October 31, 2025 • 10 mins
Mile High Sports' Denver Broncos' beat writer Cody Roark joins Wex and AC to preview Sunday's matchup between the Texans and Broncos. Is Bo Nix going to find a way to pull off another upset in comeback fashion?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
A lot of good matchups this weekend in the NFL,
maybe none as important to us, certainly none as important
to us, But elsewhere around the league there are some
good ones. Broncos Texans this Sunday, Colts at Steelers, This
Sunday Chargers Titans, Jeeves at Bill's. There are quite a
few games that will make the AFC standings look a
little bit different when we reconvene on Monday, especially since
(00:26):
all of those games will be Sunday games. To that end,
Broncos Texans talk continues. Cody Rourke nice enough to spend
a few minutes here on Sports Talk seven to ninety.
You got Adam Wesler and Adam Clinton here on the
eighteen Cody with Mile High Sports covering the Broncos there
in Denver, Cody. I do spend a lot of unnecessary
time watching press.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Conferences, an inordinate amount of time.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
I should know this answer. But when Sean Payton isn't
throwing shade at Russell Wilson or the Cowboys defense, did
he talk at all about why they have been so
good late in games offensively and maybe not so good
early in games offensively?
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Yeah? I mean, Sean, for some reason he's very coy
about a lot of stuff. You know, he doesn't go
into great detail with us. I mean, I I the
philosophy that we always have with Sean, especially covering him
every day is a training camp. It's different. It's like
a mirage, like he'll give us, he'll feed us, he'll
give us everything, and then he'll starve us in the
regular season, so to speak. You know, he doesn't really
give us any anymore. Yeah, And you know, for him,
(01:30):
you know, he's always reflected very much taking the coach
speak approach about you know, we got we gotta get
up to a faster start, but never going into the
whys of that. But uh yeah, I mean for some
reason they I'd say, the biggest thing he's revealed to
us to answer your question has been trying to make
Wednesday's practices feel more like Sunday. That's one thing that
he's told us. Not sure what that looks like, because
(01:52):
when we get limited amount of viewing time, we get
team stretch, individual period. But they have ramp things up.
Players have told me that they've ramp things up at
practice to make Wednesdays feel more like a game like environment.
So whatever that may look like, is potentially paying off,
at least this past week when they faced off against Dallas.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
It's funny because all of these coaches, it takes an
Act of Congress to get any information out of them
or to see anything like practice. It's just not going
to happen in today's NFL. But specifically, you know, being
someone that is around Sean Payton as much as you are,
is it like, what do you think about the tenure
now that you look back on that first year where
(02:33):
Russell Wilson was there and it was just an unmitigated
disaster and people were talking, they were using the L word.
This guy's legacy is going into the toilet right now,
And I think it's kind of crazy now to look
back and see just how quickly, like a lot of
things in the NFL, this has turned out to be
I think more positive.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Yeah, I mean, I think everything kind of started with
you know what you're talking about there, that seventy to
twenty loss, that fifty point loss the Miami Dolphins in
Week three of twenty twenty three. I think so much
of that year. I mean, luckily Denver after that kind
of went on a five game winning streak. But I
think really after that, Sean Payton, you know, those conversations
about legacy and you know, he's cooked without Drew Brees.
(03:13):
I think he took that personally in a sense and said, hey,
I'm not attaching my name to Russell Wilson. You know,
in terms of legacy. Sean believed that Russ's legacy obviously
is falling off, you know, in terms of just not
being a fit for what he wanted to do offensively,
and that's why obviously went out there and he got
bot Nicks, a guy he feels like can do the
things that he wants from an operational standpoint offensively. And
(03:35):
so far the turnaround has been great. I mean, you know,
Denver sitting at six and two is very nice. There
are a couple of plays away, you know, if they
didn't commit a leverage penalty and that that kicks against
Annapolis Colts gets missed. You know, Denver hangs on in
that one. They're crazy justin Herbert fourth quarter, miraculous touchdowns
throw away with pressure bearing down on him for potentially
being you know, a one lost team to being undefeated.
(03:57):
But this team also hasn't played their best. I mean,
as you guys have seen too This offense has been
so up and down. Minus last week against Dallas. You know,
it took them a crazy fourth quarter thirty three points
in order just to generate something that they The consistency
factor has not been there, but hopefully they can build
on that and tough week to do it against this
Texans defense that is so good. I mean, I've been
(04:18):
watching them on tape this week and they're one of
the fastest defenses I've seen in the NFL so far
this year. At every level. They got good speed, they
close in really well. Demico's got those guys playing tough.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Not sure if you're aware of this or not, Cody.
They have a swarm mentality here in Houston on their defense,
like swarm to football, and they talk about that quite
a bit. Kind of a three part question, but the
same question on bow Knicks. What did you think about
bow Knicks when he was the sixth quarterback drafted and
went number twelve overall to Denver? What'd you think about
bow Knicks as a last season and the playoff appearance
(04:50):
came to a close, And what do you think about
bow Knicks now?
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Yeah, yeah, it's a great question. Look, I'm a University
of Oregon guy. So I had the privilege watching bo
for two years. And in twenty twenty two I even
tweeted out, I said, ah, said, bow Knicks is going
to be very good player here for Sean Payton. This
is after Sean was hired, obviously, and you know this
is year what was it twenty twenty three when CEU
played Oregon, you know, living in Colorado to see you
(05:15):
Dion Craze was so crazy at the time. CEU fans
actually believed that they were going to beat the Ducks.
And I said, I rude, awake things coming, but uh,
watching a lot of ball just you know, he's so
good at protecting the football. Was one of the least
sack quarterbacks coming out of college, you know, coming in obviously.
Last year, he got off to a slow start as
a rookie through the first four games, then throw his
first touchdown until Week four in a months soon against
(05:35):
the New York Jets, and then he just started to
catch fire. You know, for him, he's much of a
you know, learning I think he learns quickly. You know,
mistakes that he makes, he tends to cut those off.
You know, he doesn't make those same mistakes twice that often,
and then this year, you know, obviously a little bit
of a slow start as well, you know, and then
he's starting to get things going here once again. So
slow starter is not a way to get going. And
(05:57):
I think that's the thing, is just trying to find consistency.
But my biggest thing, and this isn't on Bowl. The
Broncos have and it was crazy that they obviously had
an offense that was top ten and scoring last year.
I don't know how that was possible without a run game.
They didn't have a run game last year. The run
game this year, when they've gotten it going, they've been
very successful. They're obviously winning games, the controlling the time
(06:17):
of possession, the temple and the pace of the game.
But when they're not running the football and Bowl has
to throw at thirty five plus times, it's not good.
Like that's not good for any QB in today's NFL.
So I think the run game helps take a lot
of that pressure off in the Broncos offense is less
than one dimensional compared to where they were last year.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Talking to Cody Rourke of Mile High Sports here on
Sports Talk seven to ninety Broncos in Town this weekend,
you mentioned that you mentioned that the Texans defense essentially
terrifies you. Do you have if you had to pick
out one guy that, if you're the Broncos offense scares
you more than others or is it just a collective
effort here?
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Well, I think there's a collective effort of guys. I mean,
obviously you always have to respect the pass rust there
of daneil Hunter and obviously will Am and those guys
are fantastic players. You know, I think for me, the
one guy I'm saying, hey, try to avoid all costs,
that's Derek Stingley Junior. I mean, the last time these
two teams played, Courtland Sutton did have a touchdown, but
Stingley made that incredible play on a post pattern, jumping
(07:14):
the route. You know that Russell Wilson threw late in
that third quarter of that game a couple of years ago.
He's such a good player in my opinion, you know,
like I think it's Pats Ertan is the best corn
the NFL. I think Stingly, you know, there's a really
good argument for him to be that number two guy.
I know, Quinnon Mitchell's in that combo as well. I know,
you know, for Stingley this year, there's been some questions,
you know about Jackson Smith and Jig but the game
(07:34):
that happened there, But he's a damn good corner. He's
the type of guy I think you want to try
to avoid throwing two but unless you get a certain
look that you like, he's the one guy probably for
the most and then jam Patriot Safety, I feel like,
is definitely one of those guys that when you're trying
to go up the seam or you're trying to go
over the top, you got to watch out for where
he's at.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
I think we all know that their front is good.
And since we were in the midst of a conversation
that brought up pat certain how do you think that
changes or does it change anything that Vance Joseph wants
to do defensively, specifically this week against the Texans by
outfitting a game plan that does not include certain.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
Yeah, I mean it's hard when you don't have the
reigning defending player of the year, you know, defensive player
of the year in the lineup. That certainly changes things
from you know, an operation standpoint. But Vance Joseph told
us yesterday they believe in the debt that they had
with all the guys at corner. They don't want to
necessarily change things. Last year when Riley Moss went down,
they actually changed their approach quite a bit. They're playing
a lot of man coveraged forty one percent when Riley
(08:32):
Moss was playing. When he went down with an injury,
that dropped to about thirty two percent of the defensive
snaps in which he was out. They changed his own
coverage there. So they got guys that they feel like
can play. Manda Man obviously, Chris Averans Drain is second
your corner. I think we expect to get the start
here on Sunday opposite of Riley Moss, and then maybe
some sprinkling in of Jakwon macmillan and Jade barn from
(08:53):
time to time in different personnel packages here. I know,
obviously Houston's getting their receivers back this week in Christian
Kirk and Nko Collins. It's gonna be a tough test
to not have PS two in the mix here. But
from my understanding is the Broncos don't want to change up,
you know, their entire defensive game plan, you know, going
into a week to week basis, you already know going
into a matchup. When Cirtan's on the field, you know
(09:14):
they're not gonna throw to that side, So you know
what side is going to get thrown to now that
he's not there. There's two different sides that could get
thrown to here in this game. And that's the perfect
opportunity maybe with the Broncos to try to get some
more intersections. They haven't had a lot this year, so
maybe maybe those opportunities will present themselves a little bit more.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
One thing that would be cool if he continues where
he's playing at the level when he returns from an injury,
is that more people will realize us Certan is called
PS two, one of the great nicknames in the NFL,
and I don't know know everybody knows that. So hopefully
gets on the field again soon and keeps playing at
that level. If you want, we have a lotted ten
seconds for you to make a prediction on the game.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
Yeah. I think there's gonna be a nailbider, obviously a
low scoring game. I think Denver goes on the road
this time. I think they fluster CJ. Stroud and find
a way to create some havoc there and they come
away with a three point win.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
We shall see if they hold on to first place
all by themselves in the NFC West. Been a great
start to the season. They're on a five game winning streak,
and Cody Rourke of Mile High Sports, we certainly appreciate
you joining us here and look forward to catching up
with you again soon.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Yeah, thank you so much. You got it.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Broncos Texans noon Sunday. They only lead that division by
one game, though the Chargers and Chiefs are both favored
to win their games, so it's an important game for
both teams.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
The eight on Sports Talk seven ninety
A lot of good matchups this weekend in the NFL,
maybe none as important to us, certainly none as important
to us, But elsewhere around the league there are some
good ones. Broncos Texans this Sunday, Colts at Steelers, This
Sunday Chargers Titans, Jeeves at Bill's. There are quite a
few games that will make the AFC standings look a
little bit different when we reconvene on Monday, especially since
(00:26):
all of those games will be Sunday games. To that end,
Broncos Texans talk continues. Cody Rourke nice enough to spend
a few minutes here on Sports Talk seven to ninety.
You got Adam Wesler and Adam Clinton here on the
eighteen Cody with Mile High Sports covering the Broncos there
in Denver, Cody. I do spend a lot of unnecessary
time watching press.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Conferences, an inordinate amount of time.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
I should know this answer. But when Sean Payton isn't
throwing shade at Russell Wilson or the Cowboys defense, did
he talk at all about why they have been so
good late in games offensively and maybe not so good
early in games offensively?
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Yeah? I mean, Sean, for some reason he's very coy
about a lot of stuff. You know, he doesn't go
into great detail with us. I mean, I I the
philosophy that we always have with Sean, especially covering him
every day is a training camp. It's different. It's like
a mirage, like he'll give us, he'll feed us, he'll
give us everything, and then he'll starve us in the
regular season, so to speak. You know, he doesn't really
give us any anymore. Yeah, And you know, for him,
(01:30):
you know, he's always reflected very much taking the coach
speak approach about you know, we got we gotta get
up to a faster start, but never going into the
whys of that. But uh yeah, I mean for some
reason they I'd say, the biggest thing he's revealed to
us to answer your question has been trying to make
Wednesday's practices feel more like Sunday. That's one thing that
he's told us. Not sure what that looks like, because
(01:52):
when we get limited amount of viewing time, we get
team stretch, individual period. But they have ramp things up.
Players have told me that they've ramp things up at
practice to make Wednesdays feel more like a game like environment.
So whatever that may look like, is potentially paying off,
at least this past week when they faced off against Dallas.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
It's funny because all of these coaches, it takes an
Act of Congress to get any information out of them
or to see anything like practice. It's just not going
to happen in today's NFL. But specifically, you know, being
someone that is around Sean Payton as much as you are,
is it like, what do you think about the tenure
now that you look back on that first year where
(02:33):
Russell Wilson was there and it was just an unmitigated
disaster and people were talking, they were using the L word.
This guy's legacy is going into the toilet right now,
And I think it's kind of crazy now to look
back and see just how quickly, like a lot of
things in the NFL, this has turned out to be
I think more positive.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Yeah, I mean, I think everything kind of started with
you know what you're talking about there, that seventy to
twenty loss, that fifty point loss the Miami Dolphins in
Week three of twenty twenty three. I think so much
of that year. I mean, luckily Denver after that kind
of went on a five game winning streak. But I
think really after that, Sean Payton, you know, those conversations
about legacy and you know, he's cooked without Drew Brees.
(03:13):
I think he took that personally in a sense and said, hey,
I'm not attaching my name to Russell Wilson. You know,
in terms of legacy. Sean believed that Russ's legacy obviously
is falling off, you know, in terms of just not
being a fit for what he wanted to do offensively,
and that's why obviously went out there and he got
bot Nicks, a guy he feels like can do the
things that he wants from an operational standpoint offensively. And
(03:35):
so far the turnaround has been great. I mean, you know,
Denver sitting at six and two is very nice. There
are a couple of plays away, you know, if they
didn't commit a leverage penalty and that that kicks against
Annapolis Colts gets missed. You know, Denver hangs on in
that one. They're crazy justin Herbert fourth quarter, miraculous touchdowns
throw away with pressure bearing down on him for potentially
being you know, a one lost team to being undefeated.
(03:57):
But this team also hasn't played their best. I mean,
as you guys have seen too This offense has been
so up and down. Minus last week against Dallas. You know,
it took them a crazy fourth quarter thirty three points
in order just to generate something that they The consistency
factor has not been there, but hopefully they can build
on that and tough week to do it against this
Texans defense that is so good. I mean, I've been
(04:18):
watching them on tape this week and they're one of
the fastest defenses I've seen in the NFL so far
this year. At every level. They got good speed, they
close in really well. Demico's got those guys playing tough.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Not sure if you're aware of this or not, Cody.
They have a swarm mentality here in Houston on their defense,
like swarm to football, and they talk about that quite
a bit. Kind of a three part question, but the
same question on bow Knicks. What did you think about
bow Knicks when he was the sixth quarterback drafted and
went number twelve overall to Denver? What'd you think about
bow Knicks as a last season and the playoff appearance
(04:50):
came to a close, And what do you think about
bow Knicks now?
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Yeah, yeah, it's a great question. Look, I'm a University
of Oregon guy. So I had the privilege watching bo
for two years. And in twenty twenty two I even
tweeted out, I said, ah, said, bow Knicks is going
to be very good player here for Sean Payton. This
is after Sean was hired, obviously, and you know this
is year what was it twenty twenty three when CEU
played Oregon, you know, living in Colorado to see you
(05:15):
Dion Craze was so crazy at the time. CEU fans
actually believed that they were going to beat the Ducks.
And I said, I rude, awake things coming, but uh,
watching a lot of ball just you know, he's so
good at protecting the football. Was one of the least
sack quarterbacks coming out of college, you know, coming in obviously.
Last year, he got off to a slow start as
a rookie through the first four games, then throw his
first touchdown until Week four in a months soon against
(05:35):
the New York Jets, and then he just started to
catch fire. You know, for him, he's much of a
you know, learning I think he learns quickly. You know,
mistakes that he makes, he tends to cut those off.
You know, he doesn't make those same mistakes twice that often,
and then this year, you know, obviously a little bit
of a slow start as well, you know, and then
he's starting to get things going here once again. So
slow starter is not a way to get going. And
(05:57):
I think that's the thing, is just trying to find consistency.
But my biggest thing, and this isn't on Bowl. The
Broncos have and it was crazy that they obviously had
an offense that was top ten and scoring last year.
I don't know how that was possible without a run game.
They didn't have a run game last year. The run
game this year, when they've gotten it going, they've been
very successful. They're obviously winning games, the controlling the time
(06:17):
of possession, the temple and the pace of the game.
But when they're not running the football and Bowl has
to throw at thirty five plus times, it's not good.
Like that's not good for any QB in today's NFL.
So I think the run game helps take a lot
of that pressure off in the Broncos offense is less
than one dimensional compared to where they were last year.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Talking to Cody Rourke of Mile High Sports here on
Sports Talk seven to ninety Broncos in Town this weekend,
you mentioned that you mentioned that the Texans defense essentially
terrifies you. Do you have if you had to pick
out one guy that, if you're the Broncos offense scares
you more than others or is it just a collective
effort here?
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Well, I think there's a collective effort of guys. I mean,
obviously you always have to respect the pass rust there
of daneil Hunter and obviously will Am and those guys
are fantastic players. You know, I think for me, the
one guy I'm saying, hey, try to avoid all costs,
that's Derek Stingley Junior. I mean, the last time these
two teams played, Courtland Sutton did have a touchdown, but
Stingley made that incredible play on a post pattern, jumping
(07:14):
the route. You know that Russell Wilson threw late in
that third quarter of that game a couple of years ago.
He's such a good player in my opinion, you know,
like I think it's Pats Ertan is the best corn
the NFL. I think Stingly, you know, there's a really
good argument for him to be that number two guy.
I know, Quinnon Mitchell's in that combo as well. I know,
you know, for Stingley this year, there's been some questions,
you know about Jackson Smith and Jig but the game
(07:34):
that happened there, But he's a damn good corner. He's
the type of guy I think you want to try
to avoid throwing two but unless you get a certain
look that you like, he's the one guy probably for
the most and then jam Patriot Safety, I feel like,
is definitely one of those guys that when you're trying
to go up the seam or you're trying to go
over the top, you got to watch out for where
he's at.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
I think we all know that their front is good.
And since we were in the midst of a conversation
that brought up pat certain how do you think that
changes or does it change anything that Vance Joseph wants
to do defensively, specifically this week against the Texans by
outfitting a game plan that does not include certain.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
Yeah, I mean it's hard when you don't have the
reigning defending player of the year, you know, defensive player
of the year in the lineup. That certainly changes things
from you know, an operation standpoint. But Vance Joseph told
us yesterday they believe in the debt that they had
with all the guys at corner. They don't want to
necessarily change things. Last year when Riley Moss went down,
they actually changed their approach quite a bit. They're playing
a lot of man coveraged forty one percent when Riley
(08:32):
Moss was playing. When he went down with an injury,
that dropped to about thirty two percent of the defensive
snaps in which he was out. They changed his own
coverage there. So they got guys that they feel like
can play. Manda Man obviously, Chris Averans Drain is second
your corner. I think we expect to get the start
here on Sunday opposite of Riley Moss, and then maybe
some sprinkling in of Jakwon macmillan and Jade barn from
(08:53):
time to time in different personnel packages here. I know,
obviously Houston's getting their receivers back this week in Christian
Kirk and Nko Collins. It's gonna be a tough test
to not have PS two in the mix here. But
from my understanding is the Broncos don't want to change up,
you know, their entire defensive game plan, you know, going
into a week to week basis, you already know going
into a matchup. When Cirtan's on the field, you know
(09:14):
they're not gonna throw to that side, So you know
what side is going to get thrown to now that
he's not there. There's two different sides that could get
thrown to here in this game. And that's the perfect
opportunity maybe with the Broncos to try to get some
more intersections. They haven't had a lot this year, so
maybe maybe those opportunities will present themselves a little bit more.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
One thing that would be cool if he continues where
he's playing at the level when he returns from an injury,
is that more people will realize us Certan is called
PS two, one of the great nicknames in the NFL,
and I don't know know everybody knows that. So hopefully
gets on the field again soon and keeps playing at
that level. If you want, we have a lotted ten
seconds for you to make a prediction on the game.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
Yeah. I think there's gonna be a nailbider, obviously a
low scoring game. I think Denver goes on the road
this time. I think they fluster CJ. Stroud and find
a way to create some havoc there and they come
away with a three point win.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
We shall see if they hold on to first place
all by themselves in the NFC West. Been a great
start to the season. They're on a five game winning streak,
and Cody Rourke of Mile High Sports, we certainly appreciate
you joining us here and look forward to catching up
with you again soon.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Yeah, thank you so much. You got it.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
Broncos Texans noon Sunday. They only lead that division by
one game, though the Chargers and Chiefs are both favored
to win their games, so it's an important game for
both teams.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
The eight on Sports Talk seven ninety
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