Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - CHARGED UP: Denver Broncos Defense MATCHES UP Well With Drake Maye, New England Patriots

Starting point is 00:00:00 As the Denver Broncos gets set to take on the New England Patriots, the Broncos defense can help propel the team to Super Bowl 60. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. What's up, Broncos, welcome me to another episode, Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, the number one sports podcast network in the country.

Starting point is 00:00:31 Thanks to all you every day is out there in Broncos Country. Thanks for tuning in making us your first listen. as the Denver Broncos get ready to face the New England Patriots here this week and the AFC championship with high stakes on the line. The winner, they go to Santa Clara for Super Bowl 60. We'll talk about how the Broncos defense can propel this team to Santa Clara this week against the New England Patriots who have been flustered a little bit the last couple of weeks. Plus, we'll give you reasons to be optimistic about the Broncos offense.

Starting point is 00:00:59 Even with Jared Stidham stepping in under center, we'll take a look at that. And then we'll highlight special teams and why Denver's special teams, team's aces could be the difference maker here in Sunday's AFC championship game. You're going to get all that here on today's episode of the show here. I'm Cody Roar, Credential Broncos reporter for Mile High Sports. joined, as always by Sarah Bedinger, say expert of their predominantly orange.com. Sarah, my friend, look, I think a lot of conversations we've already seen the national media talking about this, that and the other, and not the Denver Broncos.

Starting point is 00:01:28 Everyone's talking about the Newland Patriots and Drake May that this team is going to go to the Super Bowl. well, I would like to exercise caution to those folks and say, you know what? The Denver Broncos defense might have something to say about that. Now, despite Denver's defensive performance of allowing as many yards as they did to Josh Allen, the Buffalo Bills, the third down numbers that they allowed, takeaways were the difference for the defense. And this Patriots team, I think they showed us so far in the wild card and in the

Starting point is 00:01:55 division around, they are prone to being hit and also turning the football over. Yeah, the Patriots, I don't know if everybody realizes this, but this has both to do with the offense and the defense. But over the course of the 20-25 season, they had the worst sack differential of any team in the league, which means that when you combine offensive sacks allowed and defensive sacks that they had, they were the worst. And so we know that obviously Drake May is he'll take hits,

Starting point is 00:02:23 he'll take shots, he'll take sacks. And the Broncos, they've been the best pass rushing team in the NFL all season long. They got to Josh Allen a handful of times in that game against Buffalo. obviously Cody and we saw a ton of quarterback hits, pressures. I mean, they just made life difficult for him, got him off his spot, made him a little rattled back there. And you expect an MVP caliber guy like Josh Allen to make place to do what he does, right? Even if he is turning the ball over, it's not like it snowballed into a point where,

Starting point is 00:02:52 okay, he just literally can't do anything right out there. No, he got his and we talked about that after the game, but you're now facing off against a very young quarterback, a second year quarterback, back coming into a hostile environment, and that plays into your defense's favor. I can't help but think. I know Drake May has been great this season, but in the playoffs, he has struggled a little bit so the Broncos defense, they can take advantage of that and help propel this team to Super Bowl 60.

Starting point is 00:03:20 The thing I like about the playoffs is that every moment, right, everything that week is the only thing that matters. It doesn't matter what you did last week. It doesn't matter, you know, what you did in the regular season. It's about can you put forth your best game plan? can you put forth your best effort? And that's what I like about maybe Denver hosting the AFC championship game this week, especially against Drake May.

Starting point is 00:03:38 Look, I think we'll sit here. There's a social media feud between Drake May fans, Bo Knicks fans. Like the reality is simple. Let's highlight that both quarterbacks, both young quarterbacks are exciting and talented players. I think the future of the league is in good hands with these guys kind of be in the face of the younger quarterbacks that are leading the way here as franchise guys. But to your point about the playoffs and where Drake May's been out, against the Chargers, he was sacked five times.

Starting point is 00:04:02 He threw an interception in that game. The Chargers defense forced two fumbles in that matchup there. They flustered him and they were able to hit him. That's going to be one of the bigger keys, right? Now you look at the Houston Texans game. Now we know going into the game. The Texans defense, probably the scariest defense that was remaining in the NFL playoffs at that point before those two teams faced off in a snowy game.

Starting point is 00:04:23 And that could be the case here. Once again, could be some snow in the AFC championship game here on Sunday. But against the Texans, he was. was sacked five times. The Texans defense forced four fumbles, and they also intercepted Drake May 1. So he is susceptible to being hit. And Sarah, it plays into what I think the Broncos have been looking for all season long, right? John Payton has emphasized that they need a final way to create takeaways, turnovers, get stops. Well, you know what? They did just that. They forced five takeaways against the Buffalo Bills, which is very good offense here. You look at Drake

Starting point is 00:04:54 May, his ability to obviously lose the boss. They're getting stripped sacked a couple of times against the Texans. You also factor in reminding. Andre Stevenson, who's a really good running back. He's had a tendency over his career to fumble the ball. This is a game with the Broncos. It's paramount for them to go out and force more takeaways once again. 100%. And you and I talked about this while they were struggling to do that.

Starting point is 00:05:16 And the fact that takeaways come in bunches. Like they kind of, it goes through like a season almost where, all right, we're not forcing anywhere. We're in a little bit of a drought. And then all of a sudden, here comes the rain. It's just absolutely pouring. And that's what happened to. against Buffalo. And we saw that extended back to, I know it was Tray Lance and I know the game before

Starting point is 00:05:35 that was Chris Ola Doken, but we've seen the Broncos forcing more turnovers lately, especially timely turnovers, right? I mean, the Jayquant Macmillan interception could not have come at a better time. And when you talk about tide turning plays, I mean, the first turnover of the game against Buffalo, Alex Singleton forcing a fumble when it felt like the bills were gaining momentum. So you just feel like this Broncos defense, which already has been dominant all year on third downs and in the red zone. Now, if you're adding turnovers into the mix, you're talking about a team that dominates both situationally and can demoralize an offense with a game altering turnover at any given point. And so that's where I know they have to be better. You mentioned it. The bills

Starting point is 00:06:17 had a lot of success 15 on third downs in that divisional round. But a lot of those plays were third and short situations where Josh Allen is able to just use his, you know, size and go get the ball past the line of scrimmage or pass a line to excuse me with size and length. And that's, you've got to stop the Patriots on the early downs. You have to shut them down on the early downs, create those third and long situations because that's where this team has been able to get off the field

Starting point is 00:06:44 on third downs so frequently. That's where this defense has been able to shut teams down in the red zone, creating long down and distance situations in those early downs and preventing teams from running all over you. That's going to be critical once again in this week. week's game defensively dominating the line of scrimmage. And I almost feel better about the matchup here against the Patriots than I did against Buffalo because of what we saw in last year's playoffs too, where their size was just maybe a little too much for Denver to handle.

Starting point is 00:07:14 And this is too, I think you look at some of the early matches. We'll dive deeper into these as the week goes on here. But I think an early previous, Stefan Diggs versus PS2, Kisham Boutte versus obviously Riley Moss will be something that's a subject of our focus. We know that Drake may, They love to take those deep shots downfield. And this is where the Broncos secondary is going to have to come up big. But this is where that pass rush is going to have to come up big as well. And I can't help, Sarah, but just think that in the divisional round, right, against the Buffalo Bills. Watching Nick Benito come off that left side, drip sack, Josh Allen, it gave me Von Miller vibes, so to speak.

Starting point is 00:07:48 Right. And I put a tweet out in the press box as that had happened. I said, wow, Nick Bonito may be channeling that inner Von Miller playoff arch here. And man, it would be incredible to see that carryover this week against the New England Patriots. Remember the AFC championship game to last year? Not last year. Geez, would have been nice last year. 10 years ago, Von Miller just dropped back into coverage on one play and had an interception off of Tom Brady. You know, he's throwing a pass to Rob Grancowski.

Starting point is 00:08:13 But they got after him. They flustered him. And some of those same elements of that New England team are there. Josh McDaniels still there. Drake May, seemingly the face of the franchise for them going forward, maybe a potential rivalry for this Broncos Patriots team reignited this week. And I can't help but think that maybe Nick Benito can become the guy that creates that impact once again. And we saw also other pass rushers on this team, like after the game,

Starting point is 00:08:40 when folks are posting screenshots of like DJ Jones getting held. And, you know, even the, I think the Buffalo Bills left tackle or one of their tackles even mentioned after the game, it's like, yeah, I was holding all games and they weren't calling it. So, I mean, I just kept on doing it basically is what he said. And you can go look that up. He actually said those things. And they were. They were holding the Broncos because look, those guys get after the quarterback.

Starting point is 00:09:04 Jonathan Cooper. We haven't talked much about Coop this season, Cody. He played one of his best games against the bills. And nobody knows about it because he was getting held constantly. And they weren't calling it. DJ Jones should have had a game ending safety. They did not call holding in the end zone. Zach Allen had eight pressures.

Starting point is 00:09:23 He's getting held constantly. They weren't calling it. I think Broncos are going to have some stuff to send to the league and to the officials this week and say, hey, be watching for this stuff because our guys are getting held constantly. And that's our like with Bo Nix out now, you guys have to be on it. You guys have to be calling this. And yeah, that can be a double-edged sword too because then they're going to be calling

Starting point is 00:09:46 it both ways, right? But this is the Broncos number one advantage for the remainder of the playoffs. You get after the quarterback better than anybody else in the NFL, and you're facing off against the youngest remaining quarterback in the playoffs. So get after this kid, make his life miserable, and keep the streak of AFC championship games that the Broncos have beaten the Patriots, two in a row, two out of two, right? You know, make it three in a row.

Starting point is 00:10:10 And power fill a mile high is going to be so loud. It was the loudest I've ever heard it against the Buffalo Bills, and it was constant. So Sean Payton's plea to the in-stadium folks to, hey, no, We want the fans loud here. No on-video screen games where you're doing all these crazy things. We want it loud when they enter the huddle, when they're lined up. That's going to be a dynamic.

Starting point is 00:10:31 I think it's going to be so important as well this week. And the Broncos defense, they feed off of that here. But Broncos country coming up next, Sarah and I are going to tell you reasons why you should be optimistic about the Broncos offense this week. And Jared Steader, taking over under center. You're going to get that more here on today's episode of the show. Today's show is brought to you by our friends over there at Indeed. And if you ever hired someone who looked good on paper, but wasn't the right fit.

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Starting point is 00:12:41 It might be Jared Stidham time for the Denver Broncos after the event. very unfortunate Bo Nix injury in the AFC divisional round. But Broncos country, there's plenty of reasons to be optimistic about why this offense can actually help this team win Super Bowl 60. They're not going to get just dragged around by the defense. And Cody and I are going to tell you exactly why here on today's episode of the show. But I want to say thank you to all you every dayers out there that make Lockdown Broncos your first listen of the day every single day right here on the Lockdown Podcast Network, the number one sports podcast network out there. And especially as we get into the AFC championship round of the season,

Starting point is 00:13:18 Cody and I want to invite you to check out the link in the show notes to join our Every Day or All Access Club where there's going to be a bunch of bonus content, locker room clips, all 22 clips. You get a discount on locked on merch and you get an ad-free episode of every single show that we do. So it's worth the price of admission just for that. And we'd really recommend you checking that out. So if you would, please check it out. And Cody, let's talk about the offense and reasons.

Starting point is 00:13:43 to be optimistic because look, I think obviously there's a little bit of doom and gloom that sets in after an injury to your starting quarterback. There's no question. Like Bo Nix has been the heart and soul of the comebacks, like the cardiac Broncos. It's been Bo Nicks, right? Although I think we would all agree, it's also been a total team effort. But Bo has made big plays when it's mattered the most. I think after watching back the game against the Buffalo Bills, what the Broncos are doing right now offensively. They are set up perfectly for Jarrett Stidham to be able to step in and lead this team to the Super Bowl and not just to the Super Bowl, but actually win it.

Starting point is 00:14:25 I don't think it's doom and gloom time. I get we're upset for Bo Nix, but I don't think this is the end of the story for this offense. No, I don't think it is either. And I think where a lot of people are overlooking and certainly national media pundits are doing the same thing, the fact that Jarrett Stidham has been in this specific system with Sean Payton as it has grown and evolved, right? When Jarrett came in, he was the backup to Russell Wilson. But behind the scenes, hey, this is with the offense. This is the foundation of it. When they drafted Bo Nix, they had that open quarterback competition that Bo won.

Starting point is 00:14:56 Jarrett, as competitive as he is, certainly believes that he's a starting quarterback in today's NFL. Sean Payton has said, I believe that I have a number two that can start for a handful of teams here in this league. There is belief in that. You know, a lot of people are talking about, yes, the limited sample size that Stidham has as a starter in the NFL, certainly opens up some questions. I think that's fair. But I think that if any other situation right around the NFL, if there were an injury to happen, I think because of Stidham's experience in this system where he's been here for years, he's been in that room with Davis Webb, with Boe Nix, with now obviously Sam Ellinger. Now you're reintroducing Ben Danucci into the mix as well.

Starting point is 00:15:34 Stidham knows how to operate this offense. He knows every aspect of it. Now, I think where maybe there's a difference that people are not seeing, so to speak. There's a skill set from an athletic standpoint that Bo possesses that Jarrett simply doesn't have at the extent that Bo does, right? But the knowledge of the system, the ability to operate it, I felt like all throughout training camp, he was so sharp in the on-field reps that he had. We saw it in the preseason, how sharp he was, how decisive he was with the football. To me, Sarah, those are inklings that tell me, hey, the Broncos with Stidham, I think they'll be fine. The question is, what will it look like without? out Bo Nix, we do not know just yet, but I do have confidence instead of being able to

Starting point is 00:16:15 operate this offense. And for Sean, I think history kind of speaks to the fact that Sean knows what he's doing, especially if he has to have a backup step into the mix here. Yeah, he's been pretty outstanding when he's had to use his backup quarterbacks, no matter if it's James Winston, Teddy Bridgewater, Taysam Hill. I know you talked about that on yesterday's episode of the show a little bit as well, Cody. But Sean Payton's track record really speaks for itself when it comes to the ability to play that chess matchup against any sort of defense that he faces. And now you've really given yourself a bit more of an advantage given the fact that the Patriots, they don't have any film on Jared Stidham to watch other than

Starting point is 00:16:52 preseason stuff. He hasn't started a game since 2023, hasn't thrown a pass in a regular season game since that week 18 matchup against the Chargers back in that season. And so there's nothing to go off when it comes to, hey, how is Jared Stiddle? going to operate this offense and how is it going to be different from what bow nix does because with bow nix obviously teams are playing that too high look they're trying to disguise the safety coverage they're playing a ton of zone coverage against the broncos and basically forcing him to go out there and say hey you're going to play darts from 50 yards away or 40 yards away or whatever you know it's like it's you got to hit your spot right and you're trying to take away the run and limit what

Starting point is 00:17:31 the broncos can do but with stid them out there it's going to be a different style of offense is not going to be. I don't think as much of let's get him out on the move and let's try to get him in rhythm that way, making throws on the run, right? You want him to win from the pocket. And so how does that differentiate what you do in terms of the routes that are being called, the personnel groupings that are being called? That's what I'm interested to see because it's not that I don't think Jared can run the same offense that Boe is running. It's the Sean Payton offense. But that book is very large, Cody. That playbook is humongous. And we know that these two guys are different types of players.

Starting point is 00:18:09 And so what challenge does that present for the Patriots defense? How much more are the Broncos going to lean on the running game? Are they still going to lean on that quick strike passing attack? Are they going to attack more downfield vertically? And Jarrett proved, I know it was the preseason, but man, he was a league above everybody that he went up against in the preseason as well. I think he's got the chops to be able to make this happen. And what we saw schematically against the bills, like those are throws that

Starting point is 00:18:35 all right, I'm not saying any quarterback can make this throw, but you expect a quarterback of Stidham's caliber to be able to come in and execute these plays. There's a big difference between those two things. Yeah, 100%. I think another thing too for Josh McDaniels who coached, obviously Jarrett Stidham. There was this element of maybe like he's going to say, oh, this is what I know about Jared. He's going to give that information of the D Cornynir.

Starting point is 00:18:58 But Jarrett has evolved behind the scenes. And to your point, him not having a lot of regular season sample size film out there for the defensive coordinator go off of. I think that benefits. And because now Sean Payton offensively, when he's going to the game plan, is, okay, here's what Jared does well. How can we mesh what he does well with what we need to execute at the offense at almost every level? And I think the run game certainly is going to be a very important part of that. Could the Broncos get that going this week? That is a huge question. But there are things that maybe Jarrett can do that maybe open things up for the quick passing game to thrive a little bit more

Starting point is 00:19:31 here. Maybe you see a little bit more involvement of Evan Ingram. I'm very curious to see how Denver approaches it. But Sarah, I'm with you. I don't, I think the loss of Bo Nix is huge. It's massive. Okay. But there's nothing that the Broncos can do about that right now. There's nothing that we certainly sitting in our analyst chairs can do about that. However, I do think that for Jared to be able to step into this situation, I think out of any quarterback situation right now in the NFL, this is probably the best case scenario for Denver versus you not having a solidified backup that you trust. And it's like, oh, no offense to Ben Danucci, but it would be different.

Starting point is 00:20:04 If Jarrett Stidham wasn't on this roster and it's like, now you have to rely on Sam Ellinger or Ben Danucci, it would be definitely different. I don't feel that way here about Jarrett Stidham. And I think that is a reason to be optimistic about the offense. And we'll see what Sean Payton and his coaching staff can put together this week. Maybe some more Frank Crum receiving touchdowns are in store here. But Broncos country coming up next,

Starting point is 00:20:25 we're going to highlight another key element of an early preview of this matchup, and that is special teams. And the Broncos three special teams aces, I think they can outclass. the ace that the New England Patriots certainly do have on their end. We'll tell you why here on today's episode of the show. Broncos Country, today's episode show is brought to you by friends

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Starting point is 00:22:31 to get the playoff game rolling. So visit Fandu, an official sportsbook partner of the NFL, and grab your profit boost pack every NFL playoff game day. Special teams is one of the most underrated elements of the National Football League. And for the Denver Broncos, their special teams units have been pretty good here in the 2025 NFL season. And when it comes down to the AFC championship game, there are three aces that Denver has on that side of the field that could make the difference against an all-pro returner in Marcus Jones.

Starting point is 00:22:59 I want to say thank you once again to Broncos, country of tuning in making us your first listen. We appreciate you so much here. Sarah, I feel like special teams hasn't been talked about enough. I mean, we're talking about a guy in Devin Key who just won first team all pro was a special team's ace contributor with 26, 26 special teams tackles. Sarah, I do not think like the casual NFL viewer, right? Let's say someone who doesn't pay too much attention to the game, like, oh, 26 tackles,

Starting point is 00:23:24 that's nothing. For a guy to have 26 special teams tackles in the regular season, not even factor in what he did in the playoffs. He had a couple of big plays. Devin Key is a huge difference maker for this Broncos team that now has to go against a very dangerous and electrifying returner in Marcus Jones of the New England Patriots. 100%.

Starting point is 00:23:44 Remember when Sean Payton was initially hired by the Broncos and he's talking about special teams and the importance of special teams. He talks about hidden yardage, right? Well, that's especially prevalent in today's NFL because of the kickoff first and foremost, right? Where you're actually kicking the ball off in play so guys can return it. And you're trying to get an advantage in the field position battle. So that's already a huge factor.

Starting point is 00:24:10 And when you consider that alone, how many kickoffs are returned for there to be 11 guys out there on the field, 10 really, you know, in effect with the kicker being not necessarily the guy who's going for the tackles. So there's 10 guys out there trying to make a tackle. And this guy's making 26 special teams tackles. I mean, it's incredible what he's done in the punt return game. The Broncos have, you know, given up a few returns this year. But at the same time, man, look at how big that punt coverage was this last game. I mean, it's just huge for this team to be good on special teams, right?

Starting point is 00:24:43 And when you're going up against a team like New England, this has been a major tied turner for the team. I mean, you can go back to a number of their big wins this season. How many of the big wins that they've had had tide shifting plays? from Marcus Jones in particular. The punt return extraordinary. I think a lot of Broncos fans loved him coming out of the NFL draft a handful of years ago because, I mean, the dude was a pick six machine at college. He was a punt return and kick return machine in college.

Starting point is 00:25:12 And that has translated to the NFL. I believe, Cody, since Marcus Jones came into the NFL, he's the only player in the NFL with an offensive, defensive, and special teams touchdown. So he's a dynamic threat. How do you shut down a die? dynamic threat. Well, you got to have special teams aces of your own and the Broncos. I mean, we talk about Devin Key. He's their ace. He's the all pro. But J.L. Skinner has played great this season. Jonah Ellis is tremendous on special teams. So they've got guys that can

Starting point is 00:25:42 stop one of the Patriots biggest big play threats. And it's not even a guy who plays offense for. Yeah. And he's got obviously four interceptions this season, two pick sixes. He just had a pick six against the Houston Texans. And obviously the Patriots playoff win here. he's dynamic in space, knows how to shift, knows how to find the lanes here to that point as well. But let's look at his numbers here in the return game as you look at it. He's got eight punt returns. Obviously, I mean, not eight punt returns. He's got 21 punt returns in eight games starting as a return, 363 yards,

Starting point is 00:26:13 averaging 17.3 yards per return from a punt return standpoint here this season. That's one of the tops right now in the NFL. Two punt return touchdowns, obviously this season. Second team, all pro. his longest was 94 yards. And then you factor that in the equation. He's not a kick return guy for you. So that's obviously nice that Denver doesn't have to worry about him as a kick returner.

Starting point is 00:26:36 They just have to worry about him as a punt returner. And I felt like for this unit this past week against guys like Ray Davis and the Buffalo Bills, Tara, I was very impressed with how Denver contained the bill's return dynamic because we've seen him be that as well. This is going to be such a key thing here for Denver this week. Kick return coverage. and obviously part return coverage. Devin Key is going to be a big part of that.

Starting point is 00:26:57 But can we also talk about Jeremy Croshaw in the dynamic that he has? Croshaw has been very good for Denver. And we talked about that one punt that pinned the bills inside the five that if the refs would have called holding on the play where DJ Jones is blatantly held, that punt would have led to the game-winning safety. So it's talking about complementary football within the game of those hidden yards there. Croshaw's big. And then, of course, how could we forget,

Starting point is 00:27:22 will Lutz, who's been one of the most clutch kickers in the NFL this season. To be honest with you, Sarah, I'm also very surprised Will Lutz didn't have an all pro vote. Didn't get that consideration. To me, it was wild considering how accurate he's been. But yes, of course, not kicking the 68, 69 yard field goals at Cam Little of the Jaguars doing. But God forbid, you have a clutch kicker who can actually make his kicks. That to me is crazy. Will Lutz didn't get enough love. I still can't believe that. Honestly, I mean, you and I talked about that when we had our discussion about which Broncos could be all pros and we threw his name out there.

Starting point is 00:27:55 Because I think to me, being a kicker is so much more about being clutched than it is about hitting from long distance. Like hitting from long distance, any, there's a lot of guys out there that can do that. Brandon Aubrey can do that. Cam Little can do that. A lot of kickers can hit from long distance. But under pressure, when the game is on the line, who is the best kicker in the NFL this season? It's Will Lutz. And there's no question about it.

Starting point is 00:28:18 And it's been proven over and over again. And so that's a, you go back to this game against the bills. I mean, before the end of the first half, you force a fumble on Josh Allen, you've got one shot. And it's, I mean, Will has to make that kick. It's a, the game is decided by a difference of three points. And Will Lutz has to make that kick. And he does. And it not only gives the Broncos an additional.

Starting point is 00:28:41 Yeah, 50 plus, exactly. It gives you that cushion going into the half. It gives you momentum going into the half. It gives you a belief that like, all right, we can do this. We can do this thing. Like, we can finish this game out. and then he goes and makes the kid. I know it's a 26-yarder or whatever it was at the end of overtime there,

Starting point is 00:28:59 but that's a pressure-packed kick. Like, you have to have a kicker like him in these games. And so many teams are shuffling their kickers around. Miss me with the long-distance stuff. Who cares? Give me the guy who makes clutch kicks any day over the guy who can hit from 60 plus. Big clutch Lutz. That's the new nickname there.

Starting point is 00:29:18 There will say there's other names that we're not going to say here on the air. Certainly, Broncos fans apply to Will Lutz. but no, I'm with you. I think this is going to be such a dynamic. And Sarah, it's crazy to look at how far we came early on the season where special teams, they were having some issues. They had some blunders, so to speak there. You know, you had the Jeremy Croshaw game against the Raiders

Starting point is 00:29:36 where it's like, oh my gosh, like this guy has the complete yips. And then he's really, since that game, has put together such an impressive season to the point where I even thought Croshaw should have been receiving some all-pro consideration as a punter. But once again, it's just one of those things. You know, you have a team that's 14 and 3. in the regular season and you don't factor in, you know, guys that have helped you win the games by flipping field position like Crosha on his punting leg or Will Lutz with the walkoff game-winning

Starting point is 00:30:03 field goals. Like, come on, man. Like, what is the NFL doing in the situation? But I like Will Lutz at home in an AFC championship game. I like Jeremy Crosha being able to boom it at high altitude. And I like the Broncos coverage team against Marcus Jones, who is so dangerous. Denver can't overlook him, but I will take Denver's coverage team over what the New England Patriots have right here. And ultimately, Sarah, look, we talk so much about offense. We've talked about defense. Special teams could honestly be one of the more important factors that decides who goes to Super Bowl 60, obviously after Sunday. Kickoff is set for 1 o'clock p.m. Mountain time, a little bit an earlier kickoff than we're accustomed to here in Denver, but you know what?

Starting point is 00:30:42 We're here for it. I'm excited about it, Sarah. I can't wait. Broncos had the first chance to punch a ticket to the championship round, got the first chance to punch a ticket to the Super Bowl. So what more could we ask for? Like, as I've been reflecting back on it, Cody, it's so cool to see the Broncos just plowing through the season. I mean, winning difficult games, winning high scoring battles, winning low scoring battles, showing that resilience every single week. It's been an awesome ride.

Starting point is 00:31:09 And I can't help but feel like going into this AFC championship game, they're playing a little bit with house money, right? I mean, they're playing at home. you got one of the best defenses in the NFL, and nobody's going to be thinking that you're going to win this game. Everybody's going to pick the Patriots. Everybody's going to pick, oh, New England going to put, who is New England going to play in the Super Bowl?

Starting point is 00:31:29 That's got to be the driving factor for this Broncos team to prove everybody wrong. And once again, like you said, Bo Nix may not be out there, but the overdogs will be out there. And that's what I'm fascinated to see. How does this team respond in a big moment like this after a big loss of your starting quarterback? Well, shout out.

Starting point is 00:31:46 Adam Rank about the only one who deserves his flowers from a national perspective. Adam Rank, you have a lifetime invite to the show, to the cookout, family dinner, Christmas dinner, whatever it may be. Adam Rank is always invited here. But what they said, Broncos Country, that'll wrap up today's episode of the show here. Tomorrow's episode, Broncos Country, here's what you can expect. Sarah and I, we are going to sit down. We're going to take a look at how the Broncos' offense matches up against the New England Patriots

Starting point is 00:32:11 defense key matchups. Statistics that matter. same thing with the defensive side of the ball against Drake May in this offense. You're going to get all that and much more on tomorrow's episode, Locked on Broncos.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - CHARGED UP: Denver Broncos Defense MATCHES UP Well With Drake Maye, New England Patriots

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