Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos vs. Buffalo Bills: Bo Nix, Patrick Surtain II Will Be Key vs. Von Miller, Josh Allen

Starting point is 00:00:00 This is it. Sunday's game for the Denver Broncos. It is do or die. Win, advanced, lose, and your season ends. The Denver Broncos, they're ready for the task, and they're looking to shot the world by beating Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. We'll tell you why Bo Nix and Patrick Stateness. It'll be two key players that will define the outcome of this game on today's game preview 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 happening in Broncos country? Welcome into another episode of Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast network where you know

Starting point is 00:00:45 it is your team every day. Thank you so much to all the everydayers out there on Broncos country. Thanks for making us your first listen all season long. And make sure you continue to make us your first listen every day all throughout the entire off season because for the true fan, there is never an off season. We're hoping next week, the Broncos will be talking about another playoff game on the Horizon. Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills is just a mere couple days away. We'll break down all the action. I'm Cody Roark, Broncos reporter for Mile High Sports.

Starting point is 00:01:14 Join, as always by Sarah Bedinger, site expert predominantly orange.com. And here's what we're going to break down on today's episode of show. We'll obviously go through our keys to victory and how the Broncos can and how they will upset the Buffalo Bills if they do several key things. We'll also highlight why Troy Franklin game could be on horizon here for the Broncos and why it could be coming at the right time, but we're going to kick things off by really looking at some of the key storylines in this game. Can the Denver Broncos, Bo Knicks, Sean Payton, and this young roster, the third youngest roster in the NFL, shock the world against the Buffalo Bills.

Starting point is 00:01:49 Today's episode of show is brought to you by our friends over there at Price Picks. Go to the PricePix.com slash lockdown NFL. Use code all our case locked on NFL will win $50 instantly when you play $5. Sir, this is as big as it gets, my friend. And it's so much fun to be talking about this kind of a game, Cody. I mean, I can imagine if you and I did a podcast like this back in 2015, the vibes would be way different, right? I mean, it would be like so on edge, just like, man, this could be Peyton Manning's last chance. I know the Broncos had a first round buy at that time.

Starting point is 00:02:21 But man, just think about the difference in intensity. Like back then, it was like, hey, this could be the last shot for a long time. And right now it's like, man, this is the beginning of something. very special. And so I think in terms of your question, can the Broncos shock the world against the bill as well? We may have an inkling to our answer, right? As the number one key storyline going into the season, many, many people in the NFL media world thought that the Denver Broncos had the worst roster in the league. And now not only has this roster made the playoffs, not only did they win 10 games, but Cody, this roster, five all pros on this team. I mean, the worst roster in

Starting point is 00:03:00 the league has five all pros. Not bad. Not bad. So can this team shock the world? I say yes, they can shock the world. Absolutely. Because guess what they've made a habit of doing that all season long. I tell you what? Our friends are there at old takes exposed, freezing cold takes. I guarantee you the Broncos might be the one team in the NFL this year where that account can go through and look at all the takes about them and then bring them up and saying, hey, look at this. If the Broncos win on Sunday, I hope this is a call out, old takes exposed, expose all these non-ball knowers out there. That's our one request here in Broncos country.

Starting point is 00:03:34 But yeah, I mean, Sarah and I love the attitude and the mindset that the players have had in the locker room this week. And it all starts with rookie quarterback, Bo Nix, who doesn't look like a rookie, doesn't play like a rookie. It's really cool to see him being in this position right now. And obviously, we saw the hype video he posted on his Instagram page. That right there, if that doesn't get you ready for the playoff game, I don't know what will.

Starting point is 00:03:53 So make sure you go check that out if you haven't done so already. But really for that, like, Bo's mindset is like, hey, our team closeness in this locker. we don't really pay attention to the outside noise too much. That's not something we're really concerned about. He said, but the people, beginning of the year, they wrote us off. They had a lot to say about what type of team would be, and we proved them wrong. He said, now's another opportunity here on Sunday to go and do just that.

Starting point is 00:04:13 He said, why not? Why not shock the world? So that's our top storyline going into Sunday's game. But I think the transition from that to this is probably the most important. How will the Broncos and the defense defend Josh Allen and that builds offense? I mean, Sarah, I thought you and John. Joe Marino had one of the best crossover shows I think we've seen in the locked on NFL network all year long.

Starting point is 00:04:35 This game, the energy, the analysis that YouTube provided, I thought did a great job of kind of summarizing that. And you guys hit on some of the key points here. But man, I look at this game defensively. The Broncos have to bring forth their best effort they've had all year. And it's challenging because this bill's offense is way more balanced than I feel like they have been in years prior where they have star power. They have firepower.

Starting point is 00:04:57 But they're not as, they weren't as balanced. You got Josh Allen, you got James Cook in the run game, but you have good receivers around you and good tight ends that can make plays. It's not all on Josh Allen's shoulders essentially to help the bills win this game. So if you're Denver, how do you defend them? That's going to be the challenge here. And that's one of the key storylines. It is. And you can't make any mistakes.

Starting point is 00:05:16 That's how you do it. That's against a team like this. I think Joe brought up a great point. It's something that I've noticed all year, considering that, you know, we watch the best teams in the NFL. Everybody loves to watch the Buffalo Bills on a weekly base. It's just fun to watch them. So if you're defending this team, what do you got to do? You've got to be basically perfect because Josh Allen, as Joe pointed out, he doesn't

Starting point is 00:05:38 have to throw the ball to Stefan Diggs 15 times a game. Like, that's where a player like Pat Sertan comes into play. You say, okay, we're going to have Pat take Stefan Diggs and we're going to let anybody else basically beat us in this game. This is a different sort of situation because they don't have to go to, the offense doesn't filter through a specific guy for Buffalo. So the Broncos have to be spot on at their assignments. They can't make mistakes, can't have any free runners like against the Los Angeles

Starting point is 00:06:07 Chargers. And look, the pass rush is going to have to get home early and often in this game, Cody. I think that that's one of those things that if you're the Denver defense, your coverage on the back end has to be perfect. And that defensive front has to get home. It's not like, hey, the Buffalo bills are unbeatable, right? That's not the situation you're facing. What you're facing is a situation where your margin for error against an elite quarterback is very, very slim.

Starting point is 00:06:34 And so for defense this week, man, they have to be flawless in their execution. We'll highlight some of those things that they have to do and some of the bigger keys defensively against this offense. When we get to our keys to victory a little bit later on here on the show. But our next one here, I think this is also a big one too. Can Bo Nix shine in his NFL playoff debut? I heard a statistic over the week that really when you look at two rookie quarterbacks in the NFL in terms of making their starts in the playoffs, no rookie quarterback has won their debut playoff game, apparently. So you've got two of them right now in the NFL with Bo Nix and Jaden Daniels,

Starting point is 00:07:08 two of the guys that are going to be front runners for the NFL offensive rookie of the year award here. But for Bo necks, I mean, it all goes back to what Sean Payton said earlier. And this is something I want to remind people of. Bo is not a stranger to playing in big games. Last week's game was a big game for the Broncos, regardless of who they play. But you go back to high school, Bo's been in some big games, state championships. You go to college, you know, true freshman at Auburn. There's nothing bigger than playing Alabama, playing LSU.

Starting point is 00:07:32 He's been in those big games at Oregon, you know, getting them in big games, you know, getting them to the Pac-12 championship, getting them in a position where they fell one game shy of making the playoffs last year against Michael Panix, Jr. And obviously a loaded Washington Husky's team. Bow has always been ready for big moments. And I think he's played in big games. He played in a big game against Patrick Mahomes early in the season. But now it's the playoffs where you're playing. performance dictates whether or not you make it or you go home for the summer and you have to try

Starting point is 00:07:59 again next year. How will Bo Nick's do in his rookie debut in his NFL playoff debut? I think it'll be a big storyline. I'm excited to see. And the fact that Bow's got them in this position, man, the season's already a big success because of that. And he's already answered that he's your franchise guy. How many quarterbacks in the NFL this year, Cody, have had to go on the road against Patrick Mahomes, against Lamar Jackson, against Joe Burrow, and now against Josh Allen. I know that Bo Nix ain't throwing the ball against those guys, but you want to talk about an absolute gauntlet. And obviously I left out some names that obviously went on the road to face.

Starting point is 00:08:32 Justin Herbert, you can name a number of other quarterbacks, but how many guys in the NFL have had to do that this year to go toe to toe? And what have been the results of those games? You got blown out against Baltimore, obviously, but you should have led a game-winning drive against Mahomes. And you obviously had an opportunity against Joe Burrow, getting to overtime, getting a couple of possessions in overtime. What is Bo Nix going to do on this?

Starting point is 00:08:54 big stage against yet another elite quarterback in the AFC. That was the discussion, right? It's like even if the Broncos do draft a quarterback, can you compete in the AFC? Well, you're getting an opportunity this year in a big way to go up against the NFL's best all throughout the season, a huge, huge test for Bo Nix. I think one thing we can't agree on, our fourth storyline here going to this game is it's going to require the Broncos best effort yet, not just on offense, not just on

Starting point is 00:09:20 defense, but also on special teams, all three phases of the game. And look, I had growing up playing football, I had a coach who always instilled this mindset into us very, very early on, that when you're going on the road and hostile territory, you always have to approach it as if the moment you step off that bus to go inside the stadium, you're already down 14-0 on the scoreboard. Now, you don't want to fall 14-0 down in the game in a real scoreboard, but you have to have the mentality as if you're down.

Starting point is 00:09:47 So go out there, bring your best effort yet. And I tell you what, nothing I think can push you over the edge more towards that success than having to come camaraderie that this Broncos team does inside that locker room. Sir, I've been there all season. I've seen it. I know a lot of these players personally have gotten the chance to know some of the younger guys to. This locker room is tight-knit. They don't care about the outside noise.

Starting point is 00:10:09 They're relying on each other. And it doesn't matter what anybody on the outside has to say they believe in each other inside that locker in, which that's all you need. You need a little bit of belief sprinkled into that. And I guarantee you this team is going to come out and try to put their best effort forward here for four quarters. in Sunday's game. Broncos country. The stakes have never been higher. When it advanced, lose, you go home. But you know what? The season for the Broncos has been a success. Regardless, can they shock the world. We believe they can. And part of that, it's going to be on the

Starting point is 00:10:35 backs of some of these players that we have identified in our players to watch. We'll tell you why this could be the perfect opportunity for Troy Franklin to have the game of his NFL career here in Sunday's game on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's episode of Lockdown Broncos is brought of our friends over there at TurboTax. And this is a message from our sponsor, Intuit TurboTax. Are you tired of endless waiting, wondering and worrying about your taxes? Well, now that's a thing of the past. You see, taxes don't need to be complicated or stressful.

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Starting point is 00:12:51 The Troy Franklin game may finally be incoming. We're going to continue to try to manifest that Broncos country, but also it's the playoff debut for rookie quarterback Bo Nix. It's the playoff debut for wide receiver, Cortland Sutton, one of the longest tenured players on this team. Cody and I are going to break down our players to watch on today's episode, locked on Broncos and Broncos Country. Thanks so much for rocking with us all throughout the preseason,

Starting point is 00:13:14 the off season, the regular season, and now the postseason as we bring you some playoff locked on broncos episodes so much fun for cody and i and we appreciate every single one of you every dayers out there that makes us your first listen of the day every single day right here on the lockdown podcast network where you know your boys cody and sare we got you your team every day and cody let's talk about our players to watch in this game i think it's fun uh to break this down every single week and also we we love hearing from the listeners so if you want to hit us up on twitter or going to in the comment section on YouTube, wherever you're at, go ahead and let us know your players

Starting point is 00:13:51 to watch in this game, who you think is going to be critical in the Broncos getting a win. Let's start with you, Cody, and some of your guys that you have for this game, because we talked about it. The Troy Franklin game, is it finally incoming? Could this be on the biggest stage, after all the disappointment in the regular season, could it finally be time for that Troy Franklin game? That's the hope that we're all trying to bank on here for this Broncos game, right? because I think when you look at the matchups here,

Starting point is 00:14:17 you look at Benford, the corner, obviously, for the Buffalo Bills, how he's playing this season. I think Taylor Rap is going to play bracket coverage over the top of Cortland Sutton, and they're going to try to work to take away that option here. Bo Nix is obviously a player to watch. But because of that, because of the factor of how they may try to take away Cortland Sutton, I really want to emphasize here, okay, the defense is next probably priority. He's going to be, all right, hey, watch out for number 19.

Starting point is 00:14:40 Marvin Mims. He lines up in the backfield. He lines up in the slot. He lines up on the outside. They may try to work on that. That's why this game is the perfect opportunity here, sir, for Troy Franklin to finally get his run here and get his opportunity to make plays. But I'm not just talking about maybe him going deep on a deep ball there. Teams know that he's got legitimate speed here.

Starting point is 00:15:01 But I'm talking about can Sean Payton get the ball into his hands in space, right? We're talking slants, drags, quick hitches, even the screens that we've been seeing. Find a way to get number 16 the ball, get him in rhythm. this could be a chance for him to explode in this game. The biggest game of the season here for the Denver Broncos. I've got Troy Franklin listed as one of the players to watch for that specific reason. pair him up alongside Bo Nix who we talked about. That's the cliche.

Starting point is 00:15:27 That's the easy one. It's his first playoff game talking about those two guys. But I also want to go to my third guy here. That is Audric Estime here. As we have seen the last handful of weeks here for this Broncos team, they've kind of shifted gears to Jalil McLaughlin and Audrey. Estime, I want to go back to that Kansas City Chiefs game at Arrowhead, where we started to see a little bit more Adric Estimate in the run game.

Starting point is 00:15:50 This is where you unleash your rookie draft pick out of Notre Dame, the big bruising style of play against this, Bill's defense. You need that physicality with him. And can Audric Estimate become that guy? If the Broncos can commit and have the threat of a run game here, it's going to be with Adric Estimate. And then I think obviously Julio McLaughlin with his speed can do it. But I'm going with Audric Estimate as my third and final Broncos.

Starting point is 00:16:13 player to watch here in Sunday's game against the bills. These are my three players. Who do you have on your players to watch? I like it. You pick the rookies. The rookies got to step up on the big stage, right? Well, I love it. And let's do it. Let's see them do it. Right. So the first player that I have, Cody, on my players to watch is going to be punter Riley Dixon. We don't often talk about the special team on this show. But look, I think Riley Dixon is going to be a crucial piece in this game for the Denver Broncos because as we saw against the Cincinnati Bengals, not being effective in the punting game, crucial for the Broncos in losing that contest overall because you weren't able to win the field position game. And Sean Payton mentions it frequently, the hidden yardage on special

Starting point is 00:17:00 teams. And he frequently talks about how, all right, if you're giving up this many yards via penalties or if you're giving up this many yards defensively, you figure 100 yards is seven points. And if that's the case, then Riley Dixon needs to be on point to keep the bills pinned deep. And I'll get more into that when we talk about keys to victory. But Dixon is one of my top players to watch in this game, followed by I picked Jonathan Cooper. I initially had the Nick Benito, Jonathan Cooper duo here, Cody. But the Buffalo Bills have only allowed 15 sacks all season long. Josh Allen in particular has only been sacked 14 times.

Starting point is 00:17:35 So the duo that led the NFL in total sacks, the only duo with, with double digit sacks each. They've got to come through in a big situation. Jonathan Cooper, Nick Benito, they've got to be hustling. They've got to be bringing Josh Allen down. And look, maybe you slap the ball out of there one or two times and see what happens. I mean, I'm not going to try to get greedy for a guy that's only been sacked 14 times this year. But if you can, guys, make it happen.

Starting point is 00:18:02 My third player to watch is a guy that's making his playoff debut for the Denver Broncos. You love to see it. one of the longest tenured players on the team, Cortland Sutton. And Sutton, Cody has, I feel like when Sutton is on, this Denver Broncos offense is just a different level. When we're seeing the deep dagger routes across the middle or whatever Tim Jenkins calls us, I'm not 100% versed. I'm not a quarterback yet, but Tim Jenkins will make one out of me soon. The dagger routes, the stuff with Cortland Sutton getting back shoulder when he's just kind of running straight up the field,

Starting point is 00:18:36 the production in the red zone, third down, more yards on third down than any receiver in the NFL this season. Cortland Sutton, when he steps up, this Denver Broncos team is tough to stop offensively. And I love being able to say that finally. For the first time in his career, Cody, I feel like we can say the Broncos offense is hard to stop when Cortland is on point. Over a thousand yards receiving this year,

Starting point is 00:19:05 another very productive year in terms of touchdowns. I think if Cortland Sutton has a big game in this one, and I know that they're going to try to take him away, if he can have a big game, man, the Broncos, they're probably going to be going to Kansas City for the second round. And what a storyline that would be to the place where, hey, you had a chance to beat him early on. You had a field goal block,

Starting point is 00:19:25 and Cortland Sutton was a big part of that. Remember that big first down that he got? Can Cortland come up big in his biggest game of his career? I'm excited to see number 14 as well. Well, that's going to lead us into our keys to victory here today. Broncos country, if Devers is going to come away with a tough road win against the Buffalo bills on offense and on defense, they're going to have to have the threat of a run game to be able to do that. We'll tell you how they can do that here on today's episode, Locked on Broncos.

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Starting point is 00:20:55 Make this playoff season unforgettable with Fandual and official sportsbook partner of the NFL. The fourth quarter action on today. Today's episode of Lockdown Broncos is here. We're going to dive deep into our keys to victory. What do the Broncos have to do if they're going to go into Buffalo and beat Josh Allen and the bills and shock the world? The team that has done that so many times start the course of their history. Can the Broncos do it again here on Sunday? Thanks to all the everydayers first listeners in Broncos country.

Starting point is 00:21:24 We appreciate you so much for rocking with us making a show exactly what it is. All regular season, all preseason, all training camp, all off season. We've got you covered literally every single week. day all year long. That's our promise to you. The everydayers in Broncos country. Sarah, let's get into our keys to victory. We always can talk about the what they have to do, but how can they do it? What are some things that they will have to do if they are going to go in and beat the bills here on Sunday? Well, if the Broncos are going to go get a win, Cody, it starts with number one. And I mentioned this on crossover Thursday, but I want to bring it up

Starting point is 00:21:56 again today because I think it's so important. Keep Marvin Mims hot. Yes, I know you and I have talked on this episode already about let's get Troy, Franklin involved. They're going to try to take away this and that. Let's get Cortland Sutton to have him going hot. But look, you know what? There's plenty to go around for this Denver Broncos offense, right? Cody, that's the beauty right now of having a successful offense this season, a top 10 offense is that you can feed the hungry hippos out there. You can, hey, throw me the ball. Give me the ball. The short pass game, such an extension of the run game for this Denver Broncos team. And Marvin Mims being hot has been a key to the second half of the season. So I'm going to say number one, keep Marvin Mims hot.

Starting point is 00:22:36 Was that a wordplay on obviously a song? You know, like you're a little bit older than me by I think three or four years. But in middle school, there was a song that we loved that was like, this is why I'm hot. And it was by an artist whose name was Mim. So I don't know if you're trying to be speaking. Honestly, I remember the reference, Cody, because I remember the this is why, this is why, this is why. You ain't because you're not.

Starting point is 00:23:01 Yeah. I had no idea it was by an artist. name mims. That song lives rent free in the back of my brain. You're going to you sift through the files back there. That's the anthem now. It's the anthem now. Let's get it going, Cody. I think we may have just stumbled into something cool right there. Every time Marvin scores in the future at home games, they should play that in the PA on the crowd. That's just got to be the thing here. Obviously, okay. All right. So that's key number one. What else do you got here? So number two, it's create long fields for the Buffalo Bills and then tighten up in that red zone defense. So we saw a little bit of

Starting point is 00:23:34 this against the Cincinnati Bengals, right, in terms of the tightening up in the red zone, two fourth down stops early in that game were crucial to the Broncos staying in the game early on. But I don't think they would have struggled as much over the course of the game if they had created longer fields for the Cincinnati Bengals. And a couple of problems came up. I mentioned Riley Dixon earlier and his punting ability. If he can pin the Buffalo Bills deep, you're obviously creating a longer field for them, but also enough screwing around on the kickoffs. Like, why would we try to kick the ball off, Cody, in order that the receiving team would have an opportunity to return it?

Starting point is 00:24:12 That costs the Broncos seven yards of field position against the Cincinnati Bengals. I don't think they're going to make that mistake again. Just kick the ball out of the end zone because the bills are a good team. They'll take advantage of your dumb mistakes. And then number three, two interceptions minimum. I brought this up to Joe as well on the crossover. But look, Josh Allen, he's only thrown two or six interceptions all year long. There's a guy in there, though.

Starting point is 00:24:34 That guy exists somewhere within. Yeah. That was turning the ball over left and right. And I don't know what it's going to take to bring that guy back out. But the Broncos defense and Vance Joseph have got to be the ones to do it. So two interceptions. If the Broncos get two picks in this game, Cody, they win. That's I'm saying that right now.

Starting point is 00:24:52 If they get two interceptions in this game, game over. I like that too. And look, Denver's done it before. They've picked a quarterback that hadn't been picked a lot. Justin Herbert was rookie Chris Abrams Drain. I know in that game like Herbert hadn't thrown an interception, gosh knows how long. And then Abrams Drain makes a fantastic play. Can the Broncos defense do that?

Starting point is 00:25:09 You get two. You go to Kansas City next week. I like that. My keys to victory, Sarah. I'm going to start things off here. Number one, threaten the Buffalo Bills with a run game, right? And I'm not saying like, hey, Denver's got to, you know, break off these big runs, but break off a couple of chunk plays early on just to give the bills defense the idea.

Starting point is 00:25:27 Like, hey, they broke a couple of them. on us here. If we don't tighten up on this, they could break another one. They might break a long one for a touchdown. The threat of a run game here opens things up for Bo Nix and the Broncos offense. And I've said at this, look, you can do play action so many times. But if you don't have a run game, your play action is not going to be that effective, right? The run game sets up the play action passing game where I feel like that can play into the hands in the favor of Bo Nix and this Broncos team. I think that's going to be crucial that they want to go on and they get a win here. But how nice would it be? Like we've been talking about it all year long. Anybody

Starting point is 00:25:58 that's been watching us since day one of the regular season. The Broncos have to come out here and have to try to find a way to run the football. We've been saying that all season long, and they've had some games where they've been able to do it. And what have we seen? There's been success. There's been wins when they do that. And sometimes they go away from that.

Starting point is 00:26:14 But if you're going to expect a rookie quarterback like Bo Nicks to have to go into Buffalo, play that Bill's defense in Von Miller and have to drop back and pass 46 times, that's not a formula for success. So try to run the football. And if it's working, commit to it a little bit, then your play action stuff opens up. To me, that's going to be something I think Sean Payton has to do for this team, threaten the bills with a run game.

Starting point is 00:26:36 And part of that as well in terms of maybe getting the passing game going, let's look at the quick game here. Allow Bow Nix to get the ball out quickly. And I'm talking about let's start to see some more slants and some hitches and curls in this game, some quick outroutes here. Why not see that against this bill's defense that can be aggressive at a lot of times? And obviously they've got talented playmakers on the back of the secondary. They got it at linebacker. They got it on the defensive line and edge rusher.

Starting point is 00:27:01 So find a way. Don't let Bow have to take a five-step drop all game long and try to let the long routes develop and the short stuff be taken by the linebackers who are dropping back because I guarantee you the bills are going to send pressure from time to time here, but I guarantee you they're going to drop five, six, seven defenders back on a consistent basis to force the Broncos to throw the check down shore so they can rally and tackle. Don't just try to set up the deep stuff with that. Get the ball out quickly. Slants. I'm talking. We saw one to the little Jordan Humphrey last week against Kansas City. Third and four, you have a nice little clear out from the tight end,

Starting point is 00:27:33 and you have a slant that goes underneath it. We saw that against the Saints with Devon Bailey. We saw that with Troy Franklin in those games. Get back to some of those things here, but if you're trying to hit the deep shot, if you're trying to set up the deep shot every single time, that doesn't play into the favor, I think, of what you want, if you are Sean Payton and the Broncos.

Starting point is 00:27:48 So quick game, get the ball out quickly here for Bonex. Last but not least, let's bring forth here, right? the last five or six games for the Broncos defensively, it has been rough. Minus the Kansas City game. But granted, you know, like you said, you're not playing Kansas City's best personnel out there. You hold them to 98 total yards. That's great. If you did that to patch Mahomes and the starters, then I would say, you know what?

Starting point is 00:28:09 You don't have much to worry about here. But I will say, with this Bill's offense and all the guys that they have, they're going to look to attack the areas in which the Broncos have been getting torched as of late. And I think that's really just the middle of the field, the crossers. So part of that key is to figure we talk about players to watch. you have Jonathan Cooper there. Make sure that your edge discipline. Your contain is there.

Starting point is 00:28:29 You don't get too far upfield. You don't crash too far inside because Josh Allen will take it and he'll use his legs to do different things there. For me, you have to be methodical when you're blitzing Josh Allen in this bill's offense, right? You can't just send five or six guys on every play because he's going to carve you up in that regard here. Bring together your best defensive effort you've had all season.

Starting point is 00:28:49 Make sure your communication between the safeties and the linebackers, the nickel defenders. They're on par here. And that's going to be a big thing here. It has to require the Broncos best in this game against Josh Allen and the bills. And I'll say this, there. There is more pressure on Sean McDermott. Then there is Sean Payton in this game.

Starting point is 00:29:07 Sean Payton has everything to gain because he's got the third youngest roster in the NFL. John McDermott has everything to lose. This Bill's team has everything to lose because they've been to the playoffs. They've lost to Joe Burrow in Buffalo. They've lost to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. They haven't been able to get to the Super Bowl with Josh Allen, who's a legitimate MVP candidate, and you have to wonder,

Starting point is 00:29:26 how long is that window going to be there? All the pressure on Sean McDermott, not on Sean Payton, the Broncos, can they make that break? The Buffalo Bills, that's the biggest hope. But Broncos country, that will wrap up today's episode,

Starting point is 00:29:38 locked on Broncos. The next time you'll see Sarah Bedinger and myself, we'll have you covered after the game for the Broncos playoff game, hopefully a victory podcast for the Broncos in the postseason. You'll get the recap of that. Plus, you'll get a Broncos squad show where myself, Anilopiro, There Beniger will hopefully join us a little bit later on after the game there with that.

Starting point is 00:29:57 And Anthony Blevins will be breaking down the Broncos playoff game in an hour-long format. You're going to get that. It's going to be a new thing you're going to see Sunday here on the lockdown Broncos podcast plus the post-game report. You get all that coverage and more every single day, all year long with this at Broncos Country. Appreciate you so much. This is all we got. It's the playoffs. It's do or die.

Starting point is 00:30:16 Can the Broncos shock the world? Feel like they can. We'll see you on Sunday.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos vs. Buffalo Bills: Bo Nix, Patrick Surtain II Will Be Key vs. Von Miller, Josh Allen

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