a lot of yards to folks like James Winston and, you know, that whole stretch of games late last season. That was ultimately a little ugly, but the results, you know, went in the Broncos favor. I feel like this time around, you are much, you're in such a better position. If you're the Denver Broncos to keep doing what you do well, to keep your defensive identity with an injury like this. as opposed to even a year ago when Riley Moss went down. I know it's a huge difference.

Starting point is 00:03:36 Moss versus Sartan. Sartan is the defensive player of the year. There's no questioning how great he is. But if there was any position where you lost your best player, the cornerback room is the one area the Broncos are built to sort of keep things trucking along. Yeah, they're in a better spot. I would say right now than they were last year with depth. And look, you never want to lose PS2.

Starting point is 00:03:58 And we don't want to talk about impact. just how much his impact is magnified before the news came out about his injury. The Broncos were one and a half point road favorites against the Texans this Sunday. They're now one and a half point road underdogs. So you talk about a line shift. Look, that's how the betting world views it. This is a big loss here for the Broncos defense. You can't replace Pat Sertan, the value he brings, but this is a concerted effort as to

Starting point is 00:04:24 as an organization why you draft and why you develop players. And that guy that's next up in line. Look, I think that there's a lot of reaction out there, a lot of knee jerk conversations about the Broncos should trade for this guy at corner. No, they shouldn't. They shouldn't trade for any corner right now. It's not necessary. They don't need that. You've drafted Chris Abrams drain.

Starting point is 00:04:44 You've developed him. He played really nicely to stepping in when the Broncos actually went to him as a rookie. They should have done that sooner versus just Levi Wallace out there. I mean, Levi Wallace was so bad that they pulled Levi on that final drive that could have decided the entire game. and they put a rookie corner in in Chris Abrams Drain. Abrams Drain obviously is the guy who filled in on Sunday for Certan, and he saw plenty of matchups against Pickens. He saw plenty of matchups against C.D. Lamb.

Starting point is 00:05:09 He did a really good job keeping everything in front of him. He's more of a comfortable off ball cover corner, so we'll see if that changes, if he can play some press. I think he can. I mean, I watched him do it at Mizzou, but he's more comfortable playing off ball coverage, reading the hips of the receivers. So that's going to be maybe where that challenge comes up this week here.

Starting point is 00:05:26 What do you think, though? Because you see a lot of different conversations, and fans are saying, well, this is why you drafted Jada Baron. I don't think this is why you drafted Jadae Barron. Look, Jade's role has become very big here for this defense. There's been times there where the Broncos have gone nickel personnel where they take a linebacker off. And they put Jadee where Justin Sternad would be alongside Alex Singleton. They've had him play in that linebacker position. And then when you go to the dime, he's the other slot guy.

Starting point is 00:05:54 And he's covering tight ends. he was so important. So I feel like you could see Barron maybe get some snaps on the outside, but why at this point, if you already have a primary outside corner there in Chris Abrams drain, you don't want to change, as you mentioned, the schematic foundation of your defense by putting Jadae on the outside when he's got a very important role right now already on the inside, even if he's a rotational player. I think Denver's depth as good as is.

Starting point is 00:06:21 And plus, I think we forget, J-Quam Macmillan could also slide to the outside, if need be, and play there. He's done that. He's proven to be capable of that as well. Yeah, he had an interception. I was just watching. I don't even know why I got into watching highlights of the 49ers preseason game, Cody, but Jayquan had an interception. Remember that game where he gives up the big play early?

Starting point is 00:06:41 Then he's playing outside corner. I think it was the next drive or two drives later. He gets a pick playing outside corner driving on the ball. So we know Jayquan can do that. I think you're right. I think that you didn't draft Jada Barron to be an injury replacement for Pat Certan. You drafted Jada Baron to be an asset to your defense. Now, the solutions here for the Denver Broncos,

Starting point is 00:07:03 I think there's more than one way to kind of figure this out going forward. I think the initial plan could very well be. Let's put Chris Abrams drain out there. He's the most comfortable playing outside corner. We already have our other guy set. If we can replace one guy with another guy, it can almost work to your benefit in some ways. Because right now, how do teams attack the Denver Broncos defense?

Starting point is 00:07:26 They say, we're going to throw at Riley Moss almost every time because we're not going to throw to Pat Sertan's side of the field. In one way, it gives Denver such an advantage because you're borderline playing 10 on 10 at that point with Pat Sartan just kind of wiping out his side of the field. In this way, now teams are going to look a number of different directions. It gives maybe a little relief to Riley Moss a little bit here. Maybe he can even be a bit more aggressive. I'm excited to see what they do because I don't think there's. necessarily this is the one way that makes sense. I think it does make sense to say maybe J-Quan does kick outside and Jadae comes into

Starting point is 00:08:04 your full-time nickel roll. Maybe it is Chris Abrams drain taking Pat's spot. Maybe it is Jadae kicking outside and playing outside corner for a bit. I think that's the exciting thing here is that you talk about having depth at a position. This is a chance to flex your depth a little bit. This is a chance to say, hey, we're not going to necessarily let a guy go out there and just struggle and the same thing that happened with Levi Wallace happens to another player. We have options right now.

Starting point is 00:08:31 And that's the thing that I think don't get caught up in the whole trade stuff. If the Broncos are trading for anything, Cody, should be an offensive weapon. It should be an offensive lineman. We'll get to that maybe later this week. I don't think they need to do it at corner. I think they've got young guys that need to play that are getting an opportunity now to step up. Yeah, you're not going to bring someone in from another team that was just learning another scheme or someone who's just been on the street, you know, not playing this season to come in and learn

Starting point is 00:08:58 how complex this defense is. This is a very complex defense talking to Broncos players. I will say this. I talked to someone close to Pat Sertan here, and they said that the hope is that he can hopefully come back for the Chiefs game, but at this point, he's going to get a second opinion. And from that point, they're going to evaluate what is best for him, because you've got to be careful when it comes to peck strains, right? You tear your peck, you're done for the year. A strain is obviously something that's very problematic. It looked. like it was very discomforting on the broadcast replay that we saw from him. And so you just have to be careful because like Pat's position so much of him is playing

Starting point is 00:09:31 press coverage when you're jamming or you're trying to engage in a block. Like if someone, you know, goes a little bit wide and it stretches your arm back there, that can set that whole thing back. So the Broncos is going to obviously be very smart with this. Pat is such a great player. We'll see if he's got that Wolverine blood in him, though. A nice little call back to the 2022 season year. But obviously a tough, tough blow to the Broncos.

Starting point is 00:09:54 defense, not having PS2. He will not play against the Houston, Texas. Who could be getting Nico Collins back this week, which is something we'll break down throughout the week here on Lockdown Broncos. What they said, Broncos country coming up next. We're going to talk about the state of the AFC. West of Broncos. They're sitting atop, the Kansas City and the Chargers. They're lurking. We'll look at the whole entire division here on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. I'm Cody Roark from Lockdown Broncos, and this episode is brought to you by Peloton. Peloton is shaping the future of fitness with the brand new Peloton, cross-training,

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Starting point is 00:11:26 Nobody in the division lost in week eight, especially with the Raiders on a buy. I don't know. Maybe did the Raiders catch an L during the buy week? I don't know. But Broncos country ultimately the Broncos still have plenty of work to do this season. They are in first place. That's the good news. But the bad news is Kansas City Chiefs are heating up the Los Angeles Chargers.

Starting point is 00:11:45 They got back on track. And you know what? You got an opportunity before. so we're going to break down the state of the AFC West after week eight. We're at midseason. We're almost to the NFL trade deadline. And you know what? We appreciate every single one of you for tuning in every single step of the way.

Starting point is 00:12:00 All of you every dayers out there, all of you who make us your first listen of the day. We appreciate you so much. A Pat Bryant-style mile high salute, Cody, to everybody out there that makes lockdown Broncos their first listen of the day. So let's talk about the state of the AFC West. Nobody lost in week eight, unless you, I love the jokes, by the way. Anybody that posts the jokes about the Raiders losing to the by week, like that stuff, that always gets me.

Starting point is 00:12:26 It's like the undefeated. It is. It's undefeated. It's like the joker at the beginning of free agency or the draft. He's like, and here we go. You know, everybody likes to post that. But the biweek loss for the Raiders is great. So, but realistically, the Chargers, they crushed the Vikings on Thursday.

Starting point is 00:12:45 And I football looked like they kind of had a little bit of a get right game there. Chiefs, you know, they just kind of had too much of a talent gap between them and the Washington commanders at this point, especially with no Jaden Daniels out there. So the Broncos, the only team that didn't play a backup quarterback this week. What's your take on the AFC West right now? What's your read? How, how, let's talk about the Chiefs first. Like, are they legitimately back or are you still feeling like maybe it's the team we saw early in this season? I mean, they're playing much better right now than they have. And look, I understand. against the commanders. The commanders have taken a step back this year. Obviously, Jaden Daniels

Starting point is 00:13:22 injuries definitely factored into that, but that defense under Dan Quinn, that unit has kind of taken a step back from what we saw from them last year, that kind of Cinderella season that they had here. I mean, Kansas City had, I think, three straight drives there where it was like eight plays, 80 yards. They had, I think, what, a 13 play, 119 yard drive because of penalties, and it milked just five to six minutes off the clock. They had four, four possessions that did that that ended in touchdowns. That is hard to beat. And that is tough.

Starting point is 00:13:52 And like right now, Kansas City has some momentum. And as much as I hate to say it, like, this is why I think the injury to Pat Sertan comes at the absolute worst time because you need Pat this week against the Texans, I feel like. You need Pat against the Las Vegas Raiders who could be having Brock Bowers return to the mix there. And obviously, they just added Tyler Lockett. Yeah, needle mover there.

Starting point is 00:14:14 We'll talk about that later. But and then you got obviously a matchup with said Kansas City chief. before you go into your by week in week 12. So week 11, I mean, that matchup could have been looming large. And going into that, you want a guy like Pat Sertan in the mixer. So that's where I think things are crazy. So Denver schedule, I think, you know, they face some tough windows here because you play Sunday, tough physical game against one of the NFL's best defenses in the Texans.

Starting point is 00:14:38 And then you have a short turnaround. Yes, it's the Raiders, but it's a short turnaround on a Thursday night against Max Crosby, who we all know. It's a very, very good player. I think Denver's defense will be fine matching up against the Raiders. offense, but, you know, as we have seen at times, that that Raiders defense can come to play in certain moments. So I'm very, very curious to see how it all plays out.

Starting point is 00:14:58 Kansas City's schedule is what I look at right now. I'm like, this team is preparing to go on a run. Now, obviously, they just beat the commanders. Their next games here, their next five weeks at the Buffalo Bills, which we know those matches between Mahomes and Josh Allen are always tough, down to the wire, exciting games. That's on the road at Buffalo. then Kansas City goes into their by week, and then they come,

Starting point is 00:15:20 and then they play the Denver Broncos in Denver. Then they'll take on the Indianapolis Colts in Kansas City, and then they're at the Dallas Cowboys. So, I mean, this is just a very crucial window, I would say, for the Broncos to build on their lead right now, they're sitting at six and two.

Starting point is 00:15:35 You win these next two games, and let's say you beat Kansas City, win these next three games. The Broncos at that juncture, Sarah, will go into their by week at 9 and 2, which would be absolutely crazy, and we would welcome it.

Starting point is 00:15:46 we want that. But this is like that window where it's like you can't make these huge mistakes because Kansas City, their schedule gets a lot easier from here on out. And it ends relatively easy for them. And then the chargers are also lurking behind as well. Yeah. When it comes to the Broncos, Cody, I think six and four is not an option for this team. Right.

Starting point is 00:16:08 I mean, when you look at the next two games they play at Houston, who's three and four, and then against the Raiders on Thursday night football, I know it's a short turnaround. I know weird stuff can happen on Thursday night football, but six and four is not an option. It's seven and three or eight and two going into that game against Kansas City. The stakes will be high for that game no matter what. But I think the Broncos have to make sure that they get to at least a minimum seven and three going into that game. And I think it's kind of, it's kind of trash that the NFL gave the chiefs a buy week right before that game.

Starting point is 00:16:39 I just, I don't love that they did that. But you know what it is what it is. The Broncos will have a little bit of extended rest, right? When it comes to the Chargers, they are lurking behind. I don't know. I don't feel the presence of the Chargers in the same way that I feel the presence of the Raiders. Or excuse me, the Chiefs. And when it comes to the Raiders, this is what I was going to say.

Starting point is 00:17:00 You talked about Tyler Lockett being a needle mover for them. They may need our friends at Ruggia to move the needle for them this season. But I think the Raiders are nothing to the Bronco at this point. So they have to take care of business on Thursday night football. when that game comes around. Now, the Texans game, that looms large right now because the Broncos have won three games this season out of their six wins already against NFC opponents, right? You beat the Cowboys, you beat the Giants, you beat the Eagles. You're three and two against AFC teams.

Starting point is 00:17:33 So it's almost like we're entering division play in a sort of way, right? I mean, the Broncos, they've only had the one game against a divisional opponent so far. But taking care of conference opponents was a huge thing that kept them. in the mix or other teams in the mix late last season, get those other teams out of the mix by winning your AFC matchups. You got a chance to do twice in four days against the Texans and Raiders. If you can get to that Chiefs game at 8 and 2, which would put you at 5 and 2 in AFC play,

Starting point is 00:18:03 that will go such a long way to getting this team a playoff spot locked up sooner than later. Yeah, and especially, you know, a team like Houston who looked like they were getting things clicking last week against the 49ers. And maybe they are. Maybe they're starting to find their rhythm a little bit. You get a win over them. That gives you the tiebreaker, right? And that's so important because when you're talking about those teams that are in the

Starting point is 00:18:24 mix looking to maybe jump into that playoff picture down the end stretch of the season, you want to have that head-to-head advantage over them. And certainly that's something the Broncos is going to have to make hay on. If you look at the Chargers next five games, they're at the Tennessee Titans, which Titans only have one win. The Chargers should win that one. Hopefully they don't. Then they play at home against the Steelers.

Starting point is 00:18:44 which the Steelers defense has become vastly overrated so far from what we've seen this season at the Jaguars. They have a bi-week the same way that Denver does in week 12, and then they open up coming out of the bi-week at home against the Raiders. So you have the Chiefs and the Chargers looking right here to kind of jump back up, trying to get to that top spot in the AFC West. This is a fun division of football here. And I will say it right now, I think here all the way, going into week number nine, I think that all three of these teams inside the ATS,

Starting point is 00:19:13 us, the Chiefs, Chargers, and Broncos will be in the playoffs. Once again, this upcoming season, the way that they were last year. I think it's becoming one of the better divisions in football minus the Las Vegas Raiders. But yeah, I'm with you there. And then I always think, like, even though that the Raiders are the Raiders, Sarah, they're the type of team that can be looking to poke holes in other teams, dreams or aspirations, right? They were on a biweek and week eight.

Starting point is 00:19:35 They play this Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars at home. Then they have that Thursday night turnaround as do the Broncos against Denver here. and then they play the Cowboys, they play the Browns in Vegas. Like when you look at like the Jaguars who were before Kansas City won, they were in that playoff picture. Kansas City won and obviously now they're bumped down, I think, to the seventh spot, which we'll talk about the AFC picture coming up here in just a little bit. You got that.

Starting point is 00:19:59 And then, I mean, once again, you don't want them to sneak the Broncos because then that can obviously lead to like it would be disappointing at this point. If the Raiders somehow came in and poked holes in like the Broncos' aspirations, they're in a very crucial window right now, Denver. So I'd say there's probably more pressure right now in the Broncos than there are teams like Kansas City or even the chargers right now with the schedule that's coming up ahead. So that's kind of how I wanted to summarize it.

Starting point is 00:20:24 Look, Broncos country, we want to hear from you as well. What are your thoughts on the state of the AFC West? Do you feel like Kansas City is gearing up to try to make a run here? Because after they go through their buy, they have to face Denver, which we know is going to be a tough matchup for KC. But after that, the schedule is pretty easy for them for the rest of the way, maybe minus that Colts game or maybe a Chargers matchup here. But very, very crucial times here for this Broncos team.

Starting point is 00:20:47 They got to take advantage. Can we see them do just that? But coming up next Broncos country, we're going to take a look at the state of the entire AFC. Where do the Broncos stand in the playoff picture? And did it turn out the way that you and I thought it would before the season even began? We'll go through that much more. On today's episode, Lockdown Broncos.

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Starting point is 00:23:07 your game with Fanduil, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. The AFC playoff picture halfway through the season looks very interesting and some surprise developments all across the league. And of course, the Broncos find themselves in a top tier position. We'll break it all down here on today's episode. I want to say thank you once again, everyone in Broncos country, all the everydayers. Thanks for tuning in making us your first listen, however you choose to do so. Sarah, let's talk about the entire picture here of the AFC.

Starting point is 00:23:34 We looked at the AFC West. We know that right now three teams from the West are inside. If the playoffs were to begin today, they're inside that playoff picture, which is obviously a show of strength of the division. But man, this season has been very interesting from the AFC standpoint with the emergence of obviously the Indianapolis Colts and what they've been able to do with Daniel Jones, Drake May and his big season he's having for the New England Patriots. I was going to say, like nobody I think had it on their bingo card that coming into

Starting point is 00:24:02 week nine of the regular season, the Colts, The Colts and the Patriots were going to be at top of the AFC. This is almost like when Brady and Manning were playing, this would have been like, if you would have said this early on season, I would have been like, you're kidding. No, absolutely not. That's not going to be the reality. Yet here we are.

Starting point is 00:24:17 And the Broncos third right now, right behind them. Yeah, the AFC is partying like it's 2015, Cody. There's no question about it. I mean, when you look up and down, the Steelers leading the AFC north, Broncos leading the West, Patriots leading the east, the Colts leading the south.

Starting point is 00:24:33 I mean, it is a picture. directly out of that 2010, 2012 to 2015 era, you know, back when Andrew Luck was still playing ball, right? So, I mean, yeah, these are, it's harkening back to old times. And for the Denver Broncos, this, the state of the AFC right now is precisely why I think the Broncos have to be buyers at the NFL trade deadline, because the AFC is as wide open as you could have possibly asked at the beginning of the year. What's, what was the big thing we talked about? going into this season. Can the Broncos prove that they are on the same level as teams like Kansas City as teams like Buffalo, Baltimore? Well, the perception after getting blown out in

Starting point is 00:25:15 last year's playoffs against the bills was that the Broncos are still a ways away. Now everything tells us the records of every team out there, the way that every team has played, the way the Broncos have played, the win in Philadelphia, the dominating win over the number one offense against the Cowboys. Everything has shown us. that this Denver Broncos team is just as good as anybody else in the AFC. They came a leverage penalty away from beating the Indianapolis Colts who have the best record in the league. The Broncos are fractions of place. They didn't even trail with any time left on the clock against either the Colts or the Chargers.

Starting point is 00:25:54 I mean, it took until the very end of both of those games for the Broncos to actually get beat. So to me, you go into this trade deadline. You come away no matter what happens against Houston. You are buyers at the trade deadline. George Payton's never been able to do that. And the state of the AFC right now is exactly what you could have asked for if you're the Denver Broncos. You are up there in the top three. Everybody else has proven there's weakness in the armor.

Starting point is 00:26:21 You've got to kick the door down and attack while you can. Well, right now, too, if the playoffs begin today, the Colts won, Patriots at the two seed, the Broncos at the three seed, the Steelers by default of them being the leader in their division right now, which that actually might end up being the worst division in football right now, maybe an argument to be had there with the AFC South minus the Indianapolis Colts. And then you got the Buffalo Bills who are sitting there at that fifth spot, the charter at the six spot. And then right now the chiefs at that seven spot with the chiefs and the charters all being

Starting point is 00:26:49 one game back right now of Denver for that lead. So it is very interesting right now. And this is kind of what we talked about when looking at the next handful of games here for the Broncos. conference record is going to be so important here. If the Broncos can get three wins with the Texans, the Raiders, and the chiefs, they will have a six and two conference record, which gives them some breathing room, because then they're going to open up coming out of the byweek on the road at the Washington commanders on Sunday night football.

Starting point is 00:27:17 And then they have a matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders in Vegas after that. So you'd have that. And then you'd have a two-in-one divisional record, which obviously the chargers right now have the advantage in that category with a 3-0 start that they had on the year. And they're a crazy Justin Herbert miraculous touchdown throw on fourth down away from Denver. I mean, from Denver being at that point, as you mentioned, we're talking about two plays, really being the difference between Denver right now being 8-0 versus them being potentially maybe even 7 and 1 or where they're at right now, 6 and 2.

Starting point is 00:27:49 It's crazy to think about when we haven't seen this Broncos team, I think, play their best overall football, certainly not on the offensive side. Last week was a step in the right direction, but now you've got to do it against a tougher defense this week in the Houston Texans. And if Denver can do that, then I think the conversation changes a little bit. And maybe people are going to start to respect Denver a little bit more in the national media. Though we don't really care what the national media says. They don't go into practices. They don't really follow the team.

Starting point is 00:28:12 They just react to things. We're boots on the ground. We have you covered every single day here, locked on Broncos. So your thoughts here on kind of this pecking order inside the division. I know you talked about the trade deadline and maybe Denver being buyers. tomorrow's episode is certainly going to highlight that. We're going to tease a little bit here because I think with the injuries to Lucas Crowe being out for the year and after having foot surgery,

Starting point is 00:28:33 an obviously significant potential knee injury for Nate Adkins, the tight-in position might be the position the Broncos have to become buyers at here to keep the flow going on the offensive side of the ball. That's what we'll talk about on tomorrow's show. But in your thoughts right here, Sarah, if you had to predict right now, how do you see the Broncos next three games going for them at this point? I think the minimum of two and one. I think that's the way that I see it happening, right?

Starting point is 00:28:59 The Broncos once again have an opportunity against Houston for sure. And definitely when you come back home a couple weeks later against Kansas City. And obviously you want to beat the Raiders. Like I'm not trying to diminish that game. But when you're talking about this team closing and winning against good teams, this is their opportunity to do exactly that. I mean, you don't want the Houston Texans lurking in the playoff picture this season. do your part to get them out of it.

Starting point is 00:29:25 And the same thing can be said of teams like Baltimore right now. Like Baltimore is going to start creeping up, right? Baltimore is two and five and they've got Lamar Jackson back for Thursday night. They're going to probably win that game. And they're probably going to get to three and five pretty good. The Baltimore Ravens, before we know it, Cody, we'll blink our eyes. We'll be getting our turkeys prepared and they'll be 500 or better, right? And so that's where you just really want to take advantage of the opportunity that you have.

Starting point is 00:29:52 Sean Paten said it after that Buffalo game last year. We got to find a way to host a game like this. We got to find ways to host playoff games. You and I talked about the only way to do that is to win your division. So do that. Go do it. Go take that opportunity that's right in front of you right now. Broncos country, Sarah could always give a sermon on how to fire you up here.

Starting point is 00:30:12 I feel like you were given like a pregame speech. I was like, all right, Sarah, let's go strap up the helmet. Let's go. Let's go play there. It's going to be very important for the Broncos to take care of business here in the next handful of weeks coming up. As we always say, as a team in the position that Denver's in, they control their own destiny.

Starting point is 00:30:30 How will they handle the pressure that's coming up? Obviously, being without Pat Sartan, and can the offense continue to ascend and play better? And if they can, hey, this Broncos team is going to be very scary. They might come for that top spot in the AFC. Now, if that does, what a development that would be here. The way that said, Brock was going to wrap up today's episode of the show. We appreciate you rocking with us.

Starting point is 00:30:48 Make sure if you're a brand new viewer listener, you love to what we talked about here today. hit their subscribe to that follow button so you never miss out on what's going on. And for all you every dayers, here's what you can expect tomorrow. The Broncos were rumored to be eyeing the tight end market before injuries at the position. Now with the NFL trade deadline coming up next week, who could they potentially look at to add to the mix alongside Evan Ingram and Adam Trowman? If the Broncos become buyers, we'll take a look at several key options that could be difference makers

Starting point is 00:31:13 if the Broncos' offense hopes to keep ascending to where they want to be. You'll get that more on tomorrow's episode of the show.

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