Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos Must UNLEASH J.K. Dobbins vs. Bengals on Monday Night Football

Starting point is 00:00:00 Monday night football is here and J.K. Dobbins could break a longstanding streak here for the Denver Broncos in tonight's game against the Cincinnati Bengals. We'll give you our final preview to more on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. You are Locked on Broncos. Your daily Denver Broncos podcast podcast podcast. Part of the Locked on podcast network, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, part of the Locked On podcast network where you know it is your team every day. It is game day. Welcome into another episode. Lockdown Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network where you know it is your team every day. day. Thank you so much all the every dayers out there in Broncos country. Thanks for tuning in, making us your first listen, however you choose to do so. If you're not yet in every dayer, become one today. I'm Cody Rourke Broncos reporter for Mile High Sports. Join as always by Sarah Bedinger, site expert over there at predominantly orange.com. And it is game day, Monday night football. The lights are bright and will the Denver Broncos get going? That is the question. And on today's show, we're going to go through our offensive players to watch and why J.K. Dobbins could be in line to break a longstanding streak that has impacted the

Starting point is 00:01:05 team for the last several years. Plus, we'll go to the defensive side of the ball and looking whether or not Riley Moss can have a revenge game this week against T. Higgins. And on top of that, we'll go through our keys to victory, everything you need to know on how the Broncos can beat Cincinnati tonight on Monday night football. Sarah, let's waste no time. Let's get into our offensive players to watch in this game. And for those unfamiliar, Sarah and I, we go through and we select three players each on offense that we have our eyes on and a couple of superlatives that follow that. Sarah, let's start off with your players to watch. My friend, who we kicking things off with.

Starting point is 00:01:37 I'm really excited about this, Cody. I think you got to start off with Marvin Mims, who obviously had a huge game against the Cincinnati Bengals last year. Marvin was critical in the Broncos getting not just to overtime, but really ultimately pulling off a win last season. And I think that, you know, finish what we started here this week. We've seen Marvin Mims get a couple of big plays here early in the season. I feel like he's going to be another key factor this week,

Starting point is 00:02:02 as well as R.J. Harvey, the rookie running back. Cody. I know you have tease J.K. Davins. We've got a little two-headed running back monster type thing going on here, a theme for today's show. And I know we're going to be talking a lot about the running game. So I think RJ Harvey's is going to play a big role this week after just two carries last week. And then Evan Ingram, his return to the field. Obviously, this coming game is going to be critical for the Denver Broncos. We talked about it in yesterday's or in our last show about just really renewed optimism for Evan Ingram and his role within this offense. as Sean Peyton's Joker. I know that's gotten so overblown and so highly discussed and contested over the last handful of months here.

Starting point is 00:02:43 But ultimately, we just want to see Evan Angram become a productive pass catcher in this Denver Broncos offense, which has lacked exactly that at the tight end position over the course of the last two, three seasons. We caught up with Evan on Friday in the locker room. You know, he made it through practice as a full participant, healthy guy all week long, which is obviously a great development there for him. And he said, you know, he's embracing everything with patients, knows that it's going to take time to get to that role that Sean is kind of envisioned. He said that's a big reason

Starting point is 00:03:09 why he came here was because of how the coaches said, hey, this is how we can use you. And he also understands the patience that comes with that is it's not there yet, but we plan on getting it there. So I think that's definitely a big key to watch. I like your pick and R.J. Harvey here. I want to see more of the rookies, sir, plain and simple. I think Broncos country does as well. We know Sean's manufactured some touches for him in the passing game, which is great. But more than two carries this week, Sean. That's got to be the key here. Let R.J. Harvey get in a groove. Let the run game get in a groove as well. That's definitely been one of the talking points. And I'm with you as well on Marvin Mims. Not only, I think Marvin last week had such an

Starting point is 00:03:43 impact in the special team's return aspect. I think that's going to be prevalent here once again tonight on Monday night football. But I would love to see more Marvin, more targets for him. We talked about the volume distribution offensively here and how it's just varied through the first three weeks of the season. Get Marvin more than just two looks or two touches the game offensively. Marvin is a guy who can impact you. And I imagine this Bengals team, they're probably preparing a lot for Marvin Mims this week, as they are, Cortland Sutton,

Starting point is 00:04:08 which obviously leading some of my players to watch as well and how everything kind of balance out or cancel out what the Bengals adjustments are here. I like your picks here. I'm going to get into my picks on the offensive side of the ball. I think first and foremost, let's start off with J.K. Dobbins, who we had talked about initially at the beginning of this show here. The Broncos have had 37 straight games there, 37 straight games.

Starting point is 00:04:30 without a 100-yard rusher. That's simply unacceptable here. JK came close last week. He had 11 carries 81 yards. And the Broncos, they could have gotten in there if they would have committed to the run game a little bit more in the fourth quarter. But we've seen Dobbins this year. He had a 19-yard touchdown.

Starting point is 00:04:46 He had a 23-yard run against the Colts late in that fourth quarter. In that one game, he had an earlier 15-to-16-yard run as well. And then the 41-yarder against the chargers. He has brought in back a dynamic that has been missing in this Broncos' offense for quite some time. and that is the explosive play capability, those big chunk plays. That's what his offense has missed. Now, if everything else can come together, this offense would look like a well-oiled machine.

Starting point is 00:05:09 But can J.K. Dobbins snapped that 37-game streak with no 100-yard Russia. And the last time it happened, I mean, it was our good friend Latavius, Murray against the Chargers at the end of 2022. It's been a long time here. And I want to go to something as well. Last year, as a member of the Chargers, JK was obviously the Chargers running back when they played the Bengals there. This is what I found to be interesting here.

Starting point is 00:05:31 Against them last year, he ran the ball 11 times for 56 yards, right? And he didn't necessarily have a large volume there, but he was ripping off chunk plays. He had two rushing touchdowns, including a front flip diving game winner against him in that matchup. He can be explosive. And obviously, with the Bengals, allowing over 119 rushing yards per game on the ground, they allowed a buck 16 to Jordan Mason last week in Minnesota.

Starting point is 00:05:53 JK has a chance right here to break that streak and go over 100 yards. That's one thing that we're hoping for. All eyes are on. JK here. But then our next guy that we're going to talk about here. I'm going to go with Troy Franklin here once again, Sarah. And it's not just because of Troy's numbers or a start to the season. You saw last week when you watched the film against the chargers in key passing situations,

Starting point is 00:06:12 you know what they did? They were accounting for Troy. They would be on the left side of the offensive formation. They would drop a right side defender back in zone who would just be keying wherever Troy was because they know Troy likes to climb across the field there. So they would try to keep in mind, like, hey, we're going to send a backside spy. Like, if he runs over there, we're going to have a guy that can maybe jump that window there.

Starting point is 00:06:32 And Bo Nix, unfortunately, in the red zone almost through a hospital ball to Troy last week on a design just like that. So I think that with the attention that Marvin Mims could potentially see in this game. We all know Cortland Sutton had a big game against the Bengals last year. I think Troy Franklin is going to be in line for more targets here once again. And I think he'll be ready to make some plays in the prime time spotlight here. But you know who we want to see make plays here in prime time? Sarah starts and ends with both. Bo Nix. And Bo this week has said his confidence isn't shaking. He's going to continue going out there putting shots up.

Starting point is 00:07:02 Let Bo Nix sling the football here. But I think you've got to get into a quick rhythm passing game here versus the longer developing route concepts that we see off of play action or the five step drops. Like let's see some quick one step, boom, fire throw, three step, quick fire throw. Get the quick passing game going. Get Boe and rhythm. And then you know it would be poetry or be very poetic here, sir. open things up on Monday night football with a long bomb to Marvin Mims or Troy Franklin, a deep ball touchdown here by this Broncos team here. And all of a sudden, the narratives, everyone's going to stop freaking out over Bo and some overthrows there. Come out there and make a statement,

Starting point is 00:07:36 you want to bounce back game from Bo Nix. Absolutely. As much as we want to see the running game dominate for the Denver Broncos, we also want to see Bo Nix kind of exercise those demons from week three, right? Where you're getting criticized all week for missing throws. You could tell when he hit the podium on. Thursday, Cody. He knew that the question was coming. He kind of just laughed when he was asked about the missed deep balls and talk about the fact that, you know what, I'm probably going to

Starting point is 00:08:01 miss other throws over the course of this season. It's just how it goes. You mean, nobody shoots 100% from three point range. Nobody is hitting hole in ones every time they go out there as a golfer. Nobody's hitting home runs every single time they step up to the plate. So obviously, you want to go back to that well. You don't just stop taking those shots just because you maybe missed a couple there. So I like the confidence from Bo Nip. and I love the pick of J.K. Dobbins here, Cody. What's interesting for Broncos country is the only thing that's preventing everybody from talking about the team making a huge mistake for letting go of Jvante Williams,

Starting point is 00:08:36 who's really playing well for the Dallas Cowboys this year, is J.K. Dobbins, because J.K. Dobbins, Cody, is averaging three yards after contact per rushing attempt. So for a frame of reference for that, Javante, currently at 2.6 yards after contact per attempt back in his rookie season, which we all thought, this is the second coming of Nick Chubb. This is the second coming of Ezekiel Elliott as a young player for the Cowboys. Javante back in that season was averaging 2.1 yards after contact per attempt. So put that in a little bit of perspective with the fact that JK early in this season is averaging three yards after contact per rushing attempt for the Denver Broncos.

Starting point is 00:09:17 Obviously, we want to see that get going a little bit earlier in the game. But man, he is really doing a lot. lot to resurrect the running game already for the Denver Broncos here in 2025. And it's been a promising development. And that's been our gripe and our qualm here with the run game is that they just haven't committed enough to it and that they abandon it. You know, like I said, line up more gap scheme. Get them downhill and go pull, pull, pull Ben Powers.

Starting point is 00:09:40 Like we didn't see a lot of pulling from the Broncos O'Line last week against the Chargers. We saw quite a bit of it against the Colts. And all of a sudden, the run game against the Colts. It looked pretty good there. That's all I got to say there. So maybe the Broncos can fall back on some of that stuff here on Monday, night football. You know, we talk about highlights. We talk about redemption. Riley Moss is going to be one of those players we talk about in need of a revenge game here against T. Higgins. Could he get

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Starting point is 00:11:58 perspective on their stud young cornerback. Riley Moss got to have a big game on Monday night football. And we think that he will. We'll tell you why on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. But Broncos Country, thanks so much for making us your first listen of the day every single day. We appreciate you so much. If you haven't done so already, hit subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. as well as on YouTube. So you get us at the top of your feed,

Starting point is 00:12:21 the top of your algorithm every single day. And Cody, let's talk about our players to watch defensively because really in this game, so much is going to be made of the matchup between the Broncos corners and the receivers of the Cincinnati Bengals who are obviously studs out there.

Starting point is 00:12:38 We know Jamar Chase, probably the best receiver in the game, maybe the best receiver in the game. I think it's arguable, but certainly one of the top two or three. And then T. Higgins, I know he doesn't get credit for it, but he would be a number one receiver on most teams. So you're not talking about your typical second receiver, right?

Starting point is 00:12:57 And the Broncos found that out the hard way. So I think you and I could have had Riley Moss for our key players either way. I put him on my list. I think I just got to him first there. I think he's the number one defensive player in focus for this entire game for the Denver Broncos. I want to hear from you about Riley Moss as well. Yeah. Look, I think this is a big.

Starting point is 00:13:17 game and you and I, we touched on it briefly, you know, this past week here. I think the narrative against Riley Moss is really because of this one game that we saw last year against the Cincinnati Bengals where I don't think a lot of people understand, right? Like we talk about, yes, he gave up two touchdowns at T. Higgins. But if you go back on the one that T. Higgins had, it was an incredible play that he made. Riley's got his hand up in the cookie jar. Great coverage. No separation given up. I think that's what kind of sour the narrative. Then people ignored his next two games. and even the playoff game against the Buffalo Bills where Riley played really well in that game as well.

Starting point is 00:13:50 So a lot of people just keep hanging on to this. Riley Moss from 2024 against the Bengals, his first game back from an MCL injury that held him out of action for quite a bit of time here. If you go through this, obviously eight of T. Higgins' catches against Riley. He had 11 catches overall. Eight of them were against Riley on nine targets.

Starting point is 00:14:09 Moss's coverage in that game, maybe minus that one play down the left sideline late in the game and overtime. I feel like there wasn't a lot of separation all game long. That was like the one play where there was definitive separation created against him. He's been one of the most targeted corners in the NFL this year, 27 targets against him so far through three games at second most in the NFL. He's only allowed 12 catches in that span there, 48.1 percent, Sarah. And the numbers are great. Like according to NFL Next Gen stats, and this is what I love about it.

Starting point is 00:14:38 He's been targeted 27 times second most the NFL, only allowed 12 receptions, fewer than any other player with 20 plus targets, right now in the NFL. And he has maintained an average of 2.6 yards of separation and coverage, which is the second tightest coverage in the NFL out of, in a minimum of 50 coverage snaps. He's played well more than that. So his numbers are really good. That to me is like,

Starting point is 00:15:00 all right, I'm looking at this matchup and it's a perfect opportunity for Riley Moss to go through and make some plays. Because I imagine they're going to try to target him in this game. If you're Jake Browning, why would you want to go after PS2, who's going to probably be lined up on Jamar Chase, when you want to try to get a guy like T. Higgins, who's really in a slump so far through three games a season,

Starting point is 00:15:19 you want to try to get him going. I think this is an opportunity for Riley to go out there and make plays. And let's not forget, Riley's responsible for the Broncos only interception created so far this season. I'm all in on the Riley Moss revenge game here. 100%. And we need to see it. I think Riley, as much as he may dismiss it or diminish the importance of it, I guarantee you Cody Riley has a little chip on his shoulder going into this game against T. Higgins, got a little something to prove.

Starting point is 00:15:44 against one of the best receivers in the league. There's no question about it. And I think Riley's going to come through big. I also feel like Nick Benito is going to come through big in this game. The last time the Broncos played on Monday night was at home against the Cleveland Browns wearing those navy blue uniforms. And Cody, he created some great memories for Broncos country in that game. Had the pick six off of James Winston in that game.

Starting point is 00:16:03 And we've seen Jake Browning, I mean, in seven quarters, he has turned the ball over a lot. The Bengals offensive line is banged up. They are allowing a lot of pressure. They're allowing their quarterback to get hit. quite a bit this year. So I do feel like Nick Benito, although he's kind of low-hanging fruit in this game. I think he's going to have a huge game. But speaking of low-hanging fruit, let's go the opposite direction. Let's reach for a little bit of something here because I'm Yoma Uwazerike is my third guy to watch in this game. This, I mean, this Broncos defensive line, Cody, they have

Starting point is 00:16:33 missed Malcolm Roach a little bit early in the season. I think that's safe to say. But Ioma, he's gotten some extensive snaps in the absence of Malcolm Roach. And obviously he was part of that at the end of the Colts game with he and Dondre Tillman getting called for the leverage penalty, obviously. I think Inoma is going to have a big impact on this game, some way or another, whether he gets his hand up in a throwing lane to cause a tipped ball that gets picked off or if he has a sack or two in this game, maybe a blocked kick. I don't know what's going to happen, but I've just got this sneaking suspicion that he's going to come through and have a big game for the Broncos.

Starting point is 00:17:09 So while we've got the low-hanging fruit of Riley Moss and Nick Benito on my defensive players to watch, I think going for a deep cut like Inyo Maizurike to make an impact off the sideline. I think that's a fun one to watch for. Now, you heard it here first. You know, with you, you know, we talk about Riley. I mean, the low hanging fruit for me was Pat Sertan. I'm going to go with him as one of my players to watch. Obviously, he against Jamar Chasin.

Starting point is 00:17:31 I'll be curious as well if they find times there where they're going to match up PS2 on T. Higgins as well. I think, you know, on a down to down basis, like it could change. I mean, that's why the Broncos went out there and they, you know, they, invested in adding Jada Baron. I very much think that we'll see the Broncos transition to a little bit more dime, where you can see Jada in more when Drey Greenlaw returns. I think right now we're not seeing too much of that just because they don't have the personnel. I think at linebacker that can sustain them running the stuff that they want to do effectively at dime for a large portion of the game. The way the Chargers played predominantly dime almost all of the game against Denver last week.

Starting point is 00:18:06 I think Denver would do that if they had the right personnel. And so that's one guy. I'm going to keep an eye on here. PS2 versus Jamar Chase prime time. I mean, this is the pay-per-view heavyweight matchup between these two guys and PS2. And obviously, the two matchups they've had have really held Jamar Chase in check. And I think what? He only had 27 yards against PS2 in that last game that they had last year in Week 17. Let that trend continue here. I'm going with that.

Starting point is 00:18:31 Another guy I'm going to go with is Brandon Jones with Jake Browning being able to be a pocket passer. I don't think you necessarily have to worry about him trying to scramble around the way that Joe Burrough certainly can. But I think that you're going to see maybe this timidness or this quickness to get the ball out. because of the pressure, the Bengals' offensive line has allowed the amount of QB hits, the amount of sacks that he's taken, the amount of sacks that Joe Burrow was taken before he went down with his injury. I'm looking at this is he may try to get it out quickly. So we're talking about more tip passes leading to the guys on the back end, maybe Hufanga, but Brandon Jones, I think getting a pick this week.

Starting point is 00:19:03 I think that's an opportunity we can see kind of come to fruition here for this Broncos team. And then the last guy that I'm going to look at, Zach Allen. Sare against the Bengals last year, Zach Allen went off. He had a career high game for him in a sense in that one matchup here. Well, now it's not Joe Burrow. It's Jake Browning who's going to stay in the pocket a little bit more. I think for Zach Allen, who has done a great job of creating pressure this season, now I think we're going to see Zach Allen get home.

Starting point is 00:19:27 I'm going to predict here, bold prediction. Zach Allen, at least two sacks in this game for the Broncos defensively. And these headline are players to watch here on the defensive side of the ball. Broncos country, make sure you send in your three defensive players that you have your eye on in this week's game against. the Cincinnati Bengals tonight, 6.15 p.m. Mountain Time on ABC. Yes, ABC, folks, for those of you that may have not known that just yet. But coming up next, if the Bronco is going to beat the Cincinnati Bengals, they've got to be better on the early down. Sarah and I,

Starting point is 00:19:56 we're going to go through our keys to victory on today's episode of the show. Today's episode, Lockdown Broncos is brought to my friends over there at five-hour energy and caffeine just got a flavor upgrade. Five-hour energy shots deliver tasty caffeine in 17 bold flavors and each two-ounce shot packs the caffeine of a premium 12-ounce cup of coffee plus B vitamins and nutrients with zero sugar and zero crashes. And what I love most is how portable they are. You can take them wherever you're at. You want to take them? I'm going to take one to Monday night football here tonight. Big taste and a tiny shot, you could take it anywhere and get that boost when you need it. And I like the apple crisp flavor. I also love the blue raspberry flavor.

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Starting point is 00:21:45 things against this Bengals team in order to do just that. Thanks once again to all the everydayers and first listeners out there in Broncos country. We appreciate you so much for making us exactly what we are. The best Broncos podcast in the entire world, nobody can compete with us. And that's all because of you, the avid listeners in Broncos country. Sarah, let's get into our keys to victory here. You know, sometimes these can always be cliche. I think when you put it together,

Starting point is 00:22:06 but I think we always try to approach it from an angle where it's definitive. There's an angle to it and that the Broncos can find a way to overcome a hurdle or master this one thing. We have confidence that they can go and win here at home before the schedule gets even tougher for them. So let's start off with you. What are your three keys to victory, my friend? Well, the number one key to victory for the Denver Broncos offensively, for sure, is clean drives. I think if you have clean drives on offense with few penalties, if not no penalties. man, how great would it be to see a game with no penalties for this Denver Broncos offense, Cody?

Starting point is 00:22:38 I mean, that's what's really hindered this unit so far this season. It hasn't just been missed throws. It hasn't just been getting hit behind the line of scrimmage. It's when you actually do get something going, you have a back-breaking penalty that really ends up killing a drive or pushing you out of scoring range entirely. So that's where I want to see the Broncos improve the most this week is a clean operation offensively, defensively.

Starting point is 00:23:02 and I said this earlier last week, make the 50 yard line the end zone for the Cincinnati Bengals. That's exactly what you want to do. If you're this Denver defense, letting the Cincinnati Bengals with their backup quarterback past the 50, that should be like you've given up a touchdown in your mind. You don't want them getting past the 50 because ultimately you don't have to get too far past the 50 for teams to be in scoring range anymore. So obviously for the Cincinnati Bengals, they are going to be willing to play small ball in this one. So the Denver Broncos, they've got to winfield position and they've got to make sure not to let that Cincinnati offense pass the 50 as much as possible.

Starting point is 00:23:37 And then run for at least 150. We've seen the Broncos be able to run the ball in big chunks this season, but not consistently this season. Get at least 150 yards on the ground. Smash from the very start of this game. We do want to see the Bownicks, you know, passing attack. We want to see them hit those long plays if possible. But, man, Cody and I talked about key players on offense, both are. J Harvey and J.K. Dobbins made our list, man, if those two guys could go for at least 70 a piece and

Starting point is 00:24:05 one of them can hit 100 in this game and that ugly streak that's been going on, that's going on, that's going to help the Broncos dominate this game, not just win, but win by 10 plus. So I think run for 150 is my third key to victory and maybe one of the bigger things that we need to watch for this week. Yeah, no, I'm with you. If they can run for 150 plus, I have a great confidence in their chances to win this game here. And look, in the last two weeks, like last week, the Bengals allowed Jordan Mason to go off for a buck 16. And then they still had a couple other rushers behind him that had some solid production. But in week two against the Jacksonville Jaguars, they allowed, I mean, a combination of three different players to get them over the hump there where they allowed over 139 yards in that game.

Starting point is 00:24:44 Last week in general, the Vikings ran for a buck 69 as a team against Cincinnati. We know that Cincinnati is allowing over 119 yards on the ground, find a way to pound that rock. I agree with you. I think those are very important keys to victory here. I think for me, one of the most important keys to this game for the Broncos on offense and defense, win first and second down early. That's on both sides of the ball here where the Broncos have been sporadic on offense, at least on first and second down. Same thing with the defense. I thought the defense last week did a better job on first down against an NFL offense in L.A.

Starting point is 00:25:15 That was averaging a lot of yards overall in terms of first down efficiency. They were very good. Denver did a good job of compressing some of those plays there. But you have to carry that trend in on both sides in this specific game against Cincinnati. because if you're finding yourself behind the sticks on first down offensively, then you have a longer field situation. Your play calling aspects shrink a little bit on second down. And certainly if it's third and long like the Broncos face last week, you make it easy for the defense just to say,

Starting point is 00:25:40 hey, we're going to play four guys playing deep. We're going to play quarters coverage. We're just going to protect the sticks. And we're going to force you to throw it. And then we're going to rally and tackle, get you off the field. Denver cannot let it be easy for the defense to dictate what they do. So early down operations, first and second down is going to be key. same thing here against this Bengals team as well.

Starting point is 00:25:58 If this defense can pin their ears back a little bit and then force the Bengals to have some long field situations on third down, it makes their job a lot easier, though they have given up some big plays on third down over the course of the last three weeks. So you can't let that trend continue here. My second key to victory, Sarah, I'm going to go with the Broncos needing to run the ball, break the streak, right? I'm sticking with it.

Starting point is 00:26:18 You talked about running the ball effectively here for over 150. I'm just saying, hey, commit to running the ball here. Don't give up on it. Like the Broncos should have committed to it in the fourth quarter with the lead last week. Break the streak, run the ball here, get J.K. Dobbins over 100 yards on the ground. It's certainly possible with his cuts, his explosive ability as well. Break the streak. 37 straight games of Denver not having a 100-yard rusher.

Starting point is 00:26:41 That has got the end, and maybe it happens here on Monday night. My third and my final key to victory is going to be key as well. I think on the money downs or the key downs here in this game, depending on formation, if you get them isolated on different sides, of the field. You have to evaluate who the most dangerous threat is. Brackett, T. Higgins, or Jemar Chase on key downs. I think that's something we're going to see the Broncos doing this game specifically. When we saw it last week, even on Keenan Allen's touchdown, the Broncos were kind of bracketing him specifically on that play with Riley Moss playing off man coverage, outside leverage,

Starting point is 00:27:15 because he had a safety over the top inside who could rob down and help there in Talenoa Hufanga. But against these guys, against T. Higgins, Jamar Chase, and even Andre Yosevaz, who hasn't had the best year so far for him. You have to find a way to bracket some of these top playmakers on those money downs. I imagine T. Higgins is going to be that guy because they trust and Passertan's ability to lock down Jamar Chase. I think you're going to see Riley Moss and Brandon Jones or Hufanga, maybe even Jada Baron at times. I think you're going to see these guys combo and bracket these big receivers in those money down situations, those crucial down situations I think will be key for Denver this week, especially if you want to get Cincinnati off the

Starting point is 00:27:54 field. A hundred percent. It's got to be exactly like you said, Cody, with just that efficiency early on in this game of locking those guys down, making sure that you're getting your offense extra possessions, winning that field position battle, winning that time of possession battle. Last week, the Broncos were 2.13 on third downs. And obviously, they faced third and 11 plus in the majority of those situations. So that kind of helps explain it. But that speaks to your first key, which is winning first and second down, especially offensively. You can't go into this game thinking that, well, nine first downs and, you know, two of 13 on third downs.

Starting point is 00:28:29 We only lost by three last week. So, you know, we've got margin for error. Don't overlook these guys. Don't overlook the Cincinnati Bengals, even with a backup quarterback or with whatever struggles they've got going defensively. This is still an NFL operation. This is still a team that's going to have its back against the wall as well after the biggest loss in franchise history.

Starting point is 00:28:49 So the Broncos have to do everything that they possibly can to come away from this game with a win, finish September with a win, get to two and two, and get to the month of October with a little bit of momentum as you face off against the Philadelphia Eagles. Don't overlook the Bengals with the Eagles looming. Cody, that's going to be huge. Don't let this be a trap game for the Denver Broncos. Let this be a snowball game where you win and you carry that over into Philadelphia, carried into London, so on and so forth. That I think will be very key to watch here for this Broncos team. I'm in agreeance with you, Sarah. I think overall, this game is huge.

Starting point is 00:29:22 Regardless of Joe Burrow playing or not playing, being in or out, the Bengals, they are two and one. They're coming off the worst loss, as you mentioned there, they're still a dangerous team because they have all their playmakers around them healthy. And that's why the Broncos, they have to bring their A game here on Monday night. But what they said, Broncos country, that will wrap up today's show, our final game preview that will take you all the way up into kickoff here tonight. You'll get Sarah Bedinger, myself, for the lockdown Broncos post-game report shortly after the game here. wherever you get your podcast or on YouTube. So make sure you hit that subscribe or that follow button. So you never miss out on what's going on with your favorite team.

Starting point is 00:29:55 With us, at Broncos Country, we appreciate you. I'll see you for the post game report. Lock in.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos Must UNLEASH J.K. Dobbins vs. Bengals on Monday Night Football

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