Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos Can Climb Up AFC Playoff Standings After Week 14

Starting point is 00:00:00 After week 14 of the NFL season, the Denver Broncos are in a position where they can climb into the playoff standings with four games remaining. Plus, we answer some mailbag questions here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. What's happened in Barraco's country? Welcome into another episode, Lockdown Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network where you know it is your team. every day. Thank you so much to all the everydayers and first listeners out there in Broncos country. The bye week

Starting point is 00:00:41 is officially over. It is game week here with four games remaining for the Broncos. I'm Cody Roark. Broncos reported for Mile High Sports. You can check out my written work over there at Milehighspore.com. You can also check out Sarah Bedinger. Site expert, promulge.com. Also a writer over there at NFL Spin Zone. We break it down for you every single

Starting point is 00:00:59 day here on the Locked on Broncos podcast. And here's what you can expect on today's episode of the show. We're going to open things up in our mailbag here today. We'll wrap things up with one of the questions asking whether or not the Broncos will call up two very popular practice squad players before the season ends. We'll talk about whether or not Riley Moss, his status is in question for Sunday's game against the Colts and when he may return. But we're going to open things up by reflecting a little bit on the state of the AFC after week 14 in the NFL and how the Broncos can climb up the playoff

Starting point is 00:01:29 standings. Today's episode, the show is brought to you by our friends over there at price picks. Go to prize picks.com slash lockdown NFL. Use code all lowercase locked on NFL to win $50 instantly when you play $5. Sarah, you know what? We got to enjoy a Sunday of just watching football, not having to stress about, all right, hey, what's going on? What different developments do we have to monitor? Ideally, there were some teams that we were watching that say,

Starting point is 00:01:53 hey, can the Broncos get some help? Unfortunately, not too much help here from some other counterparts inside the AFC. But the AFC right now, very top heavy. you got the chiefs, the bills and the Steelers, everybody else, eight and five. That's crazy. I know, Cody, I was watching it all unfold on Sunday. And I'm kind of thinking like, man, does anybody in the AFC right now really feel unbeatable?

Starting point is 00:02:17 Because obviously there was the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets game. That was kind of the main focus on Sunday for Broncos country as we're kind of just like, okay, let's let's get rid of the dolphins, right? Let's get rid of the dolphins out of the equation. That didn't happen. the New York Jets couldn't come through. The Dolphins, you know, forced overtime and won the game there in overtime. But the Broncos did get a little bit of underrated help on Sunday, right?

Starting point is 00:02:42 I mean, the Buffalo Bills versus the Los Angeles Rams, not only was that one of the funest games, most fun, whatever word you use there, Cody. I'm a writer. I should know this. But, I mean, it was one of the best games of the week. And it didn't occur to me until after that game was over that the Rams actually kind of helped the Denver Broncos inadvertently in that game because they push the Buffalo Bills two games behind the Kansas City Chiefs. If the Chiefs have the number one seed locked up going into week 18, they may rest starters up against the Broncos. That's something we've been kind of looking at throughout the season.

Starting point is 00:03:18 But man, now that the bills are two games behind Kansas City, even with a head-to-head win, that really inadvertently kind of helped the Denver Broncos as well as the Chiefs. We all knew how that game was going to end on Sunday night, didn't we? I mean, we watch as the third string kicker, guy off the streets comes in and doinks one in against the Chargers to win by two points. I mean, why can we get a doink, Cody? We'd have the fourth best record in the AFC right now, but unfortunately, we got a field goal blocked and are at eight and five tied with now the Chargers and Ravens in terms of overall record. And it's great, but at the same time, head to head losses against those two teams in particular that looms large for the Broncos right now.

Starting point is 00:04:02 Yeah, it does. And it's always why your conference games matter. Even early on in the season, you got to try to find a way to win those games. And certainly Denver, you know, against the Chargers had to let down no PS2 in that game. We saw, you know, they've them fight back a little bit and make things interesting as of late. But, you know, I look at the AFC right now with Texans, Chargers, Ravens, Broncos all sitting here at 8 and 5. It's like, all right, hey, like, how is this going to formulate, you know, downstretch at the end of the season? You know, the Ravens had a buy week, same as the Broncos this week, the Chargers coming off of that loss there.

Starting point is 00:04:32 Obviously, you know, Denver's going to play them here in about a week and a half, not this Thursday, but the next Thursday, that's going to be a, you know, a talking point in an exciting lead up here on obviously the podcast as we get to that. But to your point, right, frustrating to see the Chief's win as is. But, you know, obviously that win clinches the AFC West for them for the ninth straight year, which hopefully at some point that will end here. And maybe the Broncos or the Chargers at some point can end the Chief streak there. I know somebody besides Casey, hopefully it's going to be Denver that eventually does it with how things are going. But watching that, I was like, all right, hey, it very well plays in the scenario that you and I were talking about there. If they can rest their starters week 18, I don't know. With how they've been playing, like, you know, obviously they're finding ways to win, but they haven't been playing their best football this year.

Starting point is 00:05:14 Do you think that Andy Reid would sit them against the Broncos in that situation or do you want them to play? I mean, that right there is an interesting question that we won't have the answer to here for a few weeks. But none of that will matter unless the Broncos take care of this. business this upcoming week. Really, this game against the Colts, we kind of said it last week. It's a must win here for Denver because the Colts are six and seven Broncos at eight and five. You don't want to lose that conference head to head there because then the Colts schedule

Starting point is 00:05:39 in those final three games, easiest schedule in the NFL. I mean, some of the teams, they're going to play that. I think it's the Mac Jones. They get to play the Tennessee Titans. And I think they play the Jacksonville Jaguars and Mack Jones here, if I'm not mistaken. But you look at it and it's like, wow, the coach should win their final three games of the year. So pressure mounting here for the Denver Broncos as you look at it here. But it's like behind them. It's the Colts, the dolphins, the Bengals, they obviously play tonight on Monday night football.

Starting point is 00:06:04 They could be eliminated tonight if they lose that game. So that might actually make that Bengals match up. I don't know. They might shut guys down toward the end of the season. Who knows? We'll have to see. But as we know, the AFC is the wild, wild west when it comes to how the season is kind of formulating here. But really, Sarah, the numbers, the probabilities, the percentages that we're all seeing here. It all goes up for Denver. They went on Sunday against the Colts. That's the key right there. Obviously, like I was kind of chatting with some of the guys in our PO Slack chat, Cody, and, and talking. It's like nobody said this was going to be easy, right? I mean, obviously, you want to have the ideal, you want to have the path paved for you. You want to

Starting point is 00:06:43 have somebody come shovel your driveway for you. But at the end of the day, you're going to have to probably go do the backbreaking work yourself and make it happen because nobody wants to shovel somebody else's driveway. So that's what the Broncos have to kind of face as we get into this playoff chase here is like, okay, let's stop thinking about just the seventh seat. Let's stop thinking about just backing into a parking spot here. Let's start thinking about taking the boss's parking spot over there. Like we could, we could legitimately go into Houston in the first round of the playoffs against a team that has struggled all year long and maybe kind of sputtering into the postseason as opposed to going to Buffalo for the first.

Starting point is 00:07:22 first, you know, first game that you play in the postseason. And that's something the Broncos can just go take, right? Because they play the Colts. They play the Chargers. They play the Bengals and the Chiefs. Like, go take that. Go get your 10 wins and make it happen. Like the AFC is weak already this year.

Starting point is 00:07:39 Just imagine the discussion and the discourse if the Broncos were playing in the NFC, this other than the NFC South, which the Broncos, we know are NFC South champions right now, Cody. But beyond the NFC in the playoffs automatically. They would. They would just be getting in. They'd be the fourth seed in the NFC. But that's the thing right now is that the NFC is so much more competitive. Like how much more did Broncos fans want in terms of the AFC paving the way?

Starting point is 00:08:06 Like the Bengals already have eight losses. The dolphins at the Colts, they've already got seven losses. And they're two games behind with four games to play. Like how much more ideal can the scenario and the situation get? Like, yeah, we want them out of there as quickly as possible. Get the dolphins out. get the Colts out, get the Bengals out. I don't even want to think about them.

Starting point is 00:08:24 But at the same time, the stage could not be more ideally set for the Broncos to just go, just go take care of business. You get a ninth win. All of a sudden, those playoff odds are going to go screaming up, and you might even have a chance to take that number five seat. Well, here's the thing, too, with four games left, you're sitting at eight wins. Denver's got a chance here. Like, could you imagine, let's say they win these final four games, 12 wins.

Starting point is 00:08:46 Nobody saw 12 wins. I in training camp, I said, I think the Broncos will win 10 games. and I've got a clip loaded up in my back pocket. I'm waiting to share once that happens, you know, so Denver's got to come through for that. But the stage is say, I think you set it here perfectly. And the number one thing I want to highlight here is that if the Broncos are going to prove that they're a team that can be in the playoffs,

Starting point is 00:09:06 these final four games, it is your appetizer. It is saying like, hey, if you want it, you have to prove it. And these final four games, I think will set the stage here for Bo Nicks, the Broncos, you and I have highlighted it as well. They're going to have to run the football more effectively. And obviously the defense is going to have to play a little bit better than they did on Monday night football. So much of that was contingent upon the status of Riley Moss. But there's no better playoff test than these final four games.

Starting point is 00:09:30 Colts, Chargers, Bengals, and Chiefs really in those final. It doesn't get bigger than that. Even if you have a team that shuts some guys down in that second to last game or if the Chiefs rest of their starters, prove that you belong in these final four games. I think that's the message that Sean Payton is going to have for his team here. But Barakos country, that looks at the state of the AFC. after 14 weeks of play around the National Football League. The bright lights are going to get a little bit brighter here in these final four games.

Starting point is 00:09:56 Can Denver prove that they belong? That's going to be the big question of the test we're going to see here. We open up our mailbag here to everybody in Broncos country. And Broncos fans want to know, will Riley Moss be ready to go for the Colts game after he missed Monday night football? We'll break down that and much more here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's Lockdown Broncos podcast is brought to you by friends over there at Hillsdale College in Time. It's our most precious commodity. So don't waste it scrolling through the same.

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Starting point is 00:12:09 after your first $5 lineup. That's right. $50 instantly when you put. play just $5 prize picks run your game. When the Denver Broncos take the field against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, will they have number 21 Riley Moss back into the fold? Well, it may not be the case, Broncos Country. Cody and I are going to tell you why as we approach the Denver Broncos

Starting point is 00:12:31 returning back to the practice field this week in preparation for their post-by-week, hopefully another victory here, the ninth of the season, which would give them their first winning season since 2016. But Broncos Country, thanks so much for rocking with us every single day here at lockdown Broncos. Cody and I appreciate you all so much, especially if you hit subscribe and don't miss a single episode of the show. And Cody, a lot of folks wondering out there as we open up the mailbag this week, is Riley Moss going to play? Because we basically reached a point against the Cleveland Browns on Monday night football where, I mean, I maybe, you know, you play defensive back, Cody. didn't. I might not have been able to do much of a worse job than what we saw out there from

Starting point is 00:13:17 Levi Wallace. And I know I'm being tongue in cheek there, but man, it was one of the worst games that we've seen this season from the Denver defense. The Browns picked on Levi Wallace repeatedly. And everybody was wondering, like, hey, can I give, can I donate part of my knee to Riley Moss? Like, what does he need to get back onto the field out there? So what's your read on this situation? Like, we know Moss, he didn't go on injured reserve. if that was the case, like obviously that would have already happened because the Broncos could have started that clock. He's not on IR.

Starting point is 00:13:49 So if he's not coming back for Indy or is he, when will we see him again? Yeah, it's a great question. And look, right now, I don't think that Riley's going to be back this week for the Colts. Look, the biweek, having that additional week to go through recovery and treatment, certainly, you know, is helpful. But I think the thing we have to monitor here is like when you look at like Mike McGlunchy who went on IR with an MCL sprain, same exact injury there. though I would say McClinties was a little bit more non-contact than it was physical contact.

Starting point is 00:14:16 Like Riley's was contact because, you know, his unfortunate friendly fire there where you saw him get hit in the knee. He was in a lot of pain right away there. I feel like it's different for an offensive tackle in terms of what they have to do on a consistent basis versus what a defensive back has to do, right? The planting, the cutting, the changing direction quick and suddenly, like you need stability and the need to be able to do that. And you need it to be full strength, to be honest with you, I think to be effective. And so the question here is, okay, can you bring Rodley Moss back a little bit early? Maybe, right? But he's going to be 100% effective if you try to do that.

Starting point is 00:14:47 I don't think that would be the case. So the smart play here, I think is just to see where he's at. And obviously, Bo Lowry and the training staff there, they're going to go through a multitude of different things with Riley. I think the biggest key this week has never gets back on the field. Do we see him return to the side field? Do we see him return to practice maybe? Those are going to be big indicators, I think, for where maybe he's at. But I don't think my personal speculation and also from what I've just kind of been told is I don't know if Riley's going to be ready this week.

Starting point is 00:15:16 I don't know if he's going to even be ready for Thursday night football the following week there considering where he's at. I think the safe aiming point for a return for Riley Moss would be against the Cincinnati Bengals in that second to last game. That could also be flexed into a prime time matchup. That's something I think Broncos country should also keep an eye on. So with that said, Sarah, if in fact, let's say Riley Moss is not going to be able to return. until Cincinnati. Now you got two tough matchups coming up with the Colts and the charges. You look at the Chargers, you know, wide receivers. You know that they've got, obviously, Quentin Johnson's got his ups and downs. Josh Palmer, I think is a very talented

Starting point is 00:15:49 player for them. Ladd-McConkie will more than likely be back for that game there. And we already saw the Broncos play the Chargers out one of their top cornerbacks, the one in one game. And we saw how that went. So that's going to be a little bit of a challenge. But there's no bigger challenge than the one that's right in front you. That's the Indianapolis Colts. You look at their wide receiving crew right now. You obviously have Michael Pittman, junior. You have Alec Pierce, who's a guy that obviously is a very talented player, had a couple of impressive catches on that Thursday night game against Denver against Damari Mathis just a few seasons ago. But Josh Downs, I know he's been banged up a little bit. He's a guy that I think

Starting point is 00:16:21 people are going to have to keep an eye on as well. They have talent at wide receiver. They also have a quarterback who's got a little bit of a rocket arm, not necessarily an accurate passer, but man, he'll take some shots and he'll connect on a couple downfield. So this, I think, considering what we saw Monday Night Football is the bigger question. If Riley Moss is unable to go, Sarah. Where do they go? Do they go DeMarie Mathis? Do they go Chris Abrams drain? That, I think, is a plan we're waiting to find out here from Sean Payton. Yeah, I think if I'm the Broncos, I'm putting Chris Abrams drain out there, Cody, because look, he looked pretty good in the reps that he got against the Cleveland Browns. I know he had the pass interference penalty, but

Starting point is 00:16:56 I mean, at least he was there with the receiver, right, to be able to make contact with the guy on the play. I mean, my gosh, that was better than what we'd seen the entire rest of the game from Levi Wallace. And when you look at the Indianapolis Colts, like obviously, yeah, Anthony Richardson, I think in five of his six starts since getting benched, Cody, he's had 50% or less of his passes completed. And the 50% mark came against New England. And that was like a high. So it's, it's very much so one of those things like a feaster famine passing attack and Anthony Richardson beating you with his legs when given the opportunity to do so. But he can launch the ball downfield. and if those receivers get separation, they make plays.

Starting point is 00:17:37 Pitman, Pierce, Downs. I've been watching them all year, Cody. Those guys make big plays for whoever is throwing the ball. So it's going to be one of those things that's like, okay, if Riley Moss can't play, the Broncos need to make sure that whoever's out there at corner can at least match speed because Levi Wallace proved against Jerry Judy. I mean, that wasn't happening in that matchup.

Starting point is 00:17:58 Or if it was Michael Woods or whoever it was, Elijah Moore, whoever the Browns were throwing to, right? it didn't matter. They were picking on him. So you don't throw that guy out there with the playoffs on the line and just hope that he can rebound. You put your fastest guys out there and a guy that you thrust in, frankly, in the most pressure-packed situation possible.

Starting point is 00:18:20 Like under two minutes left, go make a play against a guy who's got over 230 receiving yards in this game, right? Go out there. We're only up by two points. They need to field goal to win. You go make us a play out there. And that's what they asked Chris Abrams drain to do. I would be willing to bet that they've been getting him ready to start this week if Riley Moss isn't ready to go.

Starting point is 00:18:40 Yeah, and look, I like what they did, and specifically on that game plan when they threw course Abrams drain in. They had him play inside leverage, right? You're playing kind of cover two, man. But you're, you know, because of that, you can play inside leverage, but you can play when you're getting in your trailing. You can get in trail position, right? Playing underneath inside leverage because you have a safety over the top, you know, against Jerry Judy. Yeah, that's a good game plan. Unfortunately, I mean, they should have made that change a little bit earlier in the game.

Starting point is 00:19:04 game. But also the question is, is like, who does Pat Sertan follow this week? Does he follow Michael Pittman? Does he follow downs? I mean, it's hard to kind of gauge it because now I think you have three legitimate receivers that you can go get. You're not worried about J. Kwan Macmillan. But it's like, all right, you got to worry about one side of the field or one particular receiver there because there's questions. I think they should go with Chris Abrams Drane if her up to me. I also wouldn't be opposed to seeing Damari Mathis, though. I thought he played well in the dime package at this point. I mean, and obviously considering how Levi Wallace had played in that game. I mean, Levi Wallace might have also lost his spot in the dime, especially in the

Starting point is 00:19:39 situation. I thought he's played solid there this season, but Damari, he's physical, comes up against the run. I thought he played physical against David Nizoku in some of the matchups that they had there. And also the question is going to also be another one, too, is what's the latest here on Brandon Jones and the groin injury that he had? I think the biweek came at a great time for that. So hopefully he's going to be good to go this week here for the Broncos. But a lot of questions, as you look at the state of the AFC, you look at also the players some of the key matchups there. We'll obviously highlight it a little bit more in depth this week here

Starting point is 00:20:08 as we have a crossover Thursday with locked on Colts. Sarah's going to sit down with them and break down this matchup. But man, this is a big, big game for Sean Payton, Bow Nix and company. But one thing also, as we continue our mailbag question here, Broncos country, and I feel like a lot of fans have sent this question in, Sarah. They want to know if there's two practice squad players that are going to get some time this season in terms of being elevated in these final stretch of games. Will we see A.T. Perry, Donald Parham,

Starting point is 00:20:34 Junior. We'll tell you why we may not see them here on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. Broncos country. Today's episode, the show is brought to you by friends over there at Fandu. And Fandu is America's number one sportsbook. And they want you to get ready to tackle week 15 of the NFL season. Because right now, new customers can bet $5 and get 150 in bonus bets if you win. So for example, this week, the Denver Broncos are hosting the Indianapolis Colts. The Broncos are four and a half point home favorites against Anthony Richardson and company. If you believe the Broncos will cover the spread at four and a half, you can place $5 on that. And if it wins, you'll get $150 in bonus bets.

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Starting point is 00:21:49 As we jump at the fourth quarter acts on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos will highlight one more question from our Broncos country meltbag about the practice squad real quick. I want to say thanks once again to all the everydayers and first listeners out there in Broncos country from making the show exactly what it is. It's an exciting time if you're a Denver Broncos fan because your team is in a position to make the postseason. We're excited to bring you daily coverage every single day all year long. I felt like this is probably the most asked question I got in my mailbag prompt on social media. I like four or five Broncos fans replied to say, hey, when will we see wide receiver AT Perry tight end Donald Parham Jr. From the practice squad. These guys are going to get called up to the active roster or elevated

Starting point is 00:22:32 on game day. Four games remain here, Sarah. And obviously, each of these guys have three practice squad elevations available. I don't think it's going to happen this season with where Denver's at unless there's an injury, a wide receiver, or else there's an injury to tight-in position as much as we'd like to see AT Perry, which I watched these guys in practice here. They're fun. They're making good progress. A.T. Perry, man, he's big. He moves so well. But the Broncos are not in a position right now, I think, to elevate these guys because of what we've seen. They made the decision to move on from Josh Reynolds because they like the young guys that they have. If anything, I firmly believe that AT Perry, Donald Parham Jr. are going to be a little bit

Starting point is 00:23:12 more in their plans for 2025 than they are right here in these final four games of the season. How do you feel about it? Should the Broncos look at them? Where do you stand on this? Yeah, it kind of feels like it's nice to have those elevations in your back pocket at this point to say, okay, if an injury does pop up or anything like that, like we can call this guy up and we can do it for free. basically at this point in the season. So the Broncos haven't, you know, just blown their opportunity with these guys already. They haven't wasted anything by, you know, I know they call up guys at certain times and you get basically like a regular season game check or things like that. Or you get to start accruing games.

Starting point is 00:23:48 I don't know all the behind the scene stuff, but like we've seen them elevate like Nick Garjulo, for example, and deactivate him on game day. Just get him the activation, you know, sort of thing. But with A.T. Perry in particular, it's interesting because, he did have four touchdowns last season and a quarterback rating went targeted of 149.3. So you can't help but wonder if the Broncos are still struggling to hit on vertical pass attempts, like does that become an option in the final four, you know, three or four games this season, right? I mean, it's one of those things that's like, okay, you know, whose reps is he taking at that point? Then that's the tough part about this is, is that you want to see Troy Franklin get,

Starting point is 00:24:30 get going. You want to continue to involve Marvin Mims. You want to continue to involve Devon Valet and Cortland Sutton is playing extremely well. So whose reps does he take? And then everybody will say, well, obviously, little Jordan Humphrey. And then, you know, you get into the discussion about blocking and things like that. So it's very multifaceted. I understand and resonate with Broncos country. Like, I want to see the guy with 149.3 quarterback rating on the field. I want to see him get some opportunities to stretch the field vertically and prove like six foot five four four seven in the 40 yard dash guy can go make plays downfield the timing has to be right though yeah i mean is he your secret weapon i mean at this point we've seen enough of the broncos offense just trying to

Starting point is 00:25:14 figure out how to carve out rules for certain guys and i think we're starting to see that now with obviously troy franklin marvin mims you mentioned devon valet look i'd even i i'd hazard this to say like we've seen devon vali in the short to intermediate game this year be a uh a consistent producer there. Whereas you're looking to see Troy Franklin hauling a couple of those deep catches there in the Broncos try to get that with him and Marvin Mims. Whereas I'm saying here, maybe switch the emphasis here from a game planning standpoint in these final four games of the season.

Starting point is 00:25:42 Obviously, have the intermediate part of the Bonne Bailey's game, but maybe start taking with his size, start taking some shots downfield with him. Not necessarily saying he's going to get behind a defense, but contested catch situations are obviously 15 to 20 yards like that might be a little bit of a sweet spot for him. whereas I think you need to see a little bit more involvement, like the Broncos need to get Troy Franklin the ball within the 5 to 10 yard frame or even like 4 to 6 yards and then see what he can do with yards after the catch. We saw them run the RPO bubble screen against the Browns,

Starting point is 00:26:12 and he did a lot of work there. He didn't have a lot of room to work with well-placed football there, good blocking on the perimeter from Valey and Nate Atkins. But try to see how you can maybe mix these guys rolls up a little bit. And in Cortland Sutton, we obviously know, is going to be like you talk about what. I saw a stat in the number out there on third down. I think what is?

Starting point is 00:26:29 He's caught 21 passes on 23 targets on third down this season. We're in this latest stretch here. So you know if I'm the Colts, what I'm looking at, I'm like, okay, hey, it's third down. All right. It's probably going to go to number 14. That's where guys like Devon Valle, Troy Franklin, Marvin Mims, little Jordan Humphrey, the tight ends, Lucas Crowell, you know, Adam Troutman. This is where we need to see these guys all step up here in these final four games here.

Starting point is 00:26:52 And so I think throwing in new names right now, like A.T. Perry, as much as I'm excited to see him in the future. I think that they're developing him into something where we're going to see him get more involvement next season. Donald Parham Jr., obviously a sizable guy, probably not going to see him unless there's an injury. So it's like at this point, do you rob Paul to pay Peter just to see what you have in some of these guys? Or do you say like, hey, our vision here for these guys is clear. I'm going to use the word once again. Every time we say vision, take a shot there, Broncos country. But with that, are these guys going to step up and help us right away right now in these final four games? right now with everybody healthy.

Starting point is 00:27:27 Hard to imagine that being the reality, but I think it's closer than many think, and I think it's going to happen a little bit more so next year. Yeah, and it could be a situation too where we've seen the Broncos load up on defensive alignment for certain games where they know they're going to be facing the run quite a bit. Like they've been willing at times to sacrifice and say, okay, hey, we know that maybe this guy plays a little bit more special teams,

Starting point is 00:27:50 but we need to focus on stopping the run in this game. So we're going to, you know, we're going to bring up whoever it may be. maybe they do something similar like that if they get into a game situation where they're like, hey, red zone points are going to be at a premium in this game. So we need to have par him in the game. Like we need to have him available in red zone. Like if nothing else, like we're going to elevate him to make the opposing team think like, okay, when they do get down into the tight red zone area,

Starting point is 00:28:16 like we've got to watch this guy because they elevated him probably for specifically this situation opens up stuff for everybody else. I think that that's kind of a nice, just little secret weapon, like you said, Cody, to have in your back pocket. At some point, maybe we do see one of these guys play. And, you know, you get to that final week of the season. You've got an elevation available for these players. I mean, could be interesting. I mean, just to say, hey, we're going into the playoffs.

Starting point is 00:28:43 Maybe we experiment a little bit and see if one of these two guys or both of these guys can help the offense, which has needed help in the playmaker department. But at the same time, the young guys on the offense, getting hot at the right time as well. So you may have one of those situations where you're just like, okay, the idea on paper, very good, you know, makes a lot of sense. But the other young guys are stepping up. So we don't necessarily need it at this time.

Starting point is 00:29:06 And the Broncos have to find a way to get the run game going a little bit more. If we talk about priorities here for the offense, we'll see if that's the case here coming up. Obviously, the Broncos will host the Colts week 15, a must win game here for the Denver Broncos. And Broncos country, we have you covered all throughout the week here on the show. Here's what you can expect, not only a crossover Thursday, with Lockdown Colts.

Starting point is 00:29:25 We also do our game preview on Friday, but we also hear from Broncos head coach Sean Payton following his Monday press conferences. The team gets back after it. What's the latest on how the buy week prepared the Denver Broncos and what their focus is this week? We'll get that much more on tomorrow's brand new episode, Lockdown Broncos.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos Can Climb Up AFC Playoff Standings After Week 14

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