Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos Promising Season Ends In Frustrating Loss To Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills

Episode Date: January 13, 2025

The Denver Broncos promising season officially ended with a frustrating loss to Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. How did the Broncos defense and their issues over the last six games come to a head against the Bills. What did we learn from Bo Nix and the Broncos offense in his first playoff game. While the end result is disappointing, why are the Denver Broncos and Sean Payton heading in a positive direction? Cody Roark is a credentialed beat reporter for Mile High Sports and covers the Broncos daily in person. Sayre Bedinger is the site expert for Predominantly Orange. Both bring Broncos Country the most in-depth and objective coverage of the Denver Broncos. WANT MORE DAILY DENVER BRONCOS CONTENT?For all of the latest Denver Broncos news today -- Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOBroncos?sid=YouTube Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFL Follow on Twitter: @CodyRoarkNFL and @SayreBedingerFollow the show on Twitter: @LockedOnBroncos Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Turbo TaxReady for stress-free taxes and the most money back, guaranteed? Head over to TurboTax.com today and get matched with your Expert—who’s ready to take your taxes off your plate, so you can focus on your day. LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply. PrizePicksDownload the app and use code lockedonnfl to win $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive your $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFL GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. FanDuelYou can start the season with a big return on FanDuel. New customers can place a FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - if you win or lose your first FIVE DOLLAR BET ! Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Denver Broncos promising season ends in frustrating fashion in Sunday's 31 to 7. Playoff loss to Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. The Broncos have a choice. They could go one way or the other after a loss like this. We'll tell you which direction we think they'll have. Here on today's Lockdown Broncos, post-game report. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day.

What's happening in Broncos 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 the Broncos promising season ends in frustrating fashion. And Sunday to Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills will take it through everything that you need to know about the game and where Denver's going to go next here on today's episode of the show. Thanks to all the every dayers and first listeners out there in Broncos country, who tune in every single day to make us your first listen for all your Broncos news,

content coverage analysis and more you get that here on lockdown. Broncos, I'm Cody Roark. Broncos beat reporter for Mile High Sports. Join, as always, by Sarah Bedinger, site expert, predominantly orange.com. And obviously on today's show, we're going to wrap things up by talking about how the tough playoff loss that we saw here on Sunday, how it doesn't define the 2024 Denver Broncos and why it should propel them forward in years to come. We'll also talk about where does the team go from here?

What happened with the offense? What happened with the defense? We'll break down everything from Sunday's playoff loss here on. today's episode of the show, which is brought to you by our friends over there at Fandu. And you can start the season with a big return on Fandul. New customers can place a $5 bet. And you'll get started with $200 in bonus bets. If you win or lose your first $5 bet, visit Fanduil.com to get started.

Frustrating end to the season here for the Denver Broncos, the third youngest team right now in the NFL. There were some moments of like, oh, excitement here to start the playoff game. But then it got out of hand relatively quickly for Denver. And they were just overmatched here by Josh Allen. and the Buffalo Bills who ended up dominating this game and a lot of facets on wildcard weekend. Yeah, and it really didn't even require much from Josh Allen to begin with, right? It was the running game for the Buffalo Bills from the very start. The Bills dominated time of possession in this game.

They dictated at the line of scrimmage. And ultimately, Denver's defense simply could not deal with it over the course of the game. Take me back, Cody. Take me back to when it was 7-0, when our manifestations of Troy Franklin finally getting the deep ball, came to fruition on the biggest stage. Like, man, take me back to seven to nothing when the Broncos were rolling and optimism was flowing. Like this defense has let the team down inexplicably over the last two months all the way

back to the Cleveland game. And Levi Wallace is no longer here to be able to blame somebody for that, right? It's the entire defense. And you and I have discussed this. The frustrating aspect is it's like, okay, you've got the all pro. off the edge spot with Nick Benito. You paid Jonathan Cooper a bunch of money. Zach Allen,

the second team all pro, like John Franklin Myers, tremendous. DJ Jones played really well this year. So your defensive front shouldn't be getting absolutely whooped like this. And personnel on the back end, you figured you've got your long-term solution at the cornerback spot with Pat Sertan, Riley Moss,

Jayquan, McMillan, Brandon Jones played well this year, PJ Locke played well this year. So what's up with this? defensive, just complete flop at the end of the season. For the last, I'd say, what, five, six games in total? It's unacceptable, Cody.

For this to happen, like, I know we want to get to the optimistic part of the offseason and things like that. We have to write the post-mortem on this atrocity of the defense, letting the Broncos down in the playoffs, the defense letting the Broncos down against the Bengals and the Chargers, for that matter. the defense barely coming through against the Colts where it should have been 20 to 7, ultimately, if not for Jonathan Taylor, gifting you a turnover. That changed the tide of the game.

The defense, if it weren't for Bo Nix and the offense would have blown it on Monday night football against the Cleveland Brown. So the defense, Cody, I sit here very confused. This is supposed to be the number one scoring defense with three games left to play in the NFL, number one in Sacks. third in red zone efficiency, what happened to the defense that I love? Yeah, look, this was a, it's been a frustrating month and a half here for the Broncos defensive. We've seen them regress, you know, and certainly they did not look like the same unit we saw at the beginning of the season. And against some of these really big teams, like really good players, really good QBs,

really good offenses, you need to see them step up to the table. We saw them get blown out by Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Rabids. And, you know, you get blown on here by Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills, the two guys. that are in the MVP race right now. For me, I mean, Sarah, I think that the frustration in this game, and obviously we'll talk about the Broncos offense here and folks on the defense to start to show here, they could not get off the field. And that has been a problem in the last five or six games.

We're going to leave the Kansas City game out because that doesn't necessarily really matter in terms of how the defense played in that game because it was a different story, different personnel groupings that they face. But what have been some of the tangible and the visible issues that we have seen? Third down has been a problem area for them in the last. six games. In this game, you allow the bills to convert eight of 15, and that you allow them to convert two for two, one fourth down. That led to the bills keeping drives alive. But what really defined the outcome of this game here was the time of possession. Josh Allen and the bill's

offense, they had the ball set for 41 minutes and 43 seconds. That's more than half of the game compared to Denver's offense only getting it for 18 minutes and 17 seconds in this game. And so when you're taking away the number of possessions your offense gets, or for the matter of fact, like Denver's offense got off to a great start on the first series. Bow Nix finds Troy Franklin. And when you brought that up, it kind of reminded me of the Thanos thing and the adventures. It's like, you know, what did it cost? Well, you know, Troy Franklin's getting the touchdown. It cost everything.

Everything. Just that's frustrating. And against a team like the Buffalo Bills, the margin for error is so small. You can't make the mistakes defensively or offensively or on special teams against. the bills that maybe some other teams don't make. Like when you don't have the firepower to do just that, we'll talk about the offense here in a little bit, but the time of possession,

the inability for Denver to get off the field, certainly in red zone situations they held up at times, but not to a point where a sustainable all game. And it all goes back to what Vance Joseph said several weeks ago, I felt like you and I pinpointed as very, very troubling in a sense. Remember he said, you know, this late in the season, all of your warts are on film.

The coaching staff, your job as the coach, is to make sure that those warts get removed before you get to the postseason. And certainly we saw some of those same things. You know, he saw busted runs. I mean, James Cook, Ty Johnson, Josh Allen, those three guys, they gashed the Broncos for over 200 yards of rushing offense on the ground. The Broncos defense in this game gave up 471. We already talked about the third down numbers.

We talked about the fourth down numbers here. Their inability to get off the field cost them this game. And certainly when Denver did get a stop, or was able to force the bills to set up for a field goal, the Broncos offense couldn't get anything going either. And that's where everything just kind of downward spiral for them in this game. And unfortunately, I think it showed that while the Broncos have taken massive steps forward, there's still a lot of room for them to grow.

And obviously, I know that's going to be something we talk about a little bit towards the end of the show. But man, the defense, the same trends have been problematic. What were some of those trends? Cody, I mean, it's all over the board. when you talk about allowing big plays, when you talk about the linebackers getting picked on in coverage, the run defense.

I mean, even Sean Payton said after the game, like, no, I did not expect their running game to be that effective. Like, it felt like seven, eight yards every single time James Cook took the ball on first down.

And they were able to set up just ideal situations to where Josh Allen could run the ball. He could pick and choose a crossing route, a little short throw to the outside and yards. Like, for Buffalo dominate the Broncos today? Absolutely not. And they, James Cook didn't dominate as a receiver either. Like, like I said, this was not a, hey, Josh Allen absolutely cooked in this game. Like this was a James Cook,

cooked the Denver Broncos in this game. And the Buffalo Bills dominated at the line of scrimmage against a defensive line that has not been whipped all season long like that, other than the Baltimore game in which the Baltimore Ravens very similarly dictated the game. And just instantly, you felt like you had the game close and within reach. And then all of a sudden a couple of mistakes here and there and boom, boom, it's a two-score game in favor of Buffalo. And so the Broncos had their chances in this game. Cody, we knew the talent discrepancy in this game was huge.

The bills have this playoff medal, the playoff experience, which is why it's so crucial that this Denver Broncos team got there this year. But I want to pose the question to anybody that's listening as well as to you, is there grounds to justify firing Vance Joseph or replacing him as the defensive coordinator after this season. Might be a hot take, might be a bit of recency bias here, but we just outlined that over a month and a half in which your playoff position was on the line, like Vance Joseph's unit lets you down. If it wasn't for your offense, if it wasn't for the Chiefs benching starters in the final

week of the season, you risked potentially a three-game situation with win and in, three games left. you risked based on the collapses against the chargers and the bangles potentially missing out on the postseason if the if the chiefs didn't rest their starters there and you go back even further than that like i know there's so much positives that have happened under vance joseph in you know recently player development the two guys with double digit sacks leading the nfl and sacks like those are all great numbers do you have is this a a you know john fox type of situation to where man the broncos like they know knew they were they had reached a cap with john fox and they're like we're not going to make a public spectacle out of firing him but we might go our separate ways and go hire gary kubiak who happened to be exactly what that team needed in 2015 like could you see a similar situation to that here in 2025 i mean maybe do i expect that to happen probably not look and i know this too like that would not be a very popular move in the eyes of the players inside the locker

room. And look, I think Denver, they did a lot of great things this year defensively. The defense early on was the saving grace for them. It's just frustrating to see the falloff in the last five to six games. And so I think the question it really boils down to, is it a personnel issue in terms of what we've seen with the Broncos in the last five or six games or is it a coaching issue? I don't know if this game further advances case to become a head coach for another team out there in this current cycle, especially with one job already being taken off the board. I don't think it would be a popular decision. I know the fan base right now.

They would love to see that happen. I'm just very curious to see what the debrief is. And of course, the cameras during the game, Panda, Vance Joseph and Sean Peyton, I think a lot of people are like, uh-oh, what's going on there? I can tell you, I've been in that situation a thousand times as a coach. You know, you get in heated moments like that on the sideline where it looks animated.

We don't know what was said. I just don't know if Sean Payton's going to do that. Though his philosophy that he has said was slow to hire, quick to fire. So unless he thinks that the issues that the Broncos defense has are not rectifiable or if that's even a real word at this point. I mean, I wouldn't be shocked. I just don't think that's going to happen here.

But we'll also get to highlight maybe some of the Broncos offenses shortcomings here in this playoff losses. Denver Falls, 31 to 7 to Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. What happened after that blazing fast start? And is there time for Sean Payton to reflect on maybe how the offense should move forward going forward? We'll break it down and much more here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's Lockdown Broncos podcast is brought to our friends over there at LinkedIn jobs. And growing your small business in 2025 comes down to how well you can hire.

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Download the app today. Use code locked on NFL to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5. Prize picks, run your game. The Denver Broncos certainly won't be taking home any awards for best supporting cast whenever they do those movie award shows. And Cody and I are going to break down exactly why Bo Nix. He tried to drag the offense as far as he could take him in this game against the Buffalo bills.

Unfortunately, it only ended up being right around one half of the game. We're going to talk about the offense and their kind of flub. against the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs and as well as the future of this team, which is definitely bright Broncos country. So while we have to address the negative right now, believe you me, we're going to be talking a lot about the positive aspects of what the Broncos offseason holds upcoming. But thanks so much for tuning into this post-game edition, Lockdown Broncos.

Cody and I, you know, we got you every single day here on the show. You every dayers already know that. And if you haven't already done so, if you're a brand new listener to the show, we appreciate if you hit subscribe as well to follow. along to all the offseason fun. And I do believe it's going to be a very fun offseason, Cody. And the reason being, because no, it's going to drive everybody in Broncos country absolutely crazy what we saw out there offensively in terms of the supporting

cast, drop passes, no running game, et cetera, et cetera. But I don't think it's going to drive anybody crazier than Sean Peyton and George Peyton, who are watching this unfold and already probably, I don't know if they write stuff down on paper or if they've got iPads or whatever they got. When these guys are dreaming up the off season, the ideal off season, I think playmakers will be at the center, and we saw a prime example of why in this utter failure by the Denver Broncos offensive weapons against Buffalo in the playoffs.

Yeah, look, and this was things that we have talked about from the onset of this season all throughout. Like you mentioned the run game issues. You mentioned the lack of, you know, a weapon opposite of Cortland Sutton. You mentioned the lack of production from the tight end position. And it's like, how do you expect a. rookie quarterback to thrive. Well, let's go through a very interesting number here on today's episode of the show. The Broncos offense in this game finished with 224 net yards of offense.

Bo Nix accounted for 187 of that 224. 15 were attributed to Riley Dixon on a fake punt that went for 15 yards there to simply say the Broncos didn't have enough around Bo Nix. And certainly as we talked about the defense struggling to get off the field, the Broncos weren't afforded as possessions as they wanted to. And there were times where they would get a possession or the defense would hold the bills to a field goal where the offense would go three and out. Or as you mentioned, drops crucial in this game here. There was one drive where Cortland Sutton had a drop. I think it was on a second and 10 that would have been for a first down, would have put the Broncos, I think close to field goal range, or if not into Bill's territory.

Rookie Devon, Velae had three drops in this game, tried to haul in a one head. I thought Bo had a, did a great job there, getting it to him down the right. sideline. He tried to get it with one hand, couldn't do it. He had two other drops that were crucial in that regard there in this game as well, so not the best game there. The Broncos just didn't have enough people step up in this game opposite of Cortland Sutton. And look, Cortland had the drop, but Cortland was the main producer here. You know, that Bow Knicks early on did a great job. I mean, early on, your first drive, you're facing a third down and Bowfires a 19-yard shot. Cortland Sutton around the middle of the field.

Love to see that. Then, bang, down the right sideline to Troy Franklin. and he comes up with a big play. The lack of a run game or like hurt them in this. And I think some of it also too, like Sean Payton could have been better on the play calling aspect too because there were times it did seem like, wait a minute, that was a little predictable. The Bill's defense was ready for Marvin Mims on those little outlet screenplays plays or any time he came in motion.

They pretty much played to say, hey, we understand that. We understand that's going to come here. We're not worried about the deep stuff here because we know that's going to how you're going to try to open things up. that's an extension of the run game. The bill's defense, they adjusted really quickly. And unfortunately, the Broncos, 42 offensive plays to when you look at the bills, 72,

Denver didn't do enough with the possessions that they had, but it all simply wasn't on Bo Nix. Like, if anything, I came away from this game feeling solidified that, hey, get Bo Nicks to balanced offense. Get him a run game. Get him maybe another playmaker. Get him someone who can produce in the receiving game at the tight end position. And I feel good about the direction of,

where things are at because you already know Bo's the franchise guy. That has to be the emphasis for this team going forward is surrounding him with pieces that will help the offense sustain. And certainly for Sean Payton, I'm curious to see how he reflects on maybe areas he could have been better this season as well,

especially with the flow of the play calling at times. I'm wondering, Cody, why the Broncos don't ever run any sort of mesh concepts with Marvin Mims. Like, I get that you want to get him the ball in space. Why is there never any mesh stuff with Marvin? He's the fastest guy you have offensively. other than probably Bo Nix.

And I mean that sincerely, like the dude can, the dude can scoot out there. We saw him. I mean, I know Von Miller is getting older, but man, the way he just absolutely. He evaded by. I mean,

I don't think I, I didn't think I would ever see that with how Von Miller has been throughout the course of his career. I realize we all get old. Von, I feel you a fellow 1989 brother here. So, but, but Cody,

like, Bo Nix can play. Like, flat out, first drive of the game, third down in eight, I believe it was, that throw to Cortland Sutton on the money.

And then you finish off that drive with the play to Troy Franklin that we've all been asking for. Like he went into the teeth of that Buffalo defense on the first, the opening script and into the crowd, just the crowd noise, everything going against to that first drive. Like that proved who Bo Nix is in terms of his ability to kind of just like mentally lock in and play a game of this magnitude. And then you saw at the end of the first half when it was 10 to 7 Buffalo,

you're pinned back at the eight yard line. from a bogus call that was on Marvin Mims there, a sportsman like or whatever it was. So you're pinned back to the eight yard line. And you get into Will Lutz field goal range in a two-minute drive on the road to tie the game. At the end of the first half, it would have given you such momentum going into halftime.

And what happens? Doink, Will Lutz off the right crossbar. And it's just stuff like that that just sucks because you hate to try to convince yourself that the butterfly effect would have, something would have been drastically different if he had made that feel just make the freaking field goal man like i know that it's hard it's easy for me to say because i could never make that feel goal but make the freaking kick and let's find out what happens instead of being like well that kind of stuff just happens you know it's tough no let's let's go make that kick and let's support your rookie quarterback that's been the story of this season is like people have been arguing at you know tooth and nail they've been at each other's strokes all year about is bow nicks really a franchise quarterback like can he be the guy for the bronch?

What's his average debt to target? What's the average yak for the Broncos? What's the DVOA of this and that? The guy is a franchise quarterback. And this game is the prime example of what you and I have talked about all year. That it's not a question of whether he's the franchise QB. It's the fact that, man, now that we look back on it, the dude was dragging everybody on this offense for the majority of the season.

And now it's time that the Broncos put some guys around him who can make plays. And man, there's no. greater evidence than this particular game. And I know that they can learn from it, but how frustrating is it, Cody? You take away one option. All of a sudden, Troy Franklin, third and whatever, five and six of the first drive they had in the second half, right through his hands. Devon Valle, pass hits him in the face when the Broncos have 14 minutes left in the

fourth. You're down by three touchdowns, but you got 14 minutes left. Like, don't let the pass hit you in the face. Catch the dang ball. Like, I don't, I mean, it's frustrating, Cody. I know that rookie mistakes happen for all rookies, not just quarterbacks. It was tough.

It's a tough pill to swallow, but like Sean Payton said, eventually we'll swallow that pill. Yeah, look, I think it's clear as day you've got to get Bo more to work with. Give Bo more weapons. If Bo, in my opinion, had some of the weapons that some of these other QBs and teams had,

I guarantee you it's a different story here for the Broncos. Love to see it. The future is bright. And speaking of that, even though the Denver season is over, we're going to have you covered every single day here, lockdown Broncos, because for the true fan, there's never an offseason.

We got you covered five days a week all throughout the entire off season. A lot to talk about here with this Broncos team. But how does this loss define the Broncos either in a good way or a bad way? It depends on which path they choose to go. We'll highlight some of the biggest needs this offseason and what we've learned of this 2024 Broncos team here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's Lockdown Broncos post game report is brought to you by friends over there at Fandu, America's number one sportsbook.

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Denver season is officially over, but that doesn't mean that everything is done. Everything now, the season, the preparation, the planning, the growth, the seeds have been planted. Now everything begins again. We've covered every single day all year long here. Locked on Broncos. Sarah, I mean, let's take a look at it from this standpoint, too. We highlighted the struggles by Denver's defense in this game. We talked about the offense, the issues.

they're not having enough playmakers around you, just everything going opposite of the Broncos after they got off to a little bit of a hot start. And part of the wonders, is that a byproduct of that being a young team, right? I think you and I know this as well. What did we learn about this 2024 Denver Broncos team? I'll start off by saying one word.

I felt like they were resilient. Yes, this outcome here on Sunday is frustrating. I know Broncos fans are frustrated as well, but don't allow the loss, the outcome of this game. cloud you from being able to see like, hey, this team is actually, they're in a good position. They're going to have money to work with, even if they're battling the last part of Russell Wilson's dead cap. They're going to have their capital. They can go out there and they can add some pieces here in the offseason.

The future is still bright with this team despite that. Yeah, 100% is. I mean, you and I have touched on this in the past, but it's worth bringing up now as everybody's going to be wondering, you know, what reasons we have to be optimistic. Well, you have cash rich ownership. You have a brand new training facility coming in 2026. You're in the top 10 in cap space. You have a franchise quarterback to build around. You have some pretty obvious needs on the roster and depth at those positions like running back

and tight end in the upcoming NFL draft. And you have an opportunity now to lure free agents with continuity on this roster. Cody, you've already taken care of a number of guys. That speaks volumes to free agents around the league. But also, I think those guys that you're bringing, I mean, the Broncos are going to be bringing back the vast majority of their starting lineup on both sides of the football. And they have an opportunity to really upgrade this off season. And so while a playoff loss like that, yeah, it hurts.

It stinks. It's no fun to get blown out in the playoffs. And in the grand scheme of things, would it have been nice to keep it a close game and really play them tough and be like, man, we're just like, we're this close instead of like this close, right? Would that be nice? Maybe. But at the same time, just like I think I've mentioned. this on Twitter. And you and I have talked about this. Just like after the Super Bowl where the Broncos lost 43 to 8 to the Seattle Seahawks, John Elway goes out absolutely wrecks free agency in 2014.

Like he put his stamp all over that because you saw the weakness as clear as day on the field and a blowout loss, I feel like the Broncos, you know, brass, Sean Peyton, George Peyton, they're going to be all over at this offseason after seeing the promising, you know, start and foundation they've built what they can build going forward. Yeah, and certainly there's a lot of learning lessons too. Like when you remove yourself from the season, which obviously, you know, now that Denver's year is over, you know, we're going to have locker room this week here in terms of talking to players before they all head out.

Some guys are going to go to free agency. Denver's got quite a bit of free agents and we'll obviously talk about here and other episodes of the show. But allow Sean Payton, I think we'll meet with him later in the week. We're waiting to get the schedule here in terms of end of the year conference. But I always feel like when you can separate for a minute, you can say, okay, hey, how can I get better? I mean, we can look at this team in so many different ways.

They're young. There's a ton of youth. There's a lot of guys that, you know, even John Gru was saying, you look at them defensively. It's the anonymous crush. You know, you can only name a couple of guys on the defense. Like, Nash, if you can only name Nick Benito and Pat Sertan and Zach Allen as the only players on Denver's defense.

Everyone else, like, wait, I don't know who else is on that team. You have things to build with, right? But it's like, can you use your playoff appearance as motivation to move forward, to take that next step? Does it create a hunger inside of you? Me knowing a lot of the players in the Broncos locker room, the way that I do, I know that this is going to motivate a handful of guys. For fans, you know, we've already seen some responses saying,

well, this is why I didn't want to have hope because I got drawn back in and now they lost in the playoffs. That's what being a fan is about. I don't know. Like I understand the emotion of the outcome. But being a fan, isn't that the thing is like you have hope? Like, how long has it been since the Broncos have had tangible hope where you can see you can feel it. This team right now has that. And yes, the outcome is frustrating. But this team is in a better spot right now and also going forward with having questions

answered at major positions like quarterback that now it's like, all right, hey, you can breathe a little bit. What are they going to do in the off season? That is the thing here. This loss doesn't define the 2024 Broncos unless they let it happen. But there is reasons to have hope in this team. And Sarah, I'm excited about the off season because there is so much that we're going to go through. We're going to turn over a lot of different stones here. We're going to see how this team decides to build. There's a lot to change and obviously a lot that they can get better. But man, to say that this team doesn't have a bright future. That's just being a victim of the moment. And I think it's frustrating, you know, when that clouds the judgment of people's ability to see like, hey, there are promising developments for a team that's only expected to win five games to make it to the postseason. I tell you what, I'm excited about them. Yeah. And next year, the expectations will be higher, which means that bar is going to be set. at a new level. No longer next year. Home playoff game. That's what Sean Payton said after game. We need to find a way to play these games at home.

100%. A hundred percent, which what is he saying by saying that? He's saying we need to win our division at a minimum because that's the only way you're hosting a playoff game, right, is if you win your division. So that's what he's saying. And I think they have every right to set the bar that high for next year because, man, if they learn how to close out these one score games, like you've been battle tested now. You've had these opportunities. You've been blown out by some good teams.

You've had opportunities in one score games. Find a way to get that done next year. You've got to find those difference makers this off season. I don't think you need to throw the babies out with the bathwater either, Cody. I'm not cutting Troy Franklin. I'm not getting rid of Devon Bailey. I'm not getting rid of any of these guys. You let those guys develop.

They are rookies in the NFL as much as we can be frustrated and justifiably so. They're in the NFL. They're playing in the playoffs. we can be critical of what they're doing wrong out there, but also at the same time not saying, all right, Troy Franklin, he's out of here.

No, I'm not dealing with that next year. What if the guy has a breakout season in year two, potentially? I mean, look at Marvin Mims. Look at Marvin Mims. And so I'm just saying that it's going to require patience,

and this team's philosophy is a lot about player development. So don't be surprised if they make some frustrating moves over the course of the off season that you're like, wait, why are they just like last year when they banked on Riley Moss becoming a starter, right? And everybody's like, this team needs a cornerback opposite pass or tan. They can't trust the guys they have. They believe in their player development, Cody.

And you know that as well as I do. And I think that that's going to be a situation where they get this combination of being aggressive to address needs, but also player development and believing in the guys who took those lumps this past year. One final message, too, because there are a lot of, you know, people who are dancing on the Broncos grave of them getting eliminated in the playoffs. You got a lot of Bengals fans coming in here saying, oh, see, this is why nobody wanted the Broncos in the playoffs. Like, you know what? Like that mentality, like, you have such a loser mentality with that.

You know what your team should have done? Your team should have beaten the New England Patriots in week once. So don't come over here to our shows. Don't come over here trying to troll Broncos fans because your team couldn't get it done. You're sitting at home on the couch. Yeah, the Broncos are going to be joining you this week. But you know what?

Denver, they had a very successful season and things are heading in the right direction. You should focus on how your franchise, organization is going to keep T. Higgins and Jamar chased together alongside Joe Burrell. Worry about that before you worry about the Denver Broncos. All right. I just wanted to get that off because I get tired of fans. Like I just think that's such a loser mentality from a fan base that winds in crisis.

Oh, we didn't get into playoffs because the cheats were so scared of us. Win another freaking game. That's all I have to say. Yeah, 100%. It's so annoying. Because it's like, man, how many times have we wanted to be in that same position where it's like, man, just give us a shot at the playoffs. But you know what?

Bengals fans, Cody's right. Your team's got to win one more game. And obviously, you're a good team. That's a good team. And you're going to get shots next year. But like, I mean, no, no excuses for either of these teams. Like, I don't think the Bengals would have had an ice cube chance either in the overall scope of the postseason.

Like against these teams that we're seeing, they couldn't even get past the Pittsburgh Steelers. And Russell Wilson, the way they've been playing, I mean, she, Dude, Cody, this has been a wild NFL year. Everybody's going to be resetting. We'll join them. And I won't be going to Cancun, but maybe some Broncos players and coaches will. I'm going to Italy.

I'm getting married this summer. So I'm going to Italy, man. There's a silver lining. Absolutely. It is. And I'll be at Disney World later this year. And you know what? It's going to be good.

But at the same time, look, the Bengals are already sunburnt while the Broncos are a little bit, you know, they're recovering from the cold of Buffalo. And so they'll take those bragging rights while. we can and we'll see them next year. I'm sure. I'm sure there'll be another opportunity for everybody, but the future is right. They play next year too. Yeah, Denver.

Denver's going to play Joe Burrow on them in Denver. So maybe it's T. Higgins, joining them out of high city. T. Higgins versus his former team and former teammates. We'll see if that's the case here. But Broncos country, even though Denver season has ended, locked on Broncos, we're still going. We got you covered literally every single weekday all year long,

all throughout the entire off season. We're going to have opportunities for you to get involved in our Monday mailback. We're going to have opportunities for viewers to obviously send in their voicemails and also be on the show so that they can share their perspectives. We'll react to it much more. But we got you covered because the Broncos, they're going to be active this offseason. They're going to make a lot of moves. They may even surprise some folks. We'll have you covered every step of the way.

Make sure you join us for tomorrow's episode of the show. Send in your mailbag questions too. At Cody Warwick NFL, at Sarah Bedinger on social media. We'll answer the three best ones on tomorrow's episode of the show. Broncos country, appreciate you. Sorry, the season ended. But you know what? the offseason just beginning.

We got a lot to talk about. Make sure you tune in tomorrow for a brand new episode of the show.