Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - HEARTBREAK: Denver Broncos FALL SHORT vs. New England Patriots in AFC Championship

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Denver Broncos season where they hope to get to Super Bowl 60 fell a little bit short. We'll break down the reaction to more. You know, today's episode, Locked on Broncos. You are Locked on Broncos. Your daily Denver Broncos podcast. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. Like Metallica once said, so close no matter how far, the Denver Broncos season ultimately ends on Sunday in an AFC championship freezing cold game against the New England Patriots. down here on today's brand new episode. Lockdown Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast podcast,

Starting point is 00:00:38 network, the number one sports podcast network in the country here. We'll go through the Broncos falling short against the New England Patriots here on a snowy day in the mile high city. We'll also talk about how the Broncos defense dominated and gave the Broncos offense opportunities, but Denver, they couldn't find a way to capitalize on that side of the ball. Plus, we'll highlight the Broncos biggest needs this offseason that really came to the forefront in Sunday's game. You'll get all that more here on today's episode. of the show. I'm Cody Rourke, credential Broncos reporter for Mile High Sports, doing as always by Sarah Bettinger, site expert of their predominantly orange.com.

Starting point is 00:01:13 Sarah, heartbreaking finish here for the Denver Broncos and their season that saw them just find themselves short. One game away from Super Bowl 60, and unfortunately, they couldn't overcome some of the elements that hurt them in Sunday's game against the New England Patriots at home. This one, man, I tell you, being in that stadium, this was a tough one. It is. I mean, you win a game like this. and wow, it's the craziest story of championship weekend. But you lose a game like this and you're left asking the question,

Starting point is 00:01:42 what if Bo Nix had played? And that's the, I think the position that everybody pretty much in Broncos country finds themselves in Cody. Now, obviously, the elements, like you mentioned, they play a huge role in this game ultimately, but both teams dealing with that. And ultimately, you felt like the way this game started, the Broncos had a great chance of potentially stealing the AFC championship.

Starting point is 00:02:05 championship from the Patriots and kind of really playing into all the storylines we had talked about, right? Jarrett Stidham operating the offense well, the defense putting Drake May in a blender, which they absolutely 100% did in this game. But ultimately, when you lose a game 10 to 7, the elements are a factor,

Starting point is 00:02:22 missed field goal or black kick or whatever, all those things factoring in. It ultimately just points back to the one question, what if Bow Nix had played in this game and how different could things have been? And that's the tough thing, right? Is that like Pat Sartan said after the game, hey, we're going to, it's not going to be the last time we play in the,

Starting point is 00:02:42 you know, in this game, right? I mean, obviously saying that the Broncos will be back in the AFC championship, hopefully going further than that. But it's so difficult to see the forest through the trees when you're in this moment, right?

Starting point is 00:02:53 When you were just playing in it hours ago, you're playing in that game. It's difficult to look a year ahead from now, similar to the way that it felt after that 2014 season, when it felt like the Broncos let that golden opportunity slip through their hands, although it feels like this team is more built for the long run. Yeah, and I could tell you this, just being in the locker room after the game, man, guys, you saw every emotion, you saw frustration, sadness, you saw anger,

Starting point is 00:03:20 you saw reflection. There was a lot of that here, you know, I think in this game and ultimately looking back, you know, everyone asked the question, you know, how does it feel to get this far? And players are like, we didn't achieve our goal, more importantly, right? you know, I don't think a lot of people had the Broncos at 14 and 3 in the regular season. I don't think many people had them going to the AFC championship game. I know some of us did as we've talked about this team and people have called us crazy for what we have said about the team and the buildup to this season. But I think you look at it by and large, by definition, yes, this was a successful season in terms of the trajectory that this team is on.

Starting point is 00:03:54 But in the eyes of the players, you talked to them, they said, we didn't meet our goal. So it is a failure. And, you know, there's this old narrative or a myth, so to speak, where it's like, all right, hey, now you can build off of this. Like, you know, you got to the AFC championship. How do you build off of it? You know, can you carry this momentum forward? The reality is, and players will tell you this, you don't carry the momentum into the next season. You start over.

Starting point is 00:04:15 You have to build that momentum. And I guarantee you, just talking to guys in this locker room, they were locked in. They wanted to get back to this game. And they said that's going to motivate them all season long next year, all off season, all of next season, the motivation is not. feeling what they felt here on a cold and snowy day where you got to see the New England Patriots unfortunately celebrate winning the AFC championship on your home turf. That left a nasty taste in the mouth of so many players and it's going to motivate them. Yeah, and I think it should bother them, right? I think it should be the thing that is really the storyline for next year is feeling

Starting point is 00:04:49 like, man, we had something special last year. Now we've got to recapture that magic. You can't let it deflate you. You got to be Kobe in the gym at whatever. 4 a.m. or whatever it is shooting hundreds of free throws, right? You've got to be that that person who's just going to, and if this is every player on the team as well, you've got to be so driven by your hatred of losing that it defines next season in the way that you go about your business. And now we've seen the Broncos establish themselves, right? They establish themselves as AFC West champions, the number one seed in the conference. They showed Buffalo in the divisional round that they're for real. And I think that everybody understands the way this game went down against the New England Patriots.

Starting point is 00:05:31 And Nick Benito said this after the game. The Broncos were the better team in this game. Unfortunately, just didn't end up winning the game, which stinks. And I think it grew that they were the better. I think no doubt about it. We waited for this matchup all year, Cody, and wondered, are the Broncos actually better than the Patriots? We watched them. And we had so many discussions on our show and our squad shows about who's the more complete team,

Starting point is 00:05:55 who's playing more complimentary football, you know, which offense is more efficient, who has the more balanced run game? The Broncos were better on Sunday in just about every single way, other than a couple of plays that swung the momentum to other direction that I don't think the Patriots had all that much to do with. But I don't want to downplay the Patriots after a game like this. I think that ultimately what it comes down to is the Denver Broncos

Starting point is 00:06:20 just missing their opportunities, right? And one of the defining moments of this game was Sean Payton's decision in the second quarter to go for it on fourth down when it felt like, okay, a chip shot from Will Lutz here gives you a 10 to nothing lead in a game where your defense is dominating. Did you feel like Sean made the right call in that moment? I was completely off the grid from social media, mostly during the game and our Slack channels and things like that. So I didn't get your live reaction to that during the game. So I thought they should have kicked it. And I'm normally the person who's saying, like, go for it, put the pedal to the metal, be aggressive.

Starting point is 00:06:58 I was like, man, the defense is playing so good. If you can have a two score lead here, take that. I don't mind Sean's aggressiveness. But even without the benefit of hindsight, I was hoping he was going to kick that one. Yeah, no, I'm with you. You got to take the points in that situation. If Bo Nix is out there, go for it. Right.

Starting point is 00:07:15 Nothing against Jared Sidham. But there's, there's mile high magic, I think, you feel. Like, you have a sense, like, no matter if you're down, you feel. you feel if Bowes in the game, you feel like you got a chance, right? And I think that's one of the biggest takeaways from this game is just how much bow kind of massed a little bit, some of the other maybe issues or I would say deficiencies that maybe the offense certainly had. But on that play, the Broncos, even Sean Payton said after the game, too, he's going to reflect

Starting point is 00:07:40 on it. You know, certainly in hindsight, he would have kicked the field goal. They initially had a run against a nickel look, but then obviously the Patriots, you know, time was worn down. Denver had to burn a time out there. And unfortunately, they switched. the front up and they didn't get the look that they wanted. And it led to the stop. And unfortunately, the Broncos come with no points. I mean, we're going to sit here and it's going

Starting point is 00:08:00 to be talked about here. Man, missed opportunities, right? Jared Stenham, even running out of bounds two yards behind the line of scrimand, right, versus just throwing it away, you know, it moves the Will-Lutz field goal before half up at least two yards where it looks like on the broadcast, maybe that two yards would have made a difference, right? And then there's the blocked field goal, right? Because the Broncos will-lutz after the game said that because of the they think they lined up one yard short essentially in terms of that. So it made it easier for a defensive alignment to block the kick that Will Lutz had that would have ultimately tied the game here.

Starting point is 00:08:32 But you can't help but just go back and say, hey, with a 10-0 lead, with how the Broncos defense was playing, my goodness, that right there, I think, would have played into the hands of the Broncos and would allow them to control the tempo a little bit. Instead, you turn it over on downs, defense gets a stop forces a punt. They have a great punt. And then, unfortunately, on the next offensive series, Denver has. Jared Stittam trying to throw a screenplay to Tyler Bade, it's a fumble.

Starting point is 00:08:57 And then the Patriots get it and then they score from there. And that was really, that's the difference in this game, man. And that's when you look back on it and just missed opportunities. And Denver's offense, course, didn't play well enough. But man, if they were to capitalize and taking the points, who knows how this game would have gone. We're going to sit here and wonder about that all offseason. And it really does boil down to the question. Once again, what if Bo Nix had played? Like you said, maybe going forward on that fourth down, you just quarterback sneak it or you never know. I mean, who knows how different things could have be, but if we obsess over the butterfly effect, it's just going to, it's just

Starting point is 00:09:31 going to eat away at us. What it could have should have. What it could have shoulda. Exactly. And look, I think that where this Broncos team is at right now, Cody, is a great position. I mean, I referenced that 2014 team. Obviously, that was a team that it felt like, you know, Peyton showed his decline in the 2014 season. It felt like they were on their last. last gasp and then they kind of had to battle through a bunch of adversity the next year. I'm interested to see how does this Broncos team build off of a seat? Like you said, you can't really build off of it, but how do you like with the guys who are coming back with the culture that's been established, there's no better term that I

Starting point is 00:10:10 can think to use, but how do you build off of this kind of success as an organization with established pieces on the roster, right? When's the last time? The Broncos had a franchise quarterback in his 20s, plus an offensive line that's entirely under contract, a top three defense, if not top two in the NFL this past season, with most of the starters returning next year, a coaching staff that looks like it's going to stay largely intact.

Starting point is 00:10:38 I haven't heard much about Vince Joseph getting a job, the Packers pass on Jim Leonard. So it looks like the Broncos coaching staff is going to stay intact. There's so many things to build upon. that that's what gets me excited about the future of this team. Now, does it suck that we're not talking about Santa Clara and, you know,

Starting point is 00:10:57 can Bo Nix be the Super Bowl MVP? That's straight up sucks. Like, that's the, that is the worst possible thing that could have happened to this season is to have that rug ripped out from underneath the fan base at this point. Now, we all rallied around Jared Stidham,

Starting point is 00:11:13 didn't we? I mean, there's no question about that. You and I believed that he could win this game. And I think that he could have won this game. game. And I just, that's the worst part of it to me is what you had this year, so special, such an awesome season, only to have Bow Nix not be able to see it through. It's just, I hurt for Broncos country. Yeah, build back better. That's the hope here for this Broncos team. And I imagine

Starting point is 00:11:37 they're going to be very aggressive this off season. Look, Broncos country, the season may be over, but lockdown Broncos, there's no off season for us. We got you covered every single day all year long because there's a lot to break down this off season here. But coming up next, Sarah and I, We're going to tell you how the Broncos defense dominated Drake, May and the Patriots, and showed them something. They hadn't experienced most of the season. You'll get that here on today's episode of the show. Today's post game report is brought to our friends over there at prize picks.

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Starting point is 00:13:36 Event contracts are offered by Robin Hood, derivatives LLC, a registered futures commission merchant and swap firm. Ultimately, the AFC Championship was a disappointment for the Denver Broncos, but that defense, they stepped up in a big way, gave the team a chance to win. And frankly, they dominated Drake May and the Patriots offense. Even when the weather was not a factor, we're going to tell you all about that defensive performance

Starting point is 00:13:59 and how the Broncos do maybe build off of that going forward, the Broncos country. Thanks so much for making us your first listen of the day every single day. If you haven't already considered doing so, Cody and I want to invite you to join the Every Day or All Access program. And in fact, we've got a ton of stuff coming up. Obviously, end of C, and stuff. Cody's going to have locker room

Starting point is 00:14:19 videos and quotes from the players. We'll have mock drafts. We'll talk free agency, plenty of all 22 stuff going on as well as get ad-free episodes of the show. So check out the link in the show notes for that today. Cody, let's break down this defensive performance.

Starting point is 00:14:34 You and I talked about it. After that game against Buffalo, I was pretty positive. Against Buffalo, the Broncos didn't necessarily match up extremely well defensively, right? You've got an MVP at quarterback and Josh Allen who does his thing. James Cook in the running game, they do their thing.

Starting point is 00:14:52 But against the Patriots, you've got a young quarterback making his first road playoff start coming to face off against the best pass rush in the league. They've struggled against, you know, great pass rushes, but they hadn't even played the Broncos yet. I feel like everything we hoped the defense could do, aside from forcing a bunch of turnovers in this game, I feel like everything else was pretty much perfect for what we could have asked for. Yeah, no, 100% look.

Starting point is 00:15:17 And the defense, too, man, they came out with their hair on fire in this game early on against Drake, man, the Patriots. What was it? I saw something that the Patriots didn't have a single game this year where they punted on their first three drives. But Denver, they forced them on their first three drives. Punt, punt, punt. They were ramping up the pressure. I mean, they got after Drake made this game stare five times, which we also said, too, that's a combination of, we believe the Broncos pass rush was better than the offensive line in New England.

Starting point is 00:15:43 That reigned to be true here in today. day's game. We also felt like coming into this game, too, the Denver secondary. And they match up well with this offense here. Of course, you got to worry about the downfield shots, Kisham Booty, and Stefan Diggs, Pat Sartan, Riley Moss, Talono Hu Funga, PJ, Lach, Jaquan, Macmill. Those guys did a terrific job of eliminating the explosives. Really, the only big play that happened downfield in the passing game was a flea flicker in the snow that Denver simply bid on, unfortunately. It didn't ultimately cost them because they were able to get a stop down the stretch. But for me, man, you look at how the defense played in this game, especially against Drake May.

Starting point is 00:16:20 They did their part now. Look, I'll say the one thing we can say, hey, the Broncos got bit on a little bit, Drake May's legs. Drake May made a few plays in this game where he extended drives or obviously for the Patriots only score of the game. It happened after that Jarrett Stidham fumble. He used his legs on a six-yard touchdown run where the Broncos were locked up against everybody. They didn't have a spy for May, which, because you're going into this game, you're not really game planning to spy against him.

Starting point is 00:16:44 But man, he hurt him with the legs, including a 28-yard run. I mean, he ended up finishing the game with, well, I think 65 yards rushing on 10 carries. So including the ice one where he got off to the left side, no contained by Denver. And that kind of sealed the game. Aside from that, I don't think you could have asked for a better defensive game plan for the Broncos. Yes, they had a couple of breakdowns. But, man, this wasn't on them why they lost this game, unfortunately. And I think when you go back and you watch the tape, it's like, hey, these guys probably can't wait to play again next year.

Starting point is 00:17:12 going to be a game in Foxborough, I imagine. This will be a Sunday night football matchup in the 2026 NFL season, but loved how Denver had the defensive game plan initially. And they hit Drake May a few times too. And they hit him on one point, Cody, that it should have had his stat line from 65 rushing yards to 64. And, you know, I'm not going to sit here and complain about the officiating. I'm not going to sit here and say that the refs screwed the Broncos over,

Starting point is 00:17:39 although I will say on the particular play in which, John Payton challenged the spot of the ball and where Drake May got on his quarterback sneak, you could clearly tell that he did not reach the line to gain on his quarterback sneak in which the Patriots kicked a go-ahead field goal. And so that was frustrating to me. I felt like there was clear evidence, a camera literally right above the pile. You can see where the ball is at. You can see where the player's at when the play is dead.

Starting point is 00:18:07 So he should have had at least one less rushing yard than he did in this game. And look, ultimately, that's not the one singular play that's the difference in the game. We've mentioned it. The Broncos miss a 54-yard field goal. You had another field goal late in the game blocked when you're trying to kind of line, drive it through that swirling wind on the field. And you have the giveaway from Jared Stidham and the interception late in the fourth quarter. So, like, you can't pinpoint it to one play.

Starting point is 00:18:33 But it's impossible not to acknowledge that that play did lead to three points. That was the difference in the game for the Patriots and what they were able to. to do strategically to sort of finish out that game. So, but I digress. That was the only real complaint I had about the officiating in this game, ultimately, and it was a costly one, but a big thing in, in the flow of the game, in the way this Broncos defense was able to play even after that to buckle down and hold the Patriots to a field goal was outstanding on their part.

Starting point is 00:19:04 And I feel like, look, you have so much to hang your hat on. If you're this Denver Broncos defense, now how do they get better? obviously we're going to spend a lot of time on, you know, this show and other future shows talking about that. But I feel like ultimately, that linebacker position, although they were great against the run, Cody, left a little something to be desired in this game when it came to their blitz packages. And we just didn't see that same level of impact that we've gotten used to this season in terms of affecting the quarterback with the bullets or the quarterback spy stuff that was needed later in this game as Drake May was running the ball. So obviously they can't play perfect in every single possible way. But I felt like this game was rather close to that other than forcing some more

Starting point is 00:19:49 turnovers, which I mean, you can't necessarily always have that. Yeah. No, it's certainly tough when you factor in just the circumstances. And look, even on that the play that didn't get overturned, that upheld, I think the reason it got upheld and from the officiating standpoint is because they initially ruled it as a first down right. But maybe in their opinion, even though I, I agree with you on the sky cam up above.

Starting point is 00:20:13 They felt like because they felt like they didn't have enough evidence to overturn that. You know, it's tough. It's tough. And I always wonder, why do we even go to this electronic chip in the football when they don't even know how to use it? And, you know, how do you accurately convey what it shows? But, yeah, you look at that and it's definitely, it's frustrating. And also, too, in terms of the linebacker play there, as we'll talk about that, to your point, too, it also seemed like there was a specific game plan in mind when guys were on the field.

Starting point is 00:20:40 When Drey Greenlaw was in, it seemed like it was on run stuffing situations. When they brought Justin Sternad in the game, it seemed like it was in past coverage blitz situations where they felt like, hey, Alex Singleton and Sternata, we like their ability to cover. Whereas Singleton and Greenlaw is, hey, we like the ability to stop the run. And they did a really good job on that for the most part. Ramandre Stevenson didn't really do anything that hurt them in any big way. They just chunked it out, man. They just chunked it out. And unfortunately, the defense, in my opinion, Sarah, they did enough to win this game.

Starting point is 00:21:08 if the offense would have capitalized earlier, man, and that's what just pained you to look back at this is, man, if they would have kicked the field goal instead of trying to go for it on fourth and one, or if they make that field go right before halftime, like all of a sudden, we're maybe talking about Denver winning this one 1610 or 1310. Instead, it's a 10 to 7 loss at home

Starting point is 00:21:28 where the New England Patriots in front of your home crowd, they got to host a banner up for AFC champions. And there was a lot of players that were standing on the field. Garrett Bulls being one of them, Jonathan Cooper, Nick Benito, Pats are 10. I watched them as soon as they set up the stage there. They were just watching. And I think that's going to be motivation for these guys going forward.

Starting point is 00:21:47 And certainly look, this game, Sarah, I think, revealed several needs that the Broncos certainly need to embrace and make a priority going into the offseason here. It couldn't be any clearer. We'll tell you exactly what the Broncos need to do this off season. You're on today's episode of the show. Today's Lockdown Brockers is brought to you by friends over there at Indeed. If you ever hired someone who's ever looked good on paper but wasn't on fit, you know how important this is because when you want candidates who truly match what you're looking for,

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Starting point is 00:22:51 Just go to Indeed.com slash locked on NFL right now and support the show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply hiring. Do it the right way with Indeed. Sunday's loss for the Denver Broncos revealed a lot of things. about where the team needs to go in the future. Specifically, the biggest needs have to be on the offensive side of the ball. First goal, get Bo Nicks back.

Starting point is 00:23:15 Second goal, get Bo Nix and Playmakers. We'll break it all down here on today's episode. O'Sha, I want to say thank you once again. Brockos Country for tuning in making us your first listen. Just a reminder, even though the season's over, there is never an offseason for the true fan. Stay locked in all offseason long because we got you covered fresh content every day.

Starting point is 00:23:30 We promise it's never going to get repetitive. We've got new ideas. Plus, becoming every day or All Access member. You're going to get free agent, prospect film breakdown so much more draft stuff, mock draft, everything is coming your way. So rock with us. You made us your first listen every single day during the regular season. Make us your first listen every single day during the off season.

Starting point is 00:23:48 We appreciate you so much. You're Sarah, I don't know about you, my friend, but watching this game, I couldn't help but think to myself several times. Keeping this in mind, what does this team need for bone Knicks, right? Not what does this team need for Jared Stittam? Certainly you would have love to have bone Knicks on the field here in this game. but I came away from it thinking that the Broncos need to find a way to run the football better, whether that's adding a running back who's just north-south, knows how to hit the hole and get it.

Starting point is 00:24:14 I don't know what it is. I don't know if it's a blocking thing on the offensive line, but man, all year long, the Broncos run game has been a problem. To me, that's one of the biggest things that they have to address going forward. I don't know if that's personnel. I don't know if that scheme. That's my takeaway, though, that I had here initially. I 100% agree with you, Cody.

Starting point is 00:24:33 I mean, look, the lack of balance for the Denver Broncos is something that we've talked about plenty over the course of this season. And certainly you hoped that they could overcome that. And frankly, they did overcome that up until the point in which their team MVP, Bo Nix, was not able to play. Right. And when you're throwing, I think last week's game against Buffalo was around 83% pass to run ratio, right? Or something crazy like that. I don't know the exact number off the top of my head, but it was a, you know, brutal ratio in terms of throws versus runs.

Starting point is 00:25:05 10 carries for Jalil and RJ combined last week. Yeah. So 10 carries from them combined last week. And this week, I mean, it wasn't much better. It wasn't like, wow, the Broncos are really ripping off runs now that Bo Nix isn't out there. Teams don't know what to do against this offense. Like what we saw on Sunday was kind of just a microcosm, if you will, of the struggles this entire season.

Starting point is 00:25:28 Every once in a while, a nice run. But for the majority, the Broncos can't really stay ahead of the same. sticks on the early downs and it sets them up for third and long situations, which no wonder you're struggling with three and outs. No wonder you're among the league leaders in that category because you can't get ahead of the sticks on early downs. So I imagine that is going to eat away at Sean Peyton this offseason. And it is 100% to me personnel at the running back position. Now, what does that mean going forward? I don't know if J.K. Dobbins comes back. I don't know if necessarily you say, hey, we're going to really put some faith in R.J. Harvey,

Starting point is 00:26:04 but I think the Broncos need to set themselves up, Cody, at running back and receiver to the point that they're making some difficult cuts or trades this offseason and heading into the season to where it's like, shoot, these guys were previously my guys. And I say that with all due respect, because I know that Sean Payton's a good player developer, but there's certain players who seem like his guys who have now cost the team. tremendously in big situations in both the running game and the past game.

Starting point is 00:26:35 I think there's a valid argument to be had about the Broncos needing to maybe, once again, I think people got to be patient with RJ Harvey. He's a young guy. Look, he's had a shoulder a lot of responsibility. He can certainly be better, but you've seen he could be a dynamic player for you. You've got to be patient with his growth and development. Jalilil, I still think there's a role for him. He didn't even, he hardly saw any touches in this game here.

Starting point is 00:26:56 But the Broncos have to bring in another back, right? whether that's a briefs hall in the off season. We'll have plenty of episodes talking about maybe potential prospects here. Is there anyone in the NFL draft? I don't think you go the rookie route here. You have to find a way to generate something in the run game because simply, when you're going backwards, you're only getting one yard on first down in the run game. It's not good enough.

Starting point is 00:27:15 That is a difference maker. And I think you see some of the teams in the NFC, their ability to run the football, I think is why they're probably going to beat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, whoever ends up advancing and winning that game. I know it's a shootout as a time we're sitting here recording post game. but that's one of those things too. And maybe even the argument here about tight end as well. I mean, the Broncos simply the tight end position was non-existent.

Starting point is 00:27:37 It was more decoy. It was more blocking guys. And Evan Ingram, and this isn't, in my opinion, Sarah, this isn't Evan Ingram's fault. The Broncos just couldn't figure out how to use him. They could not use him. He used more of a decoy on a handful of different things. Defense is keyed in on him. The idea that Sean brought him in to be this Joker, man, he said it.

Starting point is 00:27:54 People get mad at us for saying it. It was Sean Payton and said it was Evan Ingram that said that Sean Payton said, you're going to be the Joker in this offense. And what do we see? Nothing. I don't put that on Evan whatsoever. The offensive scheme has to figure out how to use these players. That's one of my biggest takeaways as well. And you know what is on top of that?

Starting point is 00:28:11 Marvin Mims, more wide receiver. Take him off special teams, keep him at wide receiver. I think he's probably got the best hands. He's the most clutch wide receiver I think you have on this team right now. And you need somebody to help take the pressure off of Cortland Sutton. I like the young guys, but you need to bring in an alpha there that helps maybe change things while these young guys like Troy Franklin, Pat Bryant continue to grow. I completely agree, Cody.

Starting point is 00:28:34 Just to start off with what you said about tight end, like Evan Ingram has already had five million of his salary next year guaranteed. And there's a 10 million plus dead cap hit if the Broncos try to move on. So like the smartest move is to keep Evan Ingram. You've already invested five million. So it's not about, well, do the Broncos move on from Evan Ingraham? Do they upgrade over? No.

Starting point is 00:28:57 You use Evan Ingram. You fit the player to the scheme this year. You've now got to fit your scheme to the players. That's been the problem, right? It's the consistent 12 personnel. It only works if you got blocking guys out there because it helps disguise the run or it's the jumbo personnel. It only works if you got the right personnel out there in order to disguise the,

Starting point is 00:29:19 I get a lot of the stuff that Sean Payton does, but way too many two-man routes, not nearly enough using Evan Ingram as a big slot. And what's up with the fact that so many guys that weren't even on the T are getting targets in the playoffs? I understand that Troy Franklin has a hamstring injury. I understand that Pat Bryant left with a hamstring injury. But my goodness, like we've got targets going to Lil Jordan Humphrey. We've got targets going to Elijah Moore.

Starting point is 00:29:49 And I wanted to see Elijah more mainly because the team's desperate at the position, not because a necessity. like this is the frustrating thing to me, Cody, too. Cortland Sutton dropping pass. It's like I just, I can't take it anymore. I don't know what to do. We've talked about this. And I think he made so many big plays over the last three years that it's like,

Starting point is 00:30:10 you can't just throw those out and say, well, he didn't do those. It was only the drops. That's the frustrating thing to me is like your quarterback puts the ball on a spot that as an NFL receiver, you've got to go make a catch. Lil Jordan Humphrey. Jolil McLaughlin, Cortland Sutton, all these guys dropping passes in this game.

Starting point is 00:30:31 It's mind-nummingly frustrating because what was the interview that we talked about at the beginning of the offseason all the way back last January, right? Kay Adams goes to Sean Payton. She's like, can I tell you what? I think your number one need is. I think your number one need is a wide receiver. And Sean was adamant that that was not the case. So, like, that has to change in 2026. He has to watch this game and be fuming mad over what he saw from the receivers and the passing game.

Starting point is 00:31:03 You've got to get another number one, right? You got to, you know, Cortland is the team's number one. You got to go found another number one in free and see whether it's George Pickens, who's got a relationship with Bo Nix. I think T. Higgins deal was structured specifically where he got paid, but I think it's a one-year deal. I got to double check that. I'm not sure off the top of my head, but Devere needs something. Devere needs another running back.

Starting point is 00:31:23 I don't even know. David Montgomery, I think, is going to be a free agent. Breece Hall. You've got to find a way to get some of these game changers here. And I know the Broncos, they're going to be aggressive. They've got to take care of some guys in-house and they certainly will, but they've got to be aggressive here in free agency, going out there and getting some difference makers for Bowenix

Starting point is 00:31:41 because that is going to ultimately move the needle for this team in 2026. Unfortunately, Denver season ends in cold fashion at home against the New World Patriots on a snowy, snowy day. Unfortunately, the Broncos quest for Super Bowl 60. It's not going to happen this year. But now all sites are set on the offseason, getting better and having a chance to maybe get back to this game to go to Super Bowl 61. Broncos country, stay locked in every step of the way. Sarah and I, we got you covered here.

Starting point is 00:32:05 Tomorrow's episode show for all you every dayers. We're going to go in recap what we learn from open locker rooms, the Broncos clean out their lockers and they get ready for the off season. We'll tell you what player said and so much more on tomorrow's episode of the show.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - HEARTBREAK: Denver Broncos FALL SHORT vs. New England Patriots in AFC Championship

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