September 5, 2026 • 18 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, Broncos country, and welcome to another late-night post-Colorado Rockies
edition of the show. Man, we are starting to get
into the thick of it. First week of college football
action getting underway right now with true college football action.
(00:22):
I know there was the whole Dublin game last week,
but now, again, it's really heating up.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Got football going.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Starting on Wednesday, NFL season, you know, off to an
earlier start than normal with this Wednesday debut instead of
the standard Thursday one. And the Broncos started their season
is just 10 days away from tonight.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Right around the corner.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
And I think, you know, that Chiefs game, we're obviously
going to start diving into it a ton next week.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
But even now, I.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
I think it's getting a little under discussed. We've talked
about the big, you know, six games the Broncos start
their season with and the season as a whole. And,
you know, obviously this is a divisional game, but I
think it's getting overlooked just a smidge how much we're
really going to be able to learn about the Denver Broncos,
(01:21):
the Chiefs, the AFC West as a whole in this
one single game. And, you know, week one can be
a liar, you know, it's a one-game sample, but even then,
I think this one game is going to tell us
a whole lot. And let's start with the Chiefs side,
just because that's a little less impactful for the Broncos,
(01:43):
it'll impact the AFC West landscape, but we're going to
learn a lot about the Chiefs. Right? Andy Reid, I
don't know how much it's getting discussed here locally, but
There's kind of a national narrative right now, and it's
a very loud drumbeat locally, that Reed might be kind
of over the hill. He might have lost his fastball.
(02:03):
Maybe the Chiefs need to find a new running mate
for this kind of second half of the Patrick Mahomes
era in KC. Reed's getting up there, and the game's
kind of moving away from his fastball.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Reed has been this spread....
Speaker 1 (02:24):
West Coast offense type guy, not so much the Shanahan
school of West Coast, but this more spread them out,
Mike Holmgren, aerial attack look. And the game's moving away
from that, more towards this heavier personnel, this condensed style
that's never really been Andy Reid's major. Reid also has
(02:46):
been notorious, and I think this is why week one
will be so telling on this front at least, Reed
has been amazing in week ones for much of his career.
He's long been notorious for, you know, spending the off season,
cooking up the next offensive innovation, kind of like how
we talk about Mike McDaniel now, honestly, and then unveiling
(03:09):
it and knocking everybody's socks off once the season begins.
I don't, you haven't seen that recently, right? Just for example,
he started with the chiefs in 2013. From 2013 through 2022,
the first 10 years he was in KC, they were
nine and one in week ones and they played good teams.
(03:31):
You know, some people might remember in 2017, they played
the reigning Super Bowl champion Patriots in New England. Reigning
Super Bowl champions in those debut games have an incredible record.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
They thumped him. They beat him 42-27.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
That was kind of the announcing of Kareem Hunt to
the NFL as he went off, if anybody remembers that game.
Travis Kelsey had a great game. That was before Patrick
Mahomes even burst onto the scene.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
And they lit it up. Over these last three years,
one and two.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Which again, we're talking about just week ones, but I
do think it's indicative of Andy Reid maybe losing that
fastball a little bit. What does it look like this season?
debut game. I think that'll be telling. Beyond that, Patrick Mahomes.
I think that's probably even more important than Andy Reid
and something we'll get a read on, no pun intended,
(04:25):
even sooner.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
There's a lot of time in this season.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
I'm sure by the time we get to December, Mahomes
is going to be rolling. I've got little doubt about that. However,
I do think there's a question about What does Mahomes
look like in September, October? You know, we've really only
seen practice footage of him, which can.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Lie a lot.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
I remember all the hype about Russell Wilson in practice
before he stunk it up all 2022 and 23.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
What is Mahomes going to look like?
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Because it's underrated, or honestly, maybe it's not, how much
he's carried this franchise the past couple years. You know,
even last year when the wins and losses weren't that great,
like he was just willing them to hang in those games,
even if they were losing all those close games. These
past two years, it's been Patrick Mahomes and duct tape
(05:23):
holding the Chiefs together, it feels like. And, you know,
I guess that Chiefs defense led by Steve Spagnuolo. If
Mahomes is just a very good quarterback this year, the
top 10 guy, but not his normal elite self. That
could mean the Chiefs are battling for a playoff spot
instead of battling for the one seed.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
That on its own will be a huge issue for
the Chiefs.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Spags, their defensive coordinator, he keeps cooking up incredible stuff,
but they're kind of reloading the talent on the defense
and getting younger. I think there's a good chance that
boosts this defense back up towards being one of the
best in the league after they kind of took a
step back last year. it could also kind of fail.
This is an older DC. This is a bunch of
(06:12):
younger players that are unknown, unproven commodities. It could be
some nitrous in the tank that really catapults the Chiefs
or launches them into this next era. I think it
could also blow up in their faces. I'd bet on
the former, but who knows? And then let's look at
the Broncos, right? All that will determine are the Chiefs
(06:34):
real AFC West competitors, which is important, but the Broncos,
we're going to learn out a ton about like Davis Webb.
We know the, the little things, you know, getting the
play in on time. They're not being tremendous operational issues.
He cleared that bar in the preseason, right? We, he's,
you know, demonstrated those basic fundamental things. I think in
(06:56):
this last preseason game, we even saw glimpses of, you know,
maybe even a play calling, uh, you know, personality starting
to develop the way he just, you know, in that
third quarter, I think it was the third quarter, just
ran the ball right down Minnesota's throat and was just like, hey,
we're controlling this game right now. And then this is
(07:18):
what it feels like. That sort of mentality. And I
love to see from a play caller. Now, was that just, hey,
let's get out of this preseason game on time. Let's
run the ball a lot and drain clock. And it
just happened to be effective. Or, you know, was that,
of what's to come.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Who's to say?
Speaker 1 (07:35):
I think we know he, again, has the fundamentals down.
Beyond that, the artistry of play calling, and it is,
I think, more art than science. You know, there's some
basic scientific elements of, hey, they're, you know, in this
type of defensive look, these types of offensive concepts tend
to exploit that well. But really, in terms of feeling
(07:59):
things out and like getting the rhythm for the game
and setting something up for the fourth quarter with the
first quarter play that, you know, might not be the
best now, but it's for that later payoff. There's a
lot more art in it than science. And that's something
you just can't get a read on in the preseason
going against vanilla defenses. Also as web's trying to keep
his cards close to his vest.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
What does it look.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Like when, you know, in week one, and I'm trying
to focus on week one, but Hey, week two, he's
going to get tested with a Campanelli who got head
coach interviews week three, again with Shula, who is, a
serious head coaching candidate. And then even Ricky Morris in
week four is a guy who's gotten multiple bites at
the apple to try and be a head coach because
(08:42):
of his success as a DC. So those are four
experienced quality DCs who know what they're doing. What does
Webb look like against them? You know, does it look
like he can hang in those chess matches? We're going
to learn that out, I think, very quick into this season,
very early on in this season. And Week one against
Spags is going to be the first little dose of that.
(09:07):
Bo Nix, I want to highlight him too because I
think it's underrated in this whole debate between Broncos country,
even Broncos media and national media and national fans about
Bo Nix is– The fact that Bo Nix just hasn't
(09:27):
been consistent his first two years, and that's fine. That's
typical of young quarterbacks. I'm not trying to rake him
over the coals. I think the fact he's viewed so
differently from a guy like Caleb Williams, who has also
been very inconsistent, that's something I can't really wrap my
head around. However, what I do think is a lot
of games people have tuned in for, like primetime against
(09:50):
the Raiders or whatever, have not been Bo Nix's best displays.
So I think that's a part of it. I think
the other part, right, you have got some pre-draft bias
and whatever. But for the first half of, you know,
these last two seasons, it was really the first six
games of 2024 and the first 9-10 of 2025, Bo
(10:12):
Nix was a dramatically worse quarterback than he was, you know,
down the stretch of those seasons. You look at the
second half of 2024 and the second half of 2025,
by all these advanced analytics that Broncos fans rage against
because they don't maybe paint Bo Nix in the best light,
they all think, all those analytics will say Bo Nix
(10:33):
is a top 10 quarterback over those fans. If you
look at the front half of the season, he looks
like a bottom 10 quarterback. And so when you have
this disparity in opinions, why won't national media give Bo
his respect? Why do they keep saying he's the 20th
best starter in the league? And that's not an opinion
I share, to be clear.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
But why?
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Why do some in national media have that opinion? I
think they're glass half empty and they're remembering those moments
of Bo that have been negative. Meanwhile, those fans, Broncos fans, understandably,
are going to be glass half full.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
And they see what Bo's done for the team.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
They've seen what he did, you know, when he's gotten
hot in games like the Packers game and the Bills game.
And no. what that high watermark is and that he
can be a top 10 quarterback and want him to
be respected as one, especially considering it's the thing we
saw most recently. Can he piece that all together? If
(11:28):
you get 18 games of bonus, and again, every quarterback
has a bad start here or there, like even the
MVPs will have a game that's lackluster. But if generally
speaking from week one to week 18, and even into
the playoffs, obviously. Bo Nix looks like he did the
(11:48):
second half of last season. You will see him start
to be discussed like a top 10 quarterback. And not
only that, the more important stuff, the Broncos, I'd bet,
repeat as AFC West division champions. I'd bet they challenge
for the one seed if you have Bo Nix playing
at that level for a whole season. Bo Nix, with
(12:10):
the different additions to this offense... might even challenge for
some MVP hype if he can put together a whole
season at that level instead of, you know, the up
and down streakiness. I really think you want to talk,
and it's easy because it's quarterback, but you want to
talk about like biggest X factors for this Broncos season.
(12:32):
And I think it's getting overlooked by this fan base
because there is so much support for Bo already as
a franchise quarterback.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
And I think he is that, but what level are
you of it?
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Right. Kyler Murray was a franchise quarterback for the Cardinals
for a while. And you know, there was that season
they started seven and O or nine and O or
whatever it was. And halfway through there's MVP talk about
him last year. Look at the Buccaneers star red hot.
Could Baker be the MVP of the NFL, right? That
was a discussion point in September. And then it cooled
off because it was streaky. Is Bo Nix going to
(13:07):
be that level of franchise quarterback or is which I
think is good for a player in his first two years, right?
Is he going to continue to be that? Or is
this the year he takes the leap and becomes, you know,
closer to that top 10, top five tier where he
really starts getting, you know, more of that national recognition
(13:27):
as a reflection of the team and offense reaching greater heights.
You know, there's not many teams this year with a
path to having a, a, you know, top 10 offense
and top 10 defense or top five in one of
those categories and top 10 in the other Rams obviously are,
are in that club. Like even the Seahawks, a top contender,
(13:51):
I don't think you'd say are in that club or
you look at the AFC or the bills and, you know, really,
I guess maybe the Ravens, but I don't think the
bills are in that club. I think the, the chargers
or chiefs are quite in that club. Um, you know,
the Jags, maybe you could squint and argue them, but
the Texans, right? They don't have the offense for it. Colts,
(14:11):
even if Daniel Jones returns to form, they don't have
the defense for it. There's not a lot of teams
that have that elite potential on both sides of the ball.
The Broncos are one of them. And on the offensive side,
it's really, I think, going to come down to Bo
and obviously Davis Webb.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
But how does that marriage work here in Denver?
Speaker 1 (14:32):
I also think the run game You know, what does
that look like with Harvey and Coleman and Dobbins all
sharing time? We might get a better idea of the
health of the run game, you know, if Dobbins ever
gets injured. But even early on, I think seeing how
Coleman is incorporated in games that matter will give us
an idea of how stable things can be there. You know,
(14:55):
getting to see Waddle for more than just a single
target will be exciting. I think he opens up a
lot for this offense. It'll be good to see that.
finally demonstrated, but before I, you know, the segment closes,
cause I want to focus more on a season long
expectations in that, that next segment, let's look at the defense.
(15:19):
Defense is, and we saw this before, you know, after 2015,
it is hard to maintain an elite level of defense
for several seasons because especially in contrast to offense.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
And both are difficult.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
But on offense, you can have that nucleus of an
offensive play caller and a quarterback who both have an
outsized level of value to the performance of the operation, right?
And you can lean on that. You have a good quarterback.
You have a good play caller. You're pretty much going
(15:56):
to have a top 10 offense every year, you know,
unless the surroundings get really dreadful. With defense, it's about
not just having a good play caller, but you need 14,
15 good players to, one, insulate yourself from injury, but
to give yourself different looks and different rotations and all
this stuff. I think the Broncos have done a good
job building that. But it's hard to know until the
(16:19):
rubber hits the road. And, you know, is that slow
attrition of losing pieces like Locke and JFM And JFM's
the more expensive player, the better player. But you look
at that safety depth right now, I think Locke might
be the more costly loss for this team. And does
that slow erosion of talent start to rear its head
(16:41):
and suddenly, I don't think this will be a bad
defense by any means, but do they go from being
top five every year to now being closer to 10th?
And we saw them kind of cool down the stretch
last year. They had a great performance against the Patriots
and they had all the turnovers against Buffalo. But from
the start of December on, teams were moving the ball
on them very consistently. Was that just Riley Moss and
(17:06):
PS2 being hurt? I kind of think it was, but
we don't know that for sure. That's something that against Mahomes,
against this Chiefs attack, I think we'll start to get
a good read on. Can they maintain it? And I
will say, while there's reason to be concerned that things
might backslide, I think there's reason also to believe this
might be the best year of the Vance Joseph defense yet, right?
(17:29):
They had bad turnover luck last year. That's something that
typically regresses towards the mean. I think they have, you know,
just better luck this year. If they have somehow good
turnover luck this year, not even average, it'd be a
huge swing forward for this defense. And then all these
reports about Riley Moss having a breakout in camp from
what little we've seen, I think it's accurate. The rib
(17:51):
injury doesn't seem to be major. I don't think it'll
plague him this season. If you're getting that version of
Riley Moss and the talents able to maintain and you
get a bit better turnover luck, this defense could be
right there with the Seahawks and the Texans as the
class of the NFL. And, you know, you get that,
you get a little bit of a Bo Nix leap.
That's how this team brings home a Lombardi trophy in 2026.
(18:14):
We'll dive into those expectations a little further coming up
next on Broncos Country Tonight.
Hello, Broncos country, and welcome to another late-night post-Colorado Rockies
edition of the show. Man, we are starting to get
into the thick of it. First week of college football
action getting underway right now with true college football action.
(00:22):
I know there was the whole Dublin game last week,
but now, again, it's really heating up.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Got football going.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Starting on Wednesday, NFL season, you know, off to an
earlier start than normal with this Wednesday debut instead of
the standard Thursday one. And the Broncos started their season
is just 10 days away from tonight.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Right around the corner.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
And I think, you know, that Chiefs game, we're obviously
going to start diving into it a ton next week.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
But even now, I.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
I think it's getting a little under discussed. We've talked
about the big, you know, six games the Broncos start
their season with and the season as a whole. And,
you know, obviously this is a divisional game, but I
think it's getting overlooked just a smidge how much we're
really going to be able to learn about the Denver Broncos,
(01:21):
the Chiefs, the AFC West as a whole in this
one single game. And, you know, week one can be
a liar, you know, it's a one-game sample, but even then,
I think this one game is going to tell us
a whole lot. And let's start with the Chiefs side,
just because that's a little less impactful for the Broncos,
(01:43):
it'll impact the AFC West landscape, but we're going to
learn a lot about the Chiefs. Right? Andy Reid, I
don't know how much it's getting discussed here locally, but
There's kind of a national narrative right now, and it's
a very loud drumbeat locally, that Reed might be kind
of over the hill. He might have lost his fastball.
(02:03):
Maybe the Chiefs need to find a new running mate
for this kind of second half of the Patrick Mahomes
era in KC. Reed's getting up there, and the game's
kind of moving away from his fastball.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Reed has been this spread....
Speaker 1 (02:24):
West Coast offense type guy, not so much the Shanahan
school of West Coast, but this more spread them out,
Mike Holmgren, aerial attack look. And the game's moving away
from that, more towards this heavier personnel, this condensed style
that's never really been Andy Reid's major. Reid also has
(02:46):
been notorious, and I think this is why week one
will be so telling on this front at least, Reed
has been amazing in week ones for much of his career.
He's long been notorious for, you know, spending the off season,
cooking up the next offensive innovation, kind of like how
we talk about Mike McDaniel now, honestly, and then unveiling
(03:09):
it and knocking everybody's socks off once the season begins.
I don't, you haven't seen that recently, right? Just for example,
he started with the chiefs in 2013. From 2013 through 2022,
the first 10 years he was in KC, they were
nine and one in week ones and they played good teams.
(03:31):
You know, some people might remember in 2017, they played
the reigning Super Bowl champion Patriots in New England. Reigning
Super Bowl champions in those debut games have an incredible record.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
They thumped him. They beat him 42-27.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
That was kind of the announcing of Kareem Hunt to
the NFL as he went off, if anybody remembers that game.
Travis Kelsey had a great game. That was before Patrick
Mahomes even burst onto the scene.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
And they lit it up. Over these last three years,
one and two.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Which again, we're talking about just week ones, but I
do think it's indicative of Andy Reid maybe losing that
fastball a little bit. What does it look like this season?
debut game. I think that'll be telling. Beyond that, Patrick Mahomes.
I think that's probably even more important than Andy Reid
and something we'll get a read on, no pun intended,
(04:25):
even sooner.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
There's a lot of time in this season.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
I'm sure by the time we get to December, Mahomes
is going to be rolling. I've got little doubt about that. However,
I do think there's a question about What does Mahomes
look like in September, October? You know, we've really only
seen practice footage of him, which can.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Lie a lot.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
I remember all the hype about Russell Wilson in practice
before he stunk it up all 2022 and 23.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
What is Mahomes going to look like?
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Because it's underrated, or honestly, maybe it's not, how much
he's carried this franchise the past couple years. You know,
even last year when the wins and losses weren't that great,
like he was just willing them to hang in those games,
even if they were losing all those close games. These
past two years, it's been Patrick Mahomes and duct tape
(05:23):
holding the Chiefs together, it feels like. And, you know,
I guess that Chiefs defense led by Steve Spagnuolo. If
Mahomes is just a very good quarterback this year, the
top 10 guy, but not his normal elite self. That
could mean the Chiefs are battling for a playoff spot
instead of battling for the one seed.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
That on its own will be a huge issue for
the Chiefs.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Spags, their defensive coordinator, he keeps cooking up incredible stuff,
but they're kind of reloading the talent on the defense
and getting younger. I think there's a good chance that
boosts this defense back up towards being one of the
best in the league after they kind of took a
step back last year. it could also kind of fail.
This is an older DC. This is a bunch of
(06:12):
younger players that are unknown, unproven commodities. It could be
some nitrous in the tank that really catapults the Chiefs
or launches them into this next era. I think it
could also blow up in their faces. I'd bet on
the former, but who knows? And then let's look at
the Broncos, right? All that will determine are the Chiefs
(06:34):
real AFC West competitors, which is important, but the Broncos,
we're going to learn out a ton about like Davis Webb.
We know the, the little things, you know, getting the
play in on time. They're not being tremendous operational issues.
He cleared that bar in the preseason, right? We, he's,
you know, demonstrated those basic fundamental things. I think in
(06:56):
this last preseason game, we even saw glimpses of, you know,
maybe even a play calling, uh, you know, personality starting
to develop the way he just, you know, in that
third quarter, I think it was the third quarter, just
ran the ball right down Minnesota's throat and was just like, hey,
we're controlling this game right now. And then this is
(07:18):
what it feels like. That sort of mentality. And I
love to see from a play caller. Now, was that just, hey,
let's get out of this preseason game on time. Let's
run the ball a lot and drain clock. And it
just happened to be effective. Or, you know, was that,
of what's to come.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Who's to say?
Speaker 1 (07:35):
I think we know he, again, has the fundamentals down.
Beyond that, the artistry of play calling, and it is,
I think, more art than science. You know, there's some
basic scientific elements of, hey, they're, you know, in this
type of defensive look, these types of offensive concepts tend
to exploit that well. But really, in terms of feeling
(07:59):
things out and like getting the rhythm for the game
and setting something up for the fourth quarter with the
first quarter play that, you know, might not be the
best now, but it's for that later payoff. There's a
lot more art in it than science. And that's something
you just can't get a read on in the preseason
going against vanilla defenses. Also as web's trying to keep
his cards close to his vest.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
What does it look.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Like when, you know, in week one, and I'm trying
to focus on week one, but Hey, week two, he's
going to get tested with a Campanelli who got head
coach interviews week three, again with Shula, who is, a
serious head coaching candidate. And then even Ricky Morris in
week four is a guy who's gotten multiple bites at
the apple to try and be a head coach because
(08:42):
of his success as a DC. So those are four
experienced quality DCs who know what they're doing. What does
Webb look like against them? You know, does it look
like he can hang in those chess matches? We're going
to learn that out, I think, very quick into this season,
very early on in this season. And Week one against
Spags is going to be the first little dose of that.
(09:07):
Bo Nix, I want to highlight him too because I
think it's underrated in this whole debate between Broncos country,
even Broncos media and national media and national fans about
Bo Nix is– The fact that Bo Nix just hasn't
(09:27):
been consistent his first two years, and that's fine. That's
typical of young quarterbacks. I'm not trying to rake him
over the coals. I think the fact he's viewed so
differently from a guy like Caleb Williams, who has also
been very inconsistent, that's something I can't really wrap my
head around. However, what I do think is a lot
of games people have tuned in for, like primetime against
(09:50):
the Raiders or whatever, have not been Bo Nix's best displays.
So I think that's a part of it. I think
the other part, right, you have got some pre-draft bias
and whatever. But for the first half of, you know,
these last two seasons, it was really the first six
games of 2024 and the first 9-10 of 2025, Bo
(10:12):
Nix was a dramatically worse quarterback than he was, you know,
down the stretch of those seasons. You look at the
second half of 2024 and the second half of 2025,
by all these advanced analytics that Broncos fans rage against
because they don't maybe paint Bo Nix in the best light,
they all think, all those analytics will say Bo Nix
(10:33):
is a top 10 quarterback over those fans. If you
look at the front half of the season, he looks
like a bottom 10 quarterback. And so when you have
this disparity in opinions, why won't national media give Bo
his respect? Why do they keep saying he's the 20th
best starter in the league? And that's not an opinion
I share, to be clear.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
But why?
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Why do some in national media have that opinion? I
think they're glass half empty and they're remembering those moments
of Bo that have been negative. Meanwhile, those fans, Broncos fans, understandably,
are going to be glass half full.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
And they see what Bo's done for the team.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
They've seen what he did, you know, when he's gotten
hot in games like the Packers game and the Bills game.
And no. what that high watermark is and that he
can be a top 10 quarterback and want him to
be respected as one, especially considering it's the thing we
saw most recently. Can he piece that all together? If
(11:28):
you get 18 games of bonus, and again, every quarterback
has a bad start here or there, like even the
MVPs will have a game that's lackluster. But if generally
speaking from week one to week 18, and even into
the playoffs, obviously. Bo Nix looks like he did the
(11:48):
second half of last season. You will see him start
to be discussed like a top 10 quarterback. And not
only that, the more important stuff, the Broncos, I'd bet,
repeat as AFC West division champions. I'd bet they challenge
for the one seed if you have Bo Nix playing
at that level for a whole season. Bo Nix, with
(12:10):
the different additions to this offense... might even challenge for
some MVP hype if he can put together a whole
season at that level instead of, you know, the up
and down streakiness. I really think you want to talk,
and it's easy because it's quarterback, but you want to
talk about like biggest X factors for this Broncos season.
(12:32):
And I think it's getting overlooked by this fan base
because there is so much support for Bo already as
a franchise quarterback.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
And I think he is that, but what level are
you of it?
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Right. Kyler Murray was a franchise quarterback for the Cardinals
for a while. And you know, there was that season
they started seven and O or nine and O or
whatever it was. And halfway through there's MVP talk about
him last year. Look at the Buccaneers star red hot.
Could Baker be the MVP of the NFL, right? That
was a discussion point in September. And then it cooled
off because it was streaky. Is Bo Nix going to
(13:07):
be that level of franchise quarterback or is which I
think is good for a player in his first two years, right?
Is he going to continue to be that? Or is
this the year he takes the leap and becomes, you know,
closer to that top 10, top five tier where he
really starts getting, you know, more of that national recognition
(13:27):
as a reflection of the team and offense reaching greater heights.
You know, there's not many teams this year with a
path to having a, a, you know, top 10 offense
and top 10 defense or top five in one of
those categories and top 10 in the other Rams obviously are,
are in that club. Like even the Seahawks, a top contender,
(13:51):
I don't think you'd say are in that club or
you look at the AFC or the bills and, you know, really,
I guess maybe the Ravens, but I don't think the
bills are in that club. I think the, the chargers
or chiefs are quite in that club. Um, you know,
the Jags, maybe you could squint and argue them, but
the Texans, right? They don't have the offense for it. Colts,
(14:11):
even if Daniel Jones returns to form, they don't have
the defense for it. There's not a lot of teams
that have that elite potential on both sides of the ball.
The Broncos are one of them. And on the offensive side,
it's really, I think, going to come down to Bo
and obviously Davis Webb.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
But how does that marriage work here in Denver?
Speaker 1 (14:32):
I also think the run game You know, what does
that look like with Harvey and Coleman and Dobbins all
sharing time? We might get a better idea of the
health of the run game, you know, if Dobbins ever
gets injured. But even early on, I think seeing how
Coleman is incorporated in games that matter will give us
an idea of how stable things can be there. You know,
(14:55):
getting to see Waddle for more than just a single
target will be exciting. I think he opens up a
lot for this offense. It'll be good to see that.
finally demonstrated, but before I, you know, the segment closes,
cause I want to focus more on a season long
expectations in that, that next segment, let's look at the defense.
(15:19):
Defense is, and we saw this before, you know, after 2015,
it is hard to maintain an elite level of defense
for several seasons because especially in contrast to offense.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
And both are difficult.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
But on offense, you can have that nucleus of an
offensive play caller and a quarterback who both have an
outsized level of value to the performance of the operation, right?
And you can lean on that. You have a good quarterback.
You have a good play caller. You're pretty much going
(15:56):
to have a top 10 offense every year, you know,
unless the surroundings get really dreadful. With defense, it's about
not just having a good play caller, but you need 14,
15 good players to, one, insulate yourself from injury, but
to give yourself different looks and different rotations and all
this stuff. I think the Broncos have done a good
job building that. But it's hard to know until the
(16:19):
rubber hits the road. And, you know, is that slow
attrition of losing pieces like Locke and JFM And JFM's
the more expensive player, the better player. But you look
at that safety depth right now, I think Locke might
be the more costly loss for this team. And does
that slow erosion of talent start to rear its head
(16:41):
and suddenly, I don't think this will be a bad
defense by any means, but do they go from being
top five every year to now being closer to 10th?
And we saw them kind of cool down the stretch
last year. They had a great performance against the Patriots
and they had all the turnovers against Buffalo. But from
the start of December on, teams were moving the ball
on them very consistently. Was that just Riley Moss and
(17:06):
PS2 being hurt? I kind of think it was, but
we don't know that for sure. That's something that against Mahomes,
against this Chiefs attack, I think we'll start to get
a good read on. Can they maintain it? And I
will say, while there's reason to be concerned that things
might backslide, I think there's reason also to believe this
might be the best year of the Vance Joseph defense yet, right?
(17:29):
They had bad turnover luck last year. That's something that
typically regresses towards the mean. I think they have, you know,
just better luck this year. If they have somehow good
turnover luck this year, not even average, it'd be a
huge swing forward for this defense. And then all these
reports about Riley Moss having a breakout in camp from
what little we've seen, I think it's accurate. The rib
(17:51):
injury doesn't seem to be major. I don't think it'll
plague him this season. If you're getting that version of
Riley Moss and the talents able to maintain and you
get a bit better turnover luck, this defense could be
right there with the Seahawks and the Texans as the
class of the NFL. And, you know, you get that,
you get a little bit of a Bo Nix leap.
That's how this team brings home a Lombardi trophy in 2026.
(18:14):
We'll dive into those expectations a little further coming up
next on Broncos Country Tonight.
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