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Tag: evan engram

  • Keeler: Broncos should spend Russell Wilson money on getting Bo Nix receivers without butterfingers

    Say this for Sean Payton: He sure liked to spread the drops around.

    The Broncos were the only NFL team to place three players among the league’s top 15 in dropped passes during the regular season, per Pro-Football-Reference.com — wide receiver Courtland Sutton (eight), tight end Evan Engram (eight) and running back RJ Harvey (seven).

    No wonder a 15-4 record feels like such a Boverachievement, in retrospect.

    It’s going to be a beast to repeat if Payton and GM George Paton don’t add an experienced, proven wideout for Bo Nix in 2026. Or a big-time tight end. Better yet, both.

    What the heck. Russell Wilson is off the books, right? Paton is rolling into the offseason with diamond encrusted Walmart gift card in his wallet. Go nuts.

    “I think the position that this team, the position that we’re in, (we) have a win-now mentality,” Engram said Monday at Dove Valley as the Broncos cleaned out their lockers following a 10-7 loss to New England in the AFC Championship. “And there are some things that we can work with to even make our roster even better.

    “So, yeah — I have the utmost faith in the guys upstairs, all the decision-makers, the coach. They’ve done a great job since they’ve been here. They’ve built (a) championship team. Being able to add to that already, we’re in a great spot. We’ll be in a good spot for a while.”

    Yeah, but you’ve got to strike now. Nix is on a rookie contract through 2027. That time is going to fly by. Like the Nuggets with Jokic and Murray and the Avs with MacKinnon and Makar, this is the window. Right here. We going for this? Or not?

    “Obviously, we need some key players to come in and do what they need to do by getting points on the scoreboard,” veteran left tackle Garett Bolles noted Monday. “(We’ve) got a phenomenal defense. We have everything we need. We just need a couple more playmakers, and sky’s the limit for this team.”

    Almost everything. Nix can sling it with Sam Darnold all stinking day. What do the Super-Bowl-bound Seahawks have that the Broncos don’t? A bell cow tailback (Kenneth Walker) who has averaged 15 games per season over his career. And a No. 1 wideout (Jaxson Smith-Njigba) who’s putting up seven catches and 86 receiving yards per game this postseason.

    Sean Keeler

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  • Broncos don’t intend to place LB Dre Greenlaw on injured reserve, sources say

    A potential Week 15 injury nightmare for these Broncos appears to be more just a bad dream.

    Denver is not planning to place linebacker Dre Greenlaw on injured reserve, multiple sources told The Denver Post on Tuesday. Greenlaw suffered a non-contact hamstring injury late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 34-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and has been listed as an estimated DNP on Denver’s injury reports Monday and Tuesday.

    With 2:07 left in a game that was already decided, Greenlaw chased Jaguars running back Travis Etienne at the back-end of an 11-yard run and came up hopping over to the sidelines on his right leg, clearly unable to put much weight on his left. The Broncos quickly ruled Greenlaw out with a hamstring injury, a somber development for Denver’s late-season push for an AFC West divisional title and No. 1 seed.

    The Broncos, though, clearly don’t view Greenlaw’s injury as season-ending. If they did opt to place him on injured reserve, the soonest Greenlaw could return — if Denver locks up the one-seed in the AFC — would be for a potential conference championship game. It’s likely, then, that Greenlaw is back at some point for the Broncos’ playoff run.

    Denver’s linebacker room has been a game-by-game carousel this season, with Greenlaw and starting linebacker Alex Singleton just starting to develop some synergy before Greenlaw’s latest ailment. The offseason signee was hampered for much of the start of 2025 with a lingering quad injury, and then served a one-game suspension in Week 8.

    Singleton then missed a game three weeks later after undergoing surgery to remove a testicular tumor. And LB3 Justin Strnad didn’t play Sunday against the Jaguars with a foot injury, with rookie Karene Reid already on injured reserve since November.

    The Broncos should have reinforcements in any extended Greenlaw absence, as Strnad was a full participant in Tuesday’s walkthrough and looks set to start next to Singleton in Greenlaw’s place against the Chiefs on Christmas Day. Denver, too, could elevate Reid this week off IR after opening his 21-day window to return last week.

    Center shakeup

    Broncos starting center Luke Wattenberg wasn’t present for Tuesday’s walkthrough with a shoulder injury, indicating Wattenberg’s highly doubtful to play Thursday against the Chiefs on Christmas Day. It’d be Wattenberg’s first missed game of the year, after starting 15 straight and earning a midseason extension in his second year as Denver’s man in the middle.

    Backup Alex Forsyth would almost certainly be the next man up in Wattenberg’s absence. Forsyth filled in capably for four games in 2024 when Wattenberg was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury, and has plenty of cohesion with quarterback Bo Nix dating back to a shared 2022 season playing for Oregon.

    Still rotating

    The Broncos eased left guard Ben Powers back into action slowly against Jacksonville, playing Powers just 23 snaps in his return off injured reserve in a two-possession rotation with Alex Palczewski. Payton said Tuesday that the Powers-Palczewski rotation will continue Thursday night against Kansas City.

    Luca Evans

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  • Sean Payton: Broncos aren’t ‘looking to send a message’ at NFL trade deadline

    The question started innocently enough, only for Sean Payton to obfuscate the Broncos’ intentions as much as possible.

    With the trade, and you’re in a buyer position, philosophically, do you believe in the benefit–

    “With what trade?” Payton said on a Monday conference call, interrupting a reporter.

    Philosophically, do you believe in sending a message to the team that you’re all in? 

    “We would never make a trade to send a message to the team,” Payton said. “Everyone in the locker room, our players, coaches, management, front office, knows that we’re all in to win.

    “The trade would take place — this supposed trade — if we found value in something that could help us,” Payton continued. “Period. That’s it. We’re not looking to send a message.”

    As Tuesday’s 2 p.m. trade deadline approaches, the NFL world is keeping a close eye on the Broncos’ aggressiveness, as the club evaluates a potential Payton-dubbed supposed trade. Denver is 7-2 and a game up in the AFC West entering a key stretch run, with two divisional games against the Chiefs remaining. They also still carry a litany of glaring issues, making them a potential buyer at the deadline.

    But would they gamble away draft picks for an all-in rental?

    “We’ll see,” Payton responded when asked Monday if Denver was in a position where they wanted to make a move.

    Payton and others have expressed public confidence in the current Broncos roster. Anything is possible in the next 24 hours, but a trail of breadcrumbs leads to a single most likely outcome: Denver either stands pat or doesn’t make an overall massive splash.

    “It is what it is,” Payton said in Sunday’s postgame presser when asked to evaluate his team at the halfway point. “It’s our record. I lost track…”

    Someone reminded him that the Broncos are 7-2.

    “There you go,” Payton continued. “That’s how I see it. That’s pretty good.”

    Trade rumors have floated around the Broncos for weeks. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Denver is one of a few teams that’ve made a call inquiring about wide receivers. And Denver has a few positions where it could look to upgrade or find depth: receiver, tight end and left guard, most notably.

    But there are considerations with each of those position groups that muddy the waters.

    In his almost 20 years as an NFL head coach, Payton’s teams have never traded for a wide receiver at the deadline. In late October, offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi also expressed faith in the receivers Denver has on its roster when asked if they could look to the deadline for WR help. Plus, Denver gave $16.5 million guaranteed to tight end Evan Engram in the offseason and still hasn’t figured out how to consistently use him in its offense (0 catches on 3 targets at the Texans Sunday).

    Luca Evans

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  • Broncos’ search for tight end help continues as NFL trade deadline nears

    The Broncos are in the market for help at tight end.

    Where, ultimately, Denver finds it at this point is an open question.

    The Broncos, at the moment, are down to two healthy players on their 53-man roster in Evan Engram and Adam Trautman, and a pair of project-types on their practice squad in rookie Caleb Lohner and Patrick Murtagh.

    Sean Payton’s offense has seen its depth dwindle quickly in recent days.

    Lucas Krull originally hoped to return from injured reserve after the minimum four weeks due to a foot injury, but instead, he ended up having surgery Monday to repair a metatarsal fracture. He’s now expected to miss in the neighborhood of eight more weeks, a source told The Denver Post, which means most of the remaining regular season.

    Nate Adkins, meanwhile, sustained a left knee injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s win against Dallas. The injury appeared to happen without contact on a play that resulted in a touchdown pass from Bo Nix to Troy Franklin. The severity of Adkins’ injury has not been revealed.

    The Broncos, though, attempted to address their depth at the position Monday when, multiple sources confirmed to The Post, they put in waiver claims for both Ben Sims and Brenden Bates.

    Sims had been waived by Green Bay and Bates by Houston.

    Denver, however, lost out on both because teams higher in the waiver priority — Minnesota and Cleveland, respectively — also put claims in and thus were awarded the players.

    So now Denver is looking for other routes to fill the position. One part of the equation is that Trautman will likely see his playing time increase again.

    The veteran played just 30.9% of Denver’s offensive snaps against the New York Giants in Week 7, tied for his lowest usage in two-plus seasons with the Broncos. He’d seen an overall decline in playing time as Adkins got up to speed after a training camp ankle injury that cost him the first two games of the season.

    Adkins had been playing between 30-40% of Denver’s offensive snaps and provided some versatility — an ‘F’ tight end who could play out of the backfield, in the passing game and as a blocker.

    “He’s too good of a football player for us. We’re going to need him,” Payton said at the outset of the season when Denver opted not to put him on injured reserve.

    Now the Broncos may have to examine options externally.

    They could look to a familiar face from training camp like Caden Prieskorn, who just recently signed with Cleveland’s practice squad.

    Or they can try to work via the trade market with the NFL’s trading deadline just a week away.

    Among tight ends around the league who have reportedly drawn interest, could be available or generally make sense as potential trade targets, is a list that includes Cleveland’s David Njoku, Baltimore’s Mark Andrews, Tennessee’s Chig Okonkwo, and New Orleans’ Taysom Hill and Foster Moreau. There are, of course, others around the league, including a pair Denver just faced in former Broncos veteran Chris Manhertz and Daniel Bellinger with the Giants. Bellinger is in the final year of his rookie deal and had the best game of his career against the Broncos.

    Depth issues can force a team’s hand in making a move, but Payton has previously cautioned against the idea that a trade deadline acquisition can change a team’s fortunes.

    There’s not much time to learn a system, and Payton, in particular, is protective of the locker room culture the Broncos have developed.

    Parker Gabriel

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  • How Broncos felt ‘difference of play-calling’ from Sean Payton in blowout of Cowboys

    The head man smelled blood.

    Dallas came to Empower Field on Sunday afternoon wielding some of the best weapons in the game, but riddled with holes from weapons they couldn’t stop.

    This would be an old-fashioned mountain shootout between the Broncos and the Cowboys, the latter a franchise ranked dead-last in the NFL in total defense.

    “We wanted,” Sean Payton reflected later Sunday, “to keep them last.”

    Broncos analysis: RJ Harvey, rookie class shine in blowout win over Dallas. ‘Maybe they read someone’s article.’

    On Saturday night, in the kind of film-review meeting that normally glazes eyes, Payton introduced a semi-surprise. Joe Harrington, the Broncos’ director of football video, stitched together tape of 11 plays they’d repped throughout the week that Payton felt could go for touchdowns. And Harrington, at Payton’s behest, overlayed the college fight song of the scoring recipient on each play.

    Payton went around throughout the week asking players the names of those fight songs. Tight end Adam Trautman was accompanied by Dayton’s “We know we’ll make your team feel blue!” Rookie Pat Bryant heard Illinois’ famed “Oskee Wow-Wow.” Second-year Oregon product Troy Franklin got the Ducks’ “Go! Ducks! Go.” Players heard that song about five times, tight end Evan Engram cracked, a dead giveaway Franklin was due for a big game.

    Bryant’s eyes lit up when discussing the meeting. Franklin smiled that all the flair was “pretty funny.” Veteran receiver Trent Sherfield, who has played for six NFL franchises and seven head coaches, put it best.

    “It’s Sean, bro,” the 29-year-old told The Denver Post. “Like, he has a lot of tricks up his sleeve.”

    Payton whipped them all out a day later, throwing every grain of magic dust he had at the Cowboys in a 44-24 win that steadied concerns about the Broncos’ offensive inconsistency.

    Renck: With this version of Bo Nix, the extraordinary seems possible for Broncos

    After Bo Nix attacked the sidelines and middle of the field in a four-touchdown performance, and J.K. Dobbins stayed in rhythm in a 15-carry, 111-yard performance, Payton made one thing clear postgame: He didn’t think Dallas’ defense could keep up.

    Thus, the head coach recounted, he started to goad on his defense through four smashmouth quarters: Can you guys keep up with us?

    Luca Evans

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  • Renck: With Broncos’ offense out of sync, time for Sean Payton to let Bo Nix go more uptempo

    Denver is well known for LoDo and RiNo.

    GoBo better join that list if the Broncos are serious about becoming a Super Bowl contender.

    The Broncos delivered a second-half performance against the Jets that was embarrassing. So, you let me have it.

    Preparing to board my flight from London Heathrow to DIA, the criticisms veiled as questions included, “Who calls a pass on the 1-yard line and risks a safety? Was that a fullback draw on third-and-10? Why doesn’t Evan Engram play more?” And my personal favorite from a man with a heavy British accent, “If I wanted to watch a game with no scoring,” you guessed it, he could have saved his money for a fútbol game.

    The fans are mad. They are angry. They are right.

    We will find out more about the Broncos, so much more with a normal practice schedule and no travel, when they host the New York Giants. We will find out an answer to the question hanging over this season: Will coach Sean Payton do more to help Bo Nix?

    Will he employ doses of uptempo?

    Until Payton provides that answer, the question on whether or not the Broncos are a legitimate AFC threat will remain an unequivocal no.

    Teams that play deep into January don’t rank in the middle of the pack or worse in every meaningful offensive category.

    The reason this is the case? Nix and Payton are not in rhythm.

    This season has been an exercise in frustration.

    For every eye-opening quarter, there has been a dizzying array of punts. Nix admitted Wednesday that it was “a relief” when Engram converted a first down on the cgame-winning drive last Sunday.

    Is that the new reality for Nix and this offense? It better not be or the Broncos will waste one of the greatest defenses in franchise history.

    What unfurled against the Jets was so odorous that it suggests that the Nix and Payton have contrasting visions of how to achieve success.

    Nix needs to go fast. At least for the foreseeable future.

    He was 11-for-15 for 96 yards in uptempo against the Jets, according to Next Gen stats. He excels at the quick hitters, not surprisingly since he mastered it over his final two years at Oregon. The Jets and the Giants are the not the same defensively, but they have this in common: they bring the heat.

    Nix is already getting rid of the ball quickly. Why not add wrinkles with sprinkles of tempo? The quarterback sure sounds like he would be all for it.

    “It gets the defense off balance. We play well from the quick game. It’s tough on defenses,” said Nix, who is completing 64.6 % of his passes with nine touchdowns and four interceptions. “You are more attacking them, instead of letting them attacking you.”

    Will Payton consistently hit the throttle? Unlikely. He has pumped the brakes anytime the issue has been raised over the past two seasons. His reasoning is sound, that going too fast too much will compromise his own defense.

    Let’s be clear, I am not suggesting there is a disconnect between the coach and the quarterback. But there appears to be a difference in preference.

    Nix believes uptempo “can limit what the defenses will do, and they may not be in the right set.”

    Payton sees its value, but likes it more as a situational weapon.

    “I think a lot of it is dependent on what personnel we’re in, what do we want to get to. I think it’s always part of our plan. It’s just a matter of where we’re at field position-wise and what we’re trying to accomplish,” Payton said. “I can’t recall that we went away (from it last week). There are times when— like the touchdown was kind of an up-tempo play. We’ll use it each week where we see fit.”

    He’s the boss. But it is obvious the Broncos need more of it and fewer personnel groups.

    As it stands, Denver’s passing attack is akin to an NBA team that relies on layups and 3-pointers. There is no intermediate game, though Engram could change that if, you know, he ever becomes a focal point of the offense.

    Given the reliance on the short passes to set up deep strikes, it makes sense to press the pedal. Nix admits that he picks his spots when going over the game plan with offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and Payton, a concession to their experience.

    But the six-game sample size is something. Nix has raised his voice before during games, and would be well-served to speak up now with a third of the season over. This could shift him into high gear.

    The offensive issues are more than a Nix problem. But wouldn’t the speed game help solve some of them?

    “Yeah, I think he likes that we’ll probably get a really simple or base defense, or coverage from lining up fast and putting tempo on ’em. For example, like, with the Giants, those guys up front – they’re real. It also has a little bit to do with like, wearing guys down,” receiver Troy Franklin said. “Just getting them to move fast, they’re bigger guys. So it’ll help us in the long run and stuff, for sure.”

    This week will begin answering questions. No matter how you break down the numbers, the Broncos’ offense has been average at best, disappointing at worst. Payton is fond of saying that all teams begin the season a race to find their identity.

    It is clear that the coach can speed up that process for his quarterback by going uptempo.

    It is time for BoGo.

    Troy Renck

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  • Renck vs. Keeler: Bigger concern for Broncos’ offense, the play-caller or the players?

    Troy Renck: The exit brought an insult. As Broncos fans left the overground train at White Heart Lane, an NFL usher offered, without prompting, this assessment. “You all need a new chant. Go Broncos! is lazy work.” Hate to think of what he thought of the offense. The Broncos were a mess against the Jets. They collected 246 yards on 57 plays, a total that would have spelled doom if not for a Denver defense delivering of the most dominating performances in franchise history. The Broncos have yet to take the step forward that was expected. So is it because of the play-caller or the players?

    Sean Keeler: It takes a village to build that much ugliness. But I’ll give the edge to Sunshine Sean here. Let me ask you this, my friend. Was it Adam Prentice’s fault that his coach calls a fullback draw on third-and-10 with 1:56 left in the third quarter while trailing by one in a foreign country? Was it Jaleel McLaughlin’s fault that he had a screen dialed up for him on third-and-4 in the third quarter while Denver was nursing a 1-point lead? And should we mention that this was McLaughlin’s first action of the young season? The same five words kept banging in my head Sunday afternoon, and I hope they’re banging in Payton’s: What are we doing here?

    Renck: The Broncos’ lack talent at skill players. In four of the first six games, the opponents have boasted better receivers, tight ends and running backs. Enough with the experiments, coach. This problem traces back to Payton. It’s time for the best players to get the lion’s share of reps. That means more cJ.K. Dobbins and Evan Engram and less everyone else. The Broncos lack consistency offensively because they lack consistency with the personnel. At one point in the second quarter, Payton used Dobbins on first down, R.J. Harvey on second and Jaleel McLaughlin in three downs. Uncle. Time to taper off the line changes that would make Jared Bednar blush. The Broncos need to establish an identity. But, It is hard to know who you are when you don’t know who is in the game.

    Keeler: Payton’s worst enemy? Sean Payton. Sean Payton, Offensive Genius. Sean Payton, Riverboat Gambler. Sean Payton, Super Bowl Champ. The shadow of a mad scientist is always creeping over his shoulder, tapping on it, reminded him to be clever. To experiment. Reminding him of the pressure, the expectation, to prove that he’s the smartest guy in the room. The problem with being the NFL’s Baron Frankenstein is that the creature that rises from the slab is inevitably a patchwork job — but it’s rarely a monster.

    Troy Renck, Sean Keeler

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  • The Bo Nix Index, Week 5: How tempo, blitz recognition keyed QB’s fourth-quarter breakout

    Eventually, they stopped talking about points. Bo Nix, and the rest of the Broncos’ offense around him made clear: they needed to go get six.

    They had punted on six straight possessions in Philadelphia. Nix was playing some of his worst football in a topsy-turvy start. He “wasn’t happy,” as he put it postgame.

    And then a shining version of Nix unfurled before the hostile Philly crowd, the best version of the second-year quarterback shooting the Eagles down in the fourth quarter in one of the most important performances of his young career.

    “We handled it how we handled it,” Nix said after the Broncos’ 21-17 win, “and we went out and won the game.”

    Welcome back to The Denver Post’s Bo Nix Index, reviewing every drop-back from Nix’s performance the previous week. For Week 5, let’s focus specifically on the factors that contributed to the quarterback’s star-making final frame: 9-of-10 passing, 127 yards, a touchdown. Plenty of reps both explained Nix’s erratic play early and his steadiness down the stretch. Here are four key themes.

    1. Nix favors tempo. It worked against Eagles

    Last week, head coach Sean Payton noted that Nix “likes tempo” to start a game — a kind of fast-paced offense that incorporates no-huddle and motion to wear defenses down. Within that, too, Payton hinted his staff has adapted to reduce verbiage in play calls so Nix can get to the line quicker.

    “He’ll have input like, ‘Hey, this is a play I really like, can we get that in?’” Lombardi said of Nix. “And nine times out of 10, we do it.”

    Denver went straight to tempo in their first drive against the Eagles. Nix clapped his hands in an early no-huddle third-down look, smoothly one-handing a high snap, pivoting, and firing a quick comebacker to Courtland Sutton for a first down. The Broncos went no-huddle three times across that first drive, and Nix moved them into Philadelphia territory before a sack by Cooper DeJean stalled the drive.

    After veering away from tempo in the third quarter, Nix got rolling in Denver’s early fourth-quarter drive with some faster looks. He hit Sutton again on a quick play-action back-shoulder ball for a first down to push the Broncos into Eagles territory. His eventual game-tying touchdown pass came off tempo, as Nix cycled through his reads while rolling out and found Evan Engram for a score.

    Nix has a 108.8 quarterback rating this season on play-action passes, and a 101.5 QB rating when taking less than 2.5 seconds to throw, according to Next Gen Stats. Generally, he appears to make quicker decisions when Payton speeds up opposing defenses.

    2. Nix scraps strange statue-feet habit

    As has been pointed out in previous Bo Nix Indexes, the QB is better when he actually sets his feet to throw — and more importantly, doesn’t drift. But Nix also has a particular mechanical quirk at the opposite end of the spectrum. At times, on quick-hits, he’ll take a snap and fire with only a tiny tap of his front foot, generating little lower-body momentum.

    Sometimes, it works out fine — like a second-quarter strike to Trent Sherfield, when Nix fired quickly to expose an opening in the middle of the Eagles’ zone. But it can also backfire.

    On a late Broncos third-quarter drive that stalled out, Nix had receiver Marvin Mims Jr. open on a short flare on third-and-2. He turned his body in Mims’ direction toward the right sideline. But instead of shuffling his feet again to point parallel at Mims, Nix planted near-horizontally and fired a sidearm throw. The ball sailed and tipped off an outstretched Mims’ fingertips for an ugly incompletion.

    Nix’s feet went topsy-turvy at times throughout the fourth quarter, as he’s wont to do. But each of his most visible strikes — a 10-yard hit to Troy Franklin, an 18-yard crosser to Engram, a pivotal 34-yard connection with Sutton — came with drive off his back foot. He switched off statue mode, and the Broncos were better for it.

    3. Nix deciphered and felt out pressure much more quickly in fourth quarter

    Broncos third-string running back Tyler Badie got more snaps on Sunday than rookie RJ Harvey, in large part because Denver trusts him more in pass protection (and two-minute situations). Badie absolutely wiped out Eagles inside linebacker Zack Baun on an early third-down ILB blitz.

    Harvey, meanwhile, got smoked by DeJean on a blitz on that same drive, and Nix nearly was dinged for a game-changing sack-fumble.

    That play knocked the Broncos out of field-goal range and an early opportunity to put points on the board. But it wasn’t all on Harvey. Nix had a few puzzling moments where he got himself into trouble against the Eagles by not feeling pressure off the edge.

    Harvey wasn’t even blocking DeJean on Nix’s blind side, and the quarterback had ample room to step up or even escape the pocket on that third down. This played out again in the second quarter, when Azeez Ojulari got an angle on Broncos left tackle Garett Bolles and hit Nix for an incompletion when he didn’t step up.

    Luca Evans

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  • Sean Payton, Evan Engram got ‘pissed’ at each other in Broncos’ win over Eagles. Then they clicked.

    Eventually, Evan Engram’s body language said enough for Sean Payton to speak up.

    The touches weren’t there on Sunday through three quarters. They hadn’t been this year. Payton trotted out reserve tight end Lucas Krull on Denver’s first offensive series of 2025 and has kept trusty Adam Trautman on the field for a majority of the Broncos’ snaps. As Denver sank in Philadelphia, their $23 million mismatch tight end again felt more like a mismatch for Payton’s offense than he did for opposing defenses.

    Payton sensed frustration, as Engram had one catch for minus-3 yards late into the third. And the head coach “got after him a little,” as Payton recalled postgame.

    Broncos Analysis: In dominating trenches vs. Philly, Sean Payton’s team finally has road map to loftier goals

    “I was pissed at him,” Payton said. “He was pissed at me.”

    The corners of Payton’s mouth turned up because of the breakthrough he ignited in an eventual 21-17 win in Philadelphia.

    “Don’t think I like it any other way,” Engram said. “I like to be coached hard. And Sean will definitely let you know when he’s upset. He’ll let you know even when he’s excited or happy, too.

    “So it was just good to start getting involved, and just help the offense.”

    Payton made an effort to call Engram’s number on a fourth-quarter drive that upended the game. And Engram made an effort, period. First came an 18-yard snag over the middle, as the 6-foot-3 Engram stretched for a fingertip grab on a first down. And as the Broncos motored into Philadelphia’s red zone with a chance to tie, Nix rolled out on a bootleg as Eagles outside linebacker Joshua Uche Jr. barreled down his line of sight.

    Running back Tyler Badie, flaring out of the backfield, wasn’t open. Courtland Sutton, Nix’s go-to man, was blanketed. So Nix did what he’s rarely done through five games: look back to Engram as a safety, sitting a few yards beyond the line of scrimmage.

    Engram caught Nix’s toss, ran through the diving arms of Philadelphia’s Jalen Carter, and dove into the end zone with his first score in a Broncos uniform.

    “He adds a level of experience, slash, competitive nature that not everybody in that situation has, especially not playing a whole lot, probably as much as he wanted to,” Nix said postgame. “But he never really complained, never wavered.”

    Broncos sending LG Ben Powers back to Denver after biceps injury vs. Eagles

    Payton confirmed that Engram wasn’t Nix’s primary read on that game-tying score. That’s a key development for Denver. Engram’s slow start hasn’t come from a lack of play design. Nix and Payton have both said previously that the Broncos have scripted concepts for him. The problem has been that Engram hasn’t lingered often on the field on plays where he’s not a first target, and Nix has rarely looked his way as an escape valve.

    This is a process, the 31-year-old Engram has said. He found the next step in a four-catch, 33-yard day that felt much bigger in the fourth quarter than on the stat sheet.

    Luca Evans

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  • Renck: In signature win for Sean Payton, Broncos prove they’re afraid of nobody with remarkable comeback vs. Eagles

    PHILADELPHIA — The quarterback fought frustration. The tight end remained in witness protection. The cornerback got cooked.

    The penalties, each more ridiculous than the last, mounted. The Broncos were on the verge of getting skunked.

    Then something remarkable happened. They finished.

    They met the moment. At last.

    Trailing by 14 points against the defending champion Eagles, who had not lost a home game in 13 months, the Broncos rallied for a 21-17 victory, surviving a heart-in-a-blender Hail Mary pass.

    Broncos Analysis: In dominating trenches vs. Philly, Sean Payton’s team finally has road map to loftier goals

    This game threatened to become a blowout. Instead, it became the blueprint. You saw it. Run the ball. Convert third downs. Use the middle of the field. Turn Nik Bonitto loose (not sure if he showers after games or just licks his paws).

    As the football sat lonely in the corner of the end zone with time expired, safety Talanoa Hufanga taunted Philadelphia fans, raising his arms in the air for dramatic effect. The swagger and confidence were no longer just a locker room thing, but in the light for everyone to see.

    The Broncos are back in every January conversation.

    They are 3-2 and should be favored in their next seven games. In a remarkable final 15 minutes, they transformed the lingering narrative that they were frauds into a story inspiring fear.

    These players, who were the equivalent of a clenched fist after walk-off losses to the Colts and Chargers, punched back.

    Enough was enough.

    Troy Renck

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  • Broncos TE Evan Engram on track to play vs. Bengals, still has ‘trust’ in team’s plan for him

    Evan Engram has been through the high of the highest and the lowest of the low, ex-Giants tight end coach Lunda Wells put it this offseason. These days, he tends to stay somewhere in between.

    The Broncos’ much-hyped tight end is back on track to play in Week 4, after two straight days of full participation in practice. It’s a Monday night chance to stabilize an early tenure in Denver that hasn’t gone to plan. In Week 1, the 31-year-old tweaked his calf . In Week 2, his back “flared up,” as Engram told The Denver Post on Friday.

    Engram said his back “feels good” on Friday, though, and largely shrugged off his rocky start.

    “I feel like God just kinda throws little curveballs at you sometimes,” Engram told The Post. “And I just take pride in responding to it the best way I can. And I think everything’s leading in the right direction.”

    After missing last week’s practices and game against the Chargers, the Broncos’ self-dubbed “cleaner” has returned to tidy up a messy offensive kitchen in Denver. Quarterback Bo Nix has lacked a consistent option over the middle, beyond Courtland Sutton on crossing routes. The Broncos still have yet to get any passing-game production from their tight ends, a room with a collective 10 catches for 63 yards.

    That lack of production is precisely why the Broncos signed Engram back in March. In the two games he’s played, though, Engram’s been on the field less than half of Denver’s offensive snaps — and coach Sean Payton made clear last week that injuries hadn’t played a factor in his on-field role.

    “I don’t know if there’s anything that hasn’t clicked,” offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said Friday. “I think, a little bit like the running backs, we’ve got a bunch of tight ends that we like. And they all do different things well.

    “But, yeah — we’re aware of what that guy’s strengths are. And he’ll be getting going here real soon.”

    Engram nodded when asked if he feels there’s a plan to escalate his usage.

    “I really do,” he told The Post. “That’s one of the big reasons why I came here, is because I trust the coaches. I trust their plan for me. And I think new things like this take time.”

    Engram noted it took a “couple weeks” to find his groove when he first arrived in Jacksonville in 2022, after playing five years with the New York Giants. Indeed, in his third and fourth games of that first year with the Jaguars, Engram had a combined two catches on four targets .

    Luca Evans

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  • Keeler: Can Broncos QB Bo Nix be fixed? Yep! But Sean Payton needs to do these 4 things first

    Can we really call Bo Nix’s feet “happy” when they make Broncos Country so miserable?

    If I’m Sean Payton, the first thing I’m doing with Nix is sitting the quarterback down in my office. The second thing is popping open my laptop. The third is showing Nix a clip of the last 45 seconds from the first half of Broncos-Chargers this past Sunday.

    The fourth is congratulating the kid for finding Courtland Sutton over the top for a sumptuous 52-yard score on fourth-and-2. The fifth is asking Nix to lean in closer to the laptop. To take a long, careful look at his tootsies on that perfect rainbow to Sutton.

    They’re set.

    Like a mighty oak. Right foot planted. Rock back. Smooth release. Easy money.

    Nix has 21 NFL starts under his belt. He still tippy-taps in the pocket like a skittish rookie.

    We love Bo because he can go “off-script,” which is football shorthand for improvising when stuff hits the fan. The ability to turn nothing into something.

    The problem: Nix’s feet are so fast, they’re sometimes two steps ahead of his brain.

    He’s a talented young man locked in an almost constant internal struggle. His upper half is running the play while his lower half is plotting an escape route.

    When the two are in tandem, you get Sutton walking, untouched, into the end zone. But those joys are rare these days. Bo’s mechanics won’t allow it.

    Sean Keeler

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  • Renck: Blaming refs for Broncos’ loss to Colts is just plain dumb. This one’s on Denver

    INDIANAPOLIS — Time to run mental lapses.

    And extra gassers at the end of practice.

    Here in Naptown, a poster with Colts players adorns the J.W. Marriott, paying tribute to late team owner Jim Irsay. It reads: For the Boss. For the City. For the Shoe.

    For the love of God, this ending was stupid. A series of cognitive disconnects, each more costly than the last, resulted in a 29-28 walk-off loss for the Broncos.

    This wasn’t just a Denver loss; this was the ultimate brain freeze. Like guzzling a 32-ounce Slurpee through a straw in a single drink.

    Unwisely conceived: Darren Rizzi, why ask Dondrea Tillman to try to block a 60-yard field goal from a kicker who has never made a 50-yarder? Poorly executed: If you are going to speed, even if by one mile per hour over, don’t get caught — and stained by failure.

    The Broncos were dealt their first loss of the season in their first road game of the season in a way that, as far as the internet can tell, was a first.

    In four weeks, if your friends ask you how the Broncos’ special season became ordinary, the story starts here. When they ask you at the office Christmas party why they have to win out against Kansas City and the Chargers to make the playoffs, remind them of the Colts.

    The Broncos put themselves in a dangerous position with upcoming cage matches against the Chargers, Bengals and Eagles by squandering a game the Colts were begging for them to win. Or at least coach Shane Steichen was as he performed his best Nathaniel Hackett Clueless in Seattle impersonation.

    When writing the Broncos’ history since Super Bowl 50, what unfolded before our wide eyes demands an entry. Let’s start at the end and work backward.

    Leading 28-26, the Broncos took possession at their 35-yard line with 8:29 remaining. On an afternoon when the offense finally awoke from its summer hibernation, this represented a chance for a statement drive in a benchmark game. Siphon the clock. Kick a short field goal, and let the beleaguered defense leave with its dignity with a clinching sack of Daniel Jones.

    Troy Renck

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  • Renck & File: CSU’s Jay Norvell approaches stretch that will determine his future

    When Jay Norvell talked about creating Canvas Chaos, this isn’t what he had in mind.

    The Rams are 1-1, but it feels worse after their escape against Northern Colorado. There are no Secret Santa gifts needed for Norvell at the office Christmas party after an all-time shocking reversal of a touchdown catch by the Bears.

    And whether it was or wasn’t a reception is not even the biggest issue surrounding the program. Norvell has a quarterback controversy. He called it a competition during the bye week practice. But that is never the case, especially when the three-year starter is losing his grip on the position.

    Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi sure looks like he peaked that chilly night in Boulder two years ago. He can’t help himself, falling into bad habits of throwing off balance, firing sidearm and into traffic. This is not the return Norvell expected on his investment. Not in BFN’s third season.

    Jackson Brousseau is getting first-team reps as Norvell mulls his choice. This decision should determine whether Norvell receives a contract extension. That’s because the Rams enter a seven-game stretch that will provide clarity on whether he should keep the job.

    CSU hosts five home games, including Sept. 20 against the University of Texas San Antonio on FS1. Washington State follows. These are not Cam Ward’s Cougars. The optics of this game remain important since CSU will be joining Wazzu in the revamped Pac 12 next season. Are the Rams competitive? Do they look the part?

    And Norvell knows after the latest white-knuckle scare that he better beat Wyoming. Nobody cares that the game is on the road. Waking up on Nov. 9 with a 6-3 record provides hope that Norvell made the right choice. The temperature is not dropping on this topic until Fowler-Nicolosi plays better or Norvell moves on from him.

    CSU’s athletic program is on a heater. The men’s basketball program, after a terrific March Madness run, was invited to the Maui Invitational in 2026 and recently signed guard Gregory “Pops” Dunson, the highest-ranked recruit since rankings became available in 2000. The volleyball team remains a force, and the women’s soccer team has entered the national polls at No. 25 for the first time in school history.

    Troy Renck

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