TOUGH: Denver Broncos, Bo Nix Face HARDEST Test vs. Dallas Cowboys

The Denver Broncos and Bon Knicks face their toughest test yet when the Dallas Cowboys come to town. We’ll take a look at the tail of the tape on today’s episode of Lock on Broncos. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked On Network, your team every day. It is Dallas Cowboys week here as the Denver Broncos begin their practice preparation for Sunday’s matchup against an NFC opponent. We’ll break it all down here on today’s brand new episode of Lockdown Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. Reno, it’s your team every day. I’m Cody Roric, Broncos reporter for Mile High Sports, joined as always by Sarah Bettinger, site expert over there predominantly orange.com. We got a lot to break down here on today’s episode of the show, but real quick, I want to say thanks to all the everydayers out there in Broncos country. Thanks for making us your first listen. however you choose to do so. Sarah and I, we’re going to discuss the tell the tape here of Denver’s matchup this Sunday at home. Throwback uniforms will be dawned as the Broncos take on the Cowboys. How does Bow Knicks and this Broncos offense stack up against this Cowboys defense that does give up a lot of yards that does give up a lot of points? Can the Broncos exercise their demons? We’ll discuss that. Plus, we’ll talk about why the Broncos defense against the Cowboys offense is best on best here in Sunday’s matchup. Plus, we’ll go through some Broncos news and notes, including Dre Green Law suspension being upheld, and he will miss this week’s game. You get all on today’s show, brought to you by friends over there at FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use all across the app. Sarah, look, this is a uh big game here on Sunday. you know, unfortunately doesn’t count for the Broncos overall conference record, but a chance for them to improve to a very, very special point here at 6 and two. Sarah, how you feeling about this game here when we take a look at the Broncos offense against this Cowboys defense? Certainly some good personnel on Dallas’s side and the Broncos needing to find a way to build some consistency. I keep feeling like the dam is going to break at some point, right, Cody? And this may be the perfect weekend to do that with, like you mentioned, the Dallas Cowboys having the 32nd ranked defense in the NFL for the majority of the season. Obviously, you know, teams start to figure things out as the season goes along. The Cowboys have gotten some production out of their young pass rushers lately, but this game does feel like an opportunity for the Broncos to get back on track. Look, hey, Cody, what do we know after that game that we saw from the Broncos against the New York Giants? We know that Bo Knicks is capable of 16 touchdowns in a single game. That’s what I know after. All can decide, right? Uh but you know, you score four touchdowns in one quarter. Hey, I mean, the intensity ramps up for the next week, right? Everybody’s going to be expecting the Broncos to build off of that as opposed to going back to the struggles that we saw in quarters one through three. And I think that a lot of it has to do with just just being willing to attack, right? You and I have talked about this in an episode that we did about the disconnect kind of between Bon Knicks and Shawn Payeyton, the play calling offensively. very very conservative the last two games. I think that there’s a difference between putting faith in your defense and playing not to lose, right? So, when you’re putting your faith in your defense, I think that still means, hey, attack downfield. That’s going to open up those screens in the quick passing game that you want to do. But you got to if you’re Bicks, you got to put the ball on your guys, too. You got to give them a chance to make plays because what happened when we saw the Broncos receivers had chances to make plays against the Giants? Well, sure enough, they went and they made plays. So Bo’s got to put the ball where his guys can get it. But Shawn and that offense, they’ve got to be willing to take those shots against a defense like this. Yeah, look, Bo’s got to play better. Shawn’s got to put the team in a position to succeed. And look, when you do call certain screens, the, you know, guys on the outside perimeter also have to do a better job of blocking. There were a lot of missed blocks last week against the Giants as well that led to, you know, not so successful plays, you know, negative plays behind the line of scrimmage for Denver’s offense. You don’t want to do that against a team like the Cowboys. And look, as bad as the Cowboys defense has been, I mean, Sarah, they have talented personnel across the board. Trayvon Diggs, Don Bland, Donovan Wilson, the safety for them. He’s got two interceptions so far on the season. They got Kenneth Murray Jr. at linebacker, Dante Fowler. I mean, Kenny Clark, who came over in the trade from the Green Bay Packers when they sent Micah Parsons away here. This defense has very good personnel, but they’re giving up a lot of big plays. In particular, they’re giving up a lot of points per game. They’re allowing 29.4 points per game, which is 30th right now in the NFL. That’s bottom 10, bottom five, and it’s bottom three at this point for them. And this has been the identity of this Cowboys team so far this season. They get into shootouts. We saw obviously their game early on the year where it was Dak Prescott against Russell Wilson and the Giants. And they were putting up points left and right, giving up points left and right, big explosive plays. That’s what this Cowboys team kind of allows here. But I think it all is going to boil down to whether or not the Broncos commit and invest to the run game here, Sarah. And look, I think there’s a big reason why the Broncos right now the sixth ranked rushing offense right now in the National Football League. They’re going against a Cowboys defense that is 30th right now. They’re allowing 141.3 yards per game on the ground to opposing rushers. This is the week for the Broncos to exercise those demons to commit to the run game. And as we have said, it’s not as simple as we’re saying it, but a commitment to the run game and if it’s working effectively, what do we see it do for the Broncos offense against the Giants? JK Dobbins rattle off some runs and then everything else opened up here for this Broncos offense. The run game is the key to this offense being able to unlock other assets that are going to allow them to have success to convert. That’s going to be a really, really big part, I think, this week. And you know, also for Bon Knicks, this is interesting because this Cowboys defense, they’re allowing the most passing yards per game this season in the NFL. And he’s got to take advantage of that. And Shawn Payeyton and Bon Knicks and the entire offensive staff have to plan out a way to take advantage of that because you do want to run the game to limit the amount of possessions and plays that the Cowboys have offensively. That’s going to obviously be one of the number one ways that you can limit what Dak Prescott and CD Lamb and George Pickkins and Javvante Williams. That’s going to be the number one way that you limit what they can do in this game is just by stealing plays off the board for them. Don’t allow them to have dominating time of possession. We’ll talk about that, I’m sure, later in the weeks and in our keys to victory and things like that. But when you’re talking about exploiting their pass defense as well, you know that this defense for Denver works best when it can pin its ears back and be aggressive. So, you do want to get out to a hot fast start. If you can get a two-score lead early in this game, man, yes, the Cowboys can get into shootouts. They’ve proven that this season, but that also plays into your favor as a defense to where you’ll be able to get after Dak Prescott and make him make quicker decisions and force him to make bad throws, right? That’s that’s the way that you do that, not letting him settle into a rhythm. So, it all starts with the Broncos controlling and dictating the pace of this game on the ground. Well, and I think a big part of it, too, is how do we see Alex Powesky take another step forward this week? I I thought going back and watching the tape against the Giants, I I liked what I saw from Palco there. You know, maybe him playing next to Garrett Bulls helped out, but man, he came up with such a big block on Bobby O’ Carrick of the Giants in that one game that really were uh JK Dobbins sprung free through the left side there and Alex Pesky’s getting up field and he’s pushing Okerake down the field with one hand. I It’s like, all right, the Broncos might have something in here. And is part of the play calling is part of the flow of the offense that we saw you know last week and the week before obviously against the New York Jets here was that because you didn’t have Ben Powers in there who was a major part of what the Broncos wanted to do in the run game. I mean certainly the success that they’ve had they’ve pulled Ben Powers and JK Dobbins RJ Harvey have followed him at times when the Broncos run game has been its best. So can they do some of this stuff here with Alex Powesky? That’s something I’m curious to see here because the offensive line like yes it is so important here for what the Broncos want to do but even if you have new guys coming in you can’t change your whole playbook to be able to say like hey you know we’re just unsure of this guy. I don’t get that vibe here from Palco. No I don’t either. I feel like the Broncos can do whatever they want and need to do with him out there. I actually think he’s a really good player. I mean, you and I got to talk about this roughly similar time last year, a little bit earlier in the season when he got the chance to start in place of Mike McGllinchi there at right tackle. I mean, you and I had kind of talked about the idea like, hey, if if things go down a certain way, did the Broncos leave him in as the starting right tackle and consider this was before Garrett Bull’s extension, right? So, we were talking about do you kick McGllinchi to left tackle and use Pesky at right tackle. That’s how good he had played. And I think what we saw in just his first ever start at left guard. I mean, you and I touched on the idea of trading for somebody who has, you know, proven starter abilities in the NFL because you’re one injury away, but I don’t think that means you just throw Pesky back on the sideline or put him back in that reporting eligible role. I think Frank Crumb can do a great job of that. And it’s time to let some of these young guys step up a little bit, too. So, I’m excited to see what he can do building off of that first start, especially because, hey, you went up against Dexter Lawrence and a defensive front of the New York Giants that, man, these guys are tough. They are physical. They get after people every single week. It doesn’t get much tougher than that, right? So, you’re going up against the Dallas team now. Yes, they’ve got great players up there on that defensive front, but you feel like it’s an opportunity for Palesi to really build. Can the Broncos exercise their demons here this week against the Cowboys? Especially on the offensive side of ball against that Dallas defense that’s kind of like a seieve right now. Everybody’s running free. That’s the question here. Broncos country. Make sure you share your thoughts with us here on today’s episode of the show. But coming up next, we’ll tell you why the Broncos best is going to face off against the Cowboys best big on big as the Broncos defense matches up with Dak Prescott and that Cowboys offense here on today’s episode, Locked on Broncos. Today’s episode of the show was brought to you by our friends over there at Game Time. The NFL season is back and in full swing. And honestly, there’s nothing better than being in the stadium surrounded by fans and cheering on your team. But let’s be honest, getting tickets can be a hassle sometimes between cues, login screens, and prices jumping at checkout. It’s frustrating for the fan. But that’s why I use Game Time. That’s why you should use them as well. It’s the app that gives the advantage back to you, the fans. Game time. They’re fast, easy, and backed by the Game Time guarantee. You always get 100% authentic tickets delivered on time and at the best price. Plus, all fees are included. So, the price you see is the price you pay. No surprise fees when you go to check out. And you can go to obviously this week’s game here at Empire Field, the mile high, the Denver Broncos wearing the throwbacks hosting against the Dallas Cowboys in Jerry’s World. You know, this is a big game here. So, make sure you go to game time right there. And you can see some of the lowest prices on tickets right before right up to kickoff. You get that inside of the app. So download the Game Time app, create an account, use code lockdown NFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, that’s promo code L O C K E D O N for $20 off. Swipe, tap, ticket, go. Download Game Time today. It’s going to be best on best when the Dallas Cowboys offense is out there on the field against the Denver Broncos defense. Will they be able to have more success this week than they had against Jackson Dart and company? Well, we’re going to discuss exactly that on today’s episode, Locked on Broncos. And Broncos country, thank you so much for making us your first listen of the day every single day. We really appreciate all of you for making this show exactly what it is. If you haven’t already done so, hit subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and on YouTube. Dak Prescott, he’s playing like an MVP this season. George Pickkins playing like a guy who wants to get paid over $30 million a year in the off season. CD Lamb doing the things that he does. Javvante Williams second in the NFL in rushing yards this season. Already tied his careerhigh with seven total touchdowns. Cody, this Dallas Cowboys offense, although they are 33 and one as a team, man, you can’t help but feel like there’s there’s lightning can strike at any point for this group. This Cowboys team this year reminds me very much of last year’s Cincinnati Bengals team, right? Being able to put up yards, points, even though their defense has given up yards and points at an astronomical rate. You look at the playmakers here that the Cowboys have. This is probably going to be Denver’s toughest test yet. I know like there have been some matchups where it’s like we’re coming into the week saying this is the Broncos toughest test yet. Like that’s what you that’s what you do throughout the course of the season. you start playing these games, you face some tough teams, but I feel like from a matchup standpoint, the Cowboys offense with how they are playing right now, this is going to be a challenge here for the Broncos, especially coming off of a, you know, a performance that wasn’t up to the standard that I know that defensive players and Vance Joseph wanted from the team last week against rookie quarterback Jackson Dart. you’re playing a veteran QB right now and Dak Prescott who’s just as you mentioned earlier, he’s playing at an MVP level and this offense is kind of scary and they’ve been finding ways to put up points and produce obviously when CD Lamb was down with an injury. George Pickkins certainly was that guy here and I’m curious to see what the matchups are going to be like this week. Who does Riley Moss cover or follow? Who does Passer Tan follow? Is it going to be one of those games where the Broncos view both of those guys respectively similar and say, “You know what? We’re just going to stay like maybe Riley, you play the boundary, PS2, you play the field side. We’re not going to follow guys this week. I’m very curious to see how they approach this one specifically because right now this Cowboys offense, they’re putting up the most yards per game in the NFL. 390.6 yards per game right now. The Broncos defense in comparison right now third in the NFL in terms of overall yards allowed, 273.1. So, this really is the Broncos strength against the Cowboys strength. 100%. And I I think you made a great comparison, too, by calling this Cowboys team this year similar to last year’s Bengals team. And especially in the Broncos context, that’s important because when we saw the Broncos go up against the Bengals, man, they really struggled to defend against their second receiver, who is basically a wide receiver, one on most teams. And I do believe that George Pickkins has that ability. And so I think understandably there’s going to be a ton of discourse the remainder of this week about whether or not Riley Moss can be up to the occasion against a player like George Pickings. Now the numbers overall this season do indicate that Riley Moss has played way better than I think you would really realize if you search his name on Twitter or something like that and you see what Broncos fans are saying about Riley Moss, you would not believe how well he’s playing, I guess. But against a player like Pickkins, this has really been this the type of matchup that has sort of tested and challenged Riley the most, I would say, in his first two years as a starter. You got a big athletic guy who excels at making plays even against great coverage. And so that that’s where I think the the Cowboys are going to try to exploit this Denver defense right away. Broncos run defense is pretty good. I mean, the Javvante Williams revenge game angle is going to get talked about, but I think that they’re going to attack Riley Moss regardless of where he’s lined up or who he’s lined up against. Yeah. And look, that’s just the nature of the business when you play opposite of PS2. Those numbers, as you were mentioning here, passer 10 is allowed 0.7 yards per coverage snap in 2025, according to our friends over there at NFL NextGen Stats, which is the lowest amongst all defensive backs. So, are you going to really try to throw PS2’s way? Probably not here. But on the flip side here, because of that, Riley Moss, as we know, naturally playing opposite of the defensive player of the year and a shutdown corner and Pat, he’s going to get the most targets because teams aren’t going to want to go his way. And Riley Moss has allowed a 39.1 completion percentage in coverage in 2025. That’s the lowest amongst all defensive backs. So, I mean, obviously, you know, there’s there’s times where there’s a big play or a great catch that is made, but ultimately Riley Moss is playing really well here inside this Broncos defense considering the volume to be able to limit, like I said, 39.1 completion percentage in coverage that is very, very good. And I think just because, you know, there is this propensity sometimes, I think, for fans to look at like you whether it be a pass interference call, which last week’s wasn’t a PI call, that was a maddening call there. Riley gets an unfair microscope on him. I feel like at times and I’m glad that some other people in the national media I know Bmani Jones even said something as well. I I just think that Riley is just constantly disrespected by this fan base at times when he’s honestly not bad. Like to be honest like Riley Moss his numbers how he’s playing and his coverage it’s pretty damn good. I would 100% agree. And look, it’s it’s been a while since either Riley or Pat has forced a turnover, you know, get an interception. I think that they’re due, right? I mean, I think they both had interceptions wearing these throwback uniforms last season at home for the Broncos. Pat had a pick six against the Raiders. So, maybe we can start manifesting some some good stuff like that for these guys. Look, it’s easy to to assume that the receivers are going to have the upper hand when you’ve seen them making so many plays this year, but man, the Broncos have maybe the best options to defend against a duo like this out of any team in the NFL. I know that there’s not necessarily a, you know, the familiarity of playing within the division, but man, they they match up really well. And I think that with it’s just a matter of making the plays, right? It’s a matter of making the plays when the ball comes your way. Can the Broncos corners actually do something against these guys? And I don’t think the Cowboys necessarily have the slot production. Uh Cavante Turpin is an interesting weapon for them, but it’s way he’s very very fast. And I think he’s he’s way different to me than I think the last time the Cowboys came to Denver, they still had Cole Beasley who was working the slot. And that’s kind of the option that seems to give Jaquin McMillan trouble is the guys that can get open really quickly like that. Cavante Turpin is not necessarily the route running, you know, guru that a guy like Cole Beasley is or, you know, when you face off against some of these guys who play in the slot. So, I feel like that’s an advantageous matchup for the Broncos right here is these guys could get the upper hand, right? CD Lamb and George Pickkins, they make big plays, but you’ve got the best possible options to defend against them. I I’d be interested to see if these guys can because when’s the last time they stepped up to the occasion and people were like, “Dang, like against two elite receivers, Pat Certan and and Riley Moss did their thing.” This is a great opportunity for them to to flip that narrative on its head. Yeah. No, and I agree with you as well. And look, I’m curious to see what the game plan’s going to be. Do do the Broncos and Vance Joseph dial up the pressure the way that they have so far this season against Dak? But you also can’t let Dak just sit back there and carve you up, right? Like Dak is playing really good football. He and Bo Knicks right now in the NFL, they’re tied for second and being sacked the least amount of times. Both have been sacked eight times this season. So there’s that tie right there. The the Cowboys offense, obviously, I think the early downs are going to be big. They’re averaging 6.12 yards per play. That’s second in the NFL. And Denver’s defense right now, second in the NFL and yards per play allowed at 4.49. So as we mentioned, strength on strength, big on big. This is going to be a very very interesting matchup here. I’m curious for your thoughts on this as well. If you had to decide like if you had to pick now, what is going to define the defense’s performance against this Cowboys team early on? What would you say is going to be that narrative? I think it’s got to be the corners, right? I I think it has to be. I mean, we can talk about, yeah, you want to stop the run. You want to make sure that Javvante Williams isn’t coming into Denver and running for 140 yards on you and three touchdowns or whatever it may be. You you got to stop the run. But I think if you can’t stop these receivers from making plays, I mean, the Broncos have struggled with George Pickins. Even Pat Sertan had struggled with him in the past. CD Lamb is an elite among elite receivers. I mean, he is arguably the best in the NFL when he’s at his best. And so to me, you’re getting those two guys going up against your two guys who are giving up virtually nothing. I mean, other than the occasional big play this season. So that’s the narrative right there in my opinion is yeah, you want to get pressure on Dak, you want to rush his throws, you want to make him make mistakes obviously, but those corners, they are going to get tested and they do have to make plays. Yeah. No, and and that’s going to be the biggest key as well. And and I also think as well, we can’t discount, we can’t overlook uh the Broncos and tight ends this week here. Jake Ferguson much better than anything that the New York Giants have. No shade, no disrespect to them, but the Broncos had some big coverage issues, miscommunication issues where tight ends were wide open. You can’t have that happen this week. Ferguson is a guy that will make you pay alongside the other weapons that they certainly do have here. Broncos country, make sure you let us know your thoughts on the Broncos defense matching up against CD Lamb, Dak Prescott, and this Cowboys offense and what you think the key, the advantage is in this matchup here for your Broncos football team here. But coming up next, Sarah and I, we’re going to discuss some news and notes here, including the Broncos being without Dre Green Law against the Cowboys. He always loves playing against him, but but he will not be active this week because his suspension was upheld. talk about what the Broncos can expect at linebacker with him and more here on today’s episode, Locked On Broncos. I’m Cody Ror from Locked on Broncos and this episode is brought to you by Pelaton. Pelaton is shaping the future of fitness with the brand new Pelaton crossraining tread plus powered by Pelaton IQ. This is Pelaton’s most advanced equipment yet, giving you real time guidance and endless ways to move. Whether you’re running, lifting, or you’re cross trainining with your favorite instructors like Alex Tousant, it’s training re-imagined to make your workout more personal, Pelaton is built for breakthroughs. With features that help you plan, stay motivated, and hit peak performance. You can let yourself run, lift, flex, and go, while Pelaton handles all the rest. Plus, Pelaton IQ provides real time strength coaching, tracking your progress and suggesting weights that challenge you so you can get stronger. Plus the new movement tracking camera. It counts your reps and corrects your form in real time, making sure every rep is safer and smarter. So let yourself run, lift, flex, push, and go. Explore the new Pelaton crossraining tread plus at oneon.com. Today’s episode’s also brought to you by our friends over there at FanDuel, America’s number one sports book. 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So, what are you waiting for? Visit fanuel.com to download the FanDuel app today and get started. When the Denver Broncos take the field this Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys, they’ll be doing so without Dre Green Law, whose appeal of his suspension by the NFL was unfortunately denied. How are the Broncos going to proceed forward at linebacker without Dre in this game? We’ll go through that plus some other news and notes as well as here on today’s episode of the show. Real quick, thank you so much to the everydayers and first listeners out there in Broncos country. Got some really exciting things coming up for all of you, including the debut of the Broncos squad show here. We’re going to have a former Broncos player on with us and that’s going to be very very fun. We’ll tell you details about that more as it becomes available here. But sir, Dre Green Law won’t be playing in this week’s game here. I I I’m obviously disappointed in the NFL’s decision to suspend him because once again, there is no audio of what was said. I I feel like a fine would have sufficed. You know, he find the guy heavily here, but the NFL is making it a point to suspend him. He will not play against the Cowboys. And he’s the type of guy that loves playing against the Cowboys. He’s been a differencemaker anytime that they’ve matched up against Dak Prescott in company when he was a member of the 49ers. Yeah, I remember those games, too, especially in the playoffs. I’m sure Dallas Cowboys fans are very excited to see him not playing for this game. And, you know, for Broncos country, it’s just another bump in the road for Dre Green Law. And I’m just I I can’t be the only one who’s just thankful that he’s still healthy after that game, right? I mean, obviously, we don’t want him to be suspended for a game, but man, thankfully, he’s going to be ready to go for this stretch run here. It stinks for him to lose almost 200k in a game check for this, Cody. I mean, talk about a hefty fine would have sufficed. I mean, not only is he not able to play, but he’s also getting nearly 200 grand taken out of his pay for this season. So, I really feel for Dre in that regard, but at the same time, it’s a great example of why you got to make wise decisions in key moments. I mean, everybody on the Denver Broncos almost needed a reminder of this after that game against the Giants, didn’t they? Shawn Peyton running onto the field. That’s a boneheaded mistake. Obviously, you have multiple breakdowns on that final drive where you’ve got a roughing the passer called on a fourth and 19 absolutely can’t happen. Giving up the catch on fourth and 19, absolutely can’t happen. Pass interference when there’s I dropped interceptions. I You talk about just a comedy of errors that nearly cost the team the game. Everybody kind of needed that reality check and so of course yes Dre Greenlaw is is he’s out for this game and you got to just live with it. But thankfully the Broncos have already been dealing with life without Dre Green Law all season. Yeah. Well, you know, in 21 snaps he had six tackles. I mean, he was everywhere when he was on the field. I He’s juiced up, jazzed up to play. He had a really nice hit on Jackson Dart, you know, early on. I think he popped the tight end that was running out of bounds. I I like his energy. He brings just this juice to the table and unfortunately it kind of tables our conversation and our our hope as to what we were planning on doing this week before the suspension came up. We were going to have an episode where we were going to really talk about should the Broncos role with Justin Sternad and and Dre Green laws, the two starters at linebacker. I guess we’re going to have to wait till next week in order to have that conversation and to go there. But it will be Justin Sternad starting this week alongside Alex Singleton here for the Broncos. Just something to keep an eye on here. Definitely not having Dre is going to be a big loss here for this defense. But I think a lot of people in Broncos country want to know about Brandon Jones as well, who obviously he and Talenoa Hufonga on one of those dropped interceptions that you were talking about in that fourth quarter in those final seconds where Denver could have sealed it. He is okay. He should be good to go this week here. So that is good news here for the Broncos at safety. But it brings up a bigger point here, right? Shawn Payeyton had made mention of something in his Monday press conference with us on a Zoom call. And one thing he said is guys playing time whether they’re increase or decrease and this doesn’t always necessarily mean that you know just offense. I think special teams is much into play here. But who do you think he’s talking about on the offensive side of the ball here? I mean I can’t really think of anybody besides one guy so to speak right here and I feel like that’s Trent Sherfield. Yeah, that’s the name that immediately came to my mind as well. Well, I mean, when when you talk about getting the right guys involved, I think even the players were talking about it after the game. Bo Nicks had mentioned it as well. When when it comes to just getting your best players the football and letting them do what they do, that’s where the Broncos offense has had such a disconnect this year is it’s like a hockey team that’s on a fast break and the coach is changing lines right in the middle of the fast break. you finally get something going offensively and then instead of building on that momentum, you’re shifting into a personnel group that takes some of your best players off the field or like we saw against the Jets, man, you had a twoman route concept that you threw late in the game that it it just really allows the opposing team to kind of sit back and and be conservative as opposed to being aggressive. So, I don’t like that they’re doing that consistently. I think it’s easy to say when it’s not working that we don’t like certain personnel groupings or we don’t like changing personnel. Shawn Payeyton changes personnel to kind of make up for the fact that he doesn’t do as much pre- snap motion as other teams, yada yada yada. I feel like that is something that needs to happen is just the Lion’s share of snaps going to maybe it’s Troy Franklin after dropping a pass, right? I mean, I know he made some plays late in the game. Maybe he’s part of that and you get Marvin Mims more options. Maybe it’s Pat Bryant. Maybe he’s not producing it. I don’t know what it is, Cody. I don’t know. We can speculate on every guy on the team, but it feels like that getting your best players out there as often as possible seems to be the right way to go. That needs to be the formula here for this team. I think if this team is ever going to establish flow, rhythm, consistency, you know, there’s times to sprinkle in different personnel, but primarily your top guy should be on the field. That’s the nature of the game. It’s it’s your best against the other team’s best here. We’ll see if Sean’s going to change his approach up this week. I think even on special teams as well, we could see maybe some changes as well. I know he was inactive last week. The Broncos newcomer JT Gray, probably too short of a week for him to get thrown into the fire a little bit, but maybe there’s a chance he could be active this week here. You mentioned Cavante Turpin. This is a week I feel like do do the Broncos just kick it out of bounds because with how their coverage unit has been, don’t want to risk a guy like him opening things up or giving, you know, a chance to score on special teams. He certainly is that type of threat, but worse also best case scenarios like you’d also don’t want him to get the ball near midfield or Dak Prescott in this offense have a lot of room to work with and they have obviously a kicker who could probably boot it in from 70 yards here in Denver. So that’s going to be I think a very very interesting dynamic this week here for this Broncos football team and Broncos country. Make sure you chime in with us here on today’s episode of the show. your thoughts on Dre Green Law suspension and also who you think Shawn Peyton was talking about when he talked about maybe less playing time for certain guys. Who was he speaking of? Make sure you drop it in the comments here on today’s episode of the show. Tomorrow’s episode, Sarah’s going to sit down with lockdown Cowboys for a crossover Thursday and they’re going to preview this matchup, the key matchups, the biggest storylines for each team, and what the Broncos need to do to ultimately win. You’ll get that and more on tomorrow’s episode, Locked Down Broncos. We’ll see you then.

The Denver Broncos face their hardest test yet against the Dallas Cowboys. Can Bo Nix and the Broncos offense exorcise some of their demons and get the run game going? The Broncos defense will face one of the NFL’s top offenses led by Dak Prescott, which makes this week’s game a big one for Patrick Surtain II and Riley Moss. Plus, Dre Greenlaw’s suspension was upheld and he will miss Sunday’s game.

Cody Roark is a credentialed beat reporter for Mile High Sports and covers the Broncos daily in person. Sayre Bedinger is the site expert for Predominantly Orange. Both bring Broncos Country the most in-depth and objective coverage of the Denver Broncos.

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25 comments
  1. We have the NFL referee committee against us this week as we know they passed on a message from one to another. I bet you they will be on us hard this game. I’m not worried about Dre greenlaw being on the field because we have been a top defense without him and we have Robinson and other that can play really well.

  2. We should beat them if we pound the ball. But 5 in a row 👀idk
    We have defense to stop them from scoring but vj has to put more coverage across the middle

  3. Hey Cody and sayre! I think we have 4 excellent pass catchers in engram, Sutton, mims and Franklin. Wittenberg is becoming a liability to a degree. Jk dobbins will have a good game, it’s about tempo and play calling, keeping the same personal in there for a while. Too many changes causes confusion at times. Simplify things. I think Evan engram is due for a big game.

  4. Jk dobbins was one of chargers key weapons on offense. He clearly shows that when he stays on the field and gets MOMENTUM he can gain some crazy yards. We need to utilize him ALOT more against the cowboys. Then maybe the passes will open up. I’d rather run him 4 times in a row then throw 4 screen passes in a row hands down. Also think it would be a good idea to have Hufanga sit back and little more to help our Riley moss in coverage 👍🏽

  5. The personnel and Sean not running the ball is killing this team and hindering BO.
    Listen to James and Steve Smith talk about it.
    Also, watch the 12 screens Sean called. Wattenburg screwed up one. The rest were blocking. Engram and Sutton both almost every screen wouldn’t do their job.
    The front office and Sean really fucked up with this previous draft. It shouldn’t have mattered what it took picks wise. Warren should have been gotten or moved up for Emeka. Both block and do everything Sean wants from his WRs or TEs. Also, to this point that draft looks like a complete failure. This is why if you think you can compete keeping picks because of what could be rather than acquiring established talent is fucking idiotic. Specifically when you now have young developmental players at basically every level of both sides of the ball.
    Now, they still could have gotten 1 of the 10TEs drafted possibly even Orande or Theo. Instead the never wavering “I’m smarter then you are” chose a basketball player who’s played 30 snaps of football.
    If they actually believe this group can contend. They will acquire a TE like Njoku or someone in that mold. Inline blocking TE with receiving chops to split out wide and not be a beacon that a screen pass is incoming. Like we have now with Traut Adkins or Prentice.
    Hell he could go get one of the NOLA guys, Foster T Hill.
    Franklin is not a number 2. He’s a gadget speed guy. Mims is actually a number 2. Has incredible hands. Great compete level but because he isn’t 6’2” Sean doesn’t leave him on the field. Which is actually quite ironic because for mims size difference he’s on of the most competitive outside blockers in the group.

  6. Hoping this is the game they have good play from all 3 phases. Last week, every phase played bad and that is a recipe for defeat, unless you put up 33 points in a quarter! 😂

  7. This has to be the game we unleash Bo Nix, I feel like SP just needs to trust his guy and let him loose! If we start the way we did against the giants it’s going to be a long day at mile high.

  8. Let’s not forget the Giants D was gassed going into the 4th because of the mile high advatage. I buy into establishing the run game to open up the passing game but I’m skeptical we get off to a fast start. Let the 4th quarter reign with the mile high advantage. Then again, I hope the Broncos can prove me wrong and get off to that fast start.

  9. As long as Payton continues to be the play caller this offense is screwed. Its a hard watch, its lazy and to be honest he calls a dumb game. Watching him run on 2nd and long, pass a dozen times to rec/backs behind the line of scrimmage are call plays on 3rd and 15 where the rout is a 10yr out route. Its painful and at some point ownership has to step in and take that away from him.

  10. The Cowboys last beat the broncos in 1995. And the cowboys have won only 1 road game this year……..at the jets. Also ranked dead last in defense.

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