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Tag: jarrett stidham

  • Patriots QB Drake Maye rushes past Broncos to send New England to 12th Super Bowl

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    Third down, 5 yards to go, 2 minutes left in the game, near-blizzard raging. And what did New England quarterback Drake Maye do?

    He skated for 7 yards and a game-clinching first down in the Patriots’ 10-7 victory in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game at Empower Field at Mile High.

    In a game that ended with a 7-degree wind chill, the Patriots snowplowed their way to their 12th Super Bowl on a handful of crucial plays, many of them by Maye. He broke out of the pocket for six first downs, including a fourth-down play.

    “Those long legs came in handy,” Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs said. “He was running around, stiff-arming guys. He was making plays at a high level. He was being smart. I think the biggest thing in a game like this is just being smart and not turning the ball over.”

    Jarrett Stidham’s two critical turnovers doom Broncos in AFC Championship defeat to Patriots

    The Patriots will now play the winner of Sunday night’s NFC Championship Game between the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California.

    Maye completed just 10 of 21 passes for 86 yards, and he was sacked five times for 21 yards. But he carried the ball 10 times for 65 yards and ran for the Patriots’ only touchdown — a 6-yard sprint in the second quarter after the Patriots recovered a fumble by Denver QB Jarrett Stidham.

    “It wasn’t ideal,” Maye said of the conditions. “But our defense, they’ve been stepping up all playoffs. We’re going to play better. But man, I’m just so proud of this team.”

    Compare what Maye did to what the Broncos couldn’t do. They rushed for just 79 yards as a team and saw their season slip-slide away when they failed to get anything going in the second half.

    “Tip our hats to New England,” Denver coach Sean Payton said. “It was a hard-fought game. We weren’t able to get it done, and it’s tough, especially in this game.”

    A contingent of Patriots fans in Denver shouted “MVP! MVP!” when Maye took hold of the Lamar Hunt Trophy after the game.

    “I was just trying to control the football,”  Maye said. “What an atmosphere out here. We battled the elements. Love this team. How about the defense? I love each and every one of them, man. Pats are back, baby.”

    The game’s momentum changed with New England’s first drive of the second half. The Patriots ground out 64 yards on 16 plays and took 9:31 off the clock. The key play was Mayes’ 28-yard scramble on third-and-9. The drive ended with a 23-yard field goal by Andy Borregalles, which turned out to be the game-winner.

    “Today was just another example of when things kind of change and unfold, our ability to adjust things,” coach Mike Vrabel said. “We did enough things in tough conditions to win the football game.

    “When we got that field goal, our defense took it to them, and if they can’t score, it was going to be hard to win the football game, obviously.”

    Regarding his quarterback, Vrabel said, “The great thing about Drake is his ability to extend plays. If it’s not there, he gains chunks. He’s done that most of the year.”

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    Patrick Saunders

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  • Broncos-Patriots scouting report: How will Sean Payton, Jarrett Stidham handle tricky New England defense?

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    Patriots (16-3) at Broncos (15-3)

    When: 1 p.m. Sunday

    Where: Empower Field at Mile High

    TV: KCNC-4

    Radio: 850 AM, 94.1 FM

    Broncos-Patriots series: There’s some great, not-so-ancient playoff history here, between two franchises that will forever be tied to the names Manning and Brady. The last time Denver and New England faced off in the playoffs was the AFC title game after the 2015 season, as a fading Peyton Manning mustered just enough — 176 yards and two touchdowns — to put the Patriots away 20-18. Broncos cornerback Bradley Roby picked off a 2-point conversion try from Tom Brady to Julian Edelman to seal the win. Denver’s also 27-23 in all-time regular-season matchups against the Patriots.

    In the spotlight: Patriots defensive play-caller Zak Kuhr ‘keeps the dial spinning’

    Two weeks ago, after New England made Pro Bowler Justin Herbert look like a Pop Warner flameout in a 16-3 win over Los Angeles, Chargers players came up to linebacker Robert Spillane and told him they had “no clue” what coverage the Patriots were in all game. At least, by Spillane’s own admission.

    Now, the Chargers fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman a couple of days later, so that might’ve had something to do with it. But this is the evident genius of New England defensive play-caller Zak Kuhr.

    “He keeps the dial spinning,” Spillane said after New England’s wild-card win. “He keeps offenses guessing. All year, he’s been doing that.

    “For him just to be able to build those packages throughout the week, our back-end players to know how to disguise the different defenses, really keeps quarterbacks guessing,” the linebacker continued a few words later.

    Enter Jarrett Stidham, a quarterback with four career NFL starts who has Patriots defenders now guessing as to what exactly he’s capable of.

    “Nothing,” said New England defensive tackle Milton Williams in the Patriots’ locker room this week, when asked what he knew about Stidham. “Nothing. I ain’t gonna lie, nothing. We’re gonna watch the tape on him and figure out what he like to do, but, they didn’t like him over Bo, so.”

    Shrug.

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    Luca Evans

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  • Keeler: Here’s why Broncos QB Jarrett Stidham makes Patriots fans in Denver nervous

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    Justin Grant had Tedy Bruschi on his back and Brock Osweiler on the brain.

    “I don’t like the storyline with Jarrett Stidham,” he told me as we shivered on the second-floor deck at Jackson’s LODO early Saturday night.

    Then he corrected himself.

    “I hate the storyline,” Grant continued, adjusting his bright blue Bruschi replica Patriots jersey.

    “Why?” I wondered.

    “Because we drafted him. And he gave us two years and then he left. And now he’s, like, the guy who’s coming in. I just don’t like the storyline.”

    New England rolls an MVP-caliber quarterback into Denver — only to get beaten by a Broncos backup? Justin’s seen the movie before. He always ends up crying at the end.

    The last time Grant, who calls Colorado Springs home but grew up in Maine, saw his beloved Pats at Empower Field was November 2015. When Osweiler rallied the Broncos past Tom Brady in the snow.

    Talk about your classic PTSD — Pats Traumatic Stress Disorder.

    “I’m 0-and-1, man,” Grant laughed on the eve of the AFC Championship between the Broncos and Patriots. “We don’t have a good record here.”

    Sure don’t. The Pats are tied with the Steelers for the most Super Bowl victories (six) since the AFL-NFL merger of 1970. But they’ve never won a postseason game in Denver (0-4). Brady went 0-3. Empower Field was the one mountain too high for even the GOAT to climb.

    New England Patriots fan Brian Kureta screams among his fellow fans on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, at Jackson’s LODO in Denver. (Photo by Timothy Hurst/The Denver Post)

    “Honestly, man, after losing two Super Bowls to Eli Manning and one to Nick Foles,” Grant’s friend Jordan Buck, a Pats fan from Lakewood, told me, “I’m not overlooking anybody. But you’ve got to be confident in your squad, so I like my team’s chances.”

    Love them, though?

    Not after Osweiler. Or Foles. Or Eli twice.

    “Yeah, (Stidham) hasn’t played in a long time,” Buck shrugged. “But I mean, he played for us for three years, so he knows us well.”

    What did Broncos fans and Pats fans have in common Saturday? Stidham, who’ll make his first postseason start against New England in place of injured Broncos QB Bo Nix, was on the lips of both teams’ fans the hours before the biggest football game at Empower Field in a decade.

    New Englanders packed into Jackson’s LODO for a pep rally just within shouting distance of Coors Field. Most of the shouts were distinctly of the NC-17 variety.

    Patriot Pat signs New England Patriots fan Sumaya Faggan's bag on Saturday at Jackson's LODO in Denver. (Photo by Timothy Hurst/The Denver Post)
    Patriot Pat signs New England Patriots fan Sumaya Faggan’s bag on Saturday at Jackson’s LODO in Denver. (Photo by Timothy Hurst/The Denver Post)

    “I LOVE DRAKE MAYE!” a Patriots fan cried.

    “(EXPLETIVE) THE BRONCOS!” Another screamed.

    The “Night Before” rally was a brainchild of the Pikes Peak Pats fan club. PPP typically hosts a night-before primer on the eve of an AFC title game in Denver, but it’s been a while. January 2016 brought roughly 700 Front Range Pats fans together. PPP president Anne Stone told me they were expecting at least 1,000 this time around — if not more. With the sun setting and temps falling at 5:15 p.m., a line of at least 100 patrons was seen snaking out from the front door of Jackson’s and around the block.

    Near the DJ stage on the second floor, the Patriots’ “All-Access”  television show did a live shoot for the locals back in Beantown. Pat Patriot danced in one corner. A giant ice sculpture of the New England logo rested in another. Former New England kicker Adam Vinatieri, the Patriots’ honorary captain for Sunday, showed up for his “All-Access” cameo as faithful waved tiny cardboard heads of New England rookie tackle Will Campbell.

    “We all we got?” Vinatieri asked.

    “We all we need!” they cried.

    “We all we got?” Vinatieri repeated.

    “We all we need!”

    “That’s what I’m talking about!” Vinatieri said.

    Former New England Patriots cornerback Logan Ryan signs autographs for fans on Saturday at Jackson's LODO in Denver. (Photo by Timothy Hurst/The Denver Post)
    Former New England Patriots cornerback Logan Ryan signs autographs for fans on Saturday at Jackson’s LODO in Denver. (Photo by Timothy Hurst/The Denver Post)

    It’s OK to roll your eyes. But not at the cause. PPP ran a raffle during the rally on Saturday, with a plethora of signed Pats items, in order to raise money for the Pikes Peak Region Peace Officers Memorial.

    As a Boston native, Stone’s accent is thicker than chowdah, bless her, with a laugh that lilts like a fly ball onto Lansdowne Street. She moved to the Front Range 30 years ago when her husband got a new gig — and never left.

    The Pikes Peak Pats Club started in 2006. Stone became president a year after that. PPP counts about 90 active members now. Before the pandemic, it was closer to 400. Things are more transient now, with East Coast military transplants looking for a good watch pah-ty coming and going as Uncle Sam ships them in and out of the Springs.

    “It’s good,” Stone said. “You get to meet new people all the time.”

    Pats owner Robert Kraft has even visited PPP tailgates and parties over the years, although he wasn’t on the guest list for Saturday’s rally.

    And if Stone’s got any PTSD, deep down, she sure as heck wasn’t showing it.

    “To tell you the truth, in all honesty, I think a lot of people, all of my Pats friends, everyone’s hearts are broken for poor Bo Nix,” Stone said. “Some of us are old enough that he could be our son. Here was a 25-year-old who spent the night crying. It’s just awful.”

    A pause.

    And cue the “but” …

    “That being said, I don’t think we’re a shoo-in,” Stone continued. “I do think we’re going to win. That’s my gut reaction. You know what they say: ‘Any given Sunday.’ It’s true. And we don’t have good luck (in Denver).”

    Oh and four.

    As in, uh-oh and four.

    “That worry you?” I asked Grant.

    “Yes, it does,” he replied. “It worries me a lot.”

    He just wishes Stidham would stop giving him that old Osweiler vibe.

    “So hopefully,” Grant said nervously, “history doesn’t repeat itself.”

    Stiddy as you Bo, man. Stiddy as you Bo.

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    Sean Keeler

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  • Keeler: How can Broncos’ Jarrett Stidham beat Patriots? Gary Kubiak, Bubby Brister see a path

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    Eight no mountain high enough.

    “Oh shoot, I mean, he knows what he’s doing,” Gary Kubiak said of quarterback Jarrett Stidham, who’s slated to start Sunday’s AFC championship against New England. “He’s been preparing with Sean (Payton), he’s been preparing with Bo (Nix), each and every day.

    “I just think, as a coach, and I’m sure Sean (and Bo) have done that, just remind the kid what kind of team he’s on.”

    Funny how history rhymes, isn’t it? Kubiak wore No. 8 as John Elway’s understudy for almost a decade. Stidham now sports that same 8, Kubiak’s old number, as Nix’s relief, one cruel ankle twist away from the throne, over the last two seasons.

    Speaking as one No. 8 to another, our man Kubes, who coached the Broncos to the franchise’s last Super Bowl win a decade ago, offered Stidham eight simple words of advice.

    “Just get in there,” the ex-Broncos backup QB told me by phone earlier this week, “and do your job.”

    Handed the keys to a stock car in the middle of the race? Thrust into the driver’s seat on short notice? Asked to drive your team to the Super Bowl? Kubes has been there.

    Kubiak was Elway’s stand-in from 1983-91, the Cal Naughton, Jr. to John’s Ricky Bobby, a couple of buds shaking and baking all over the AFC West. While Elway was forging one of the great QB careers in NFL history, years of preparing and processing alongside No. 7 molded Kubiak into a championship coach.

    “Sometimes, you’ve got stretches where you may go a year or two years (of not playing),” Kubiak said. “Or you may get out there in a crazy spot.”

    Kubes landed one of the absolute craziest, right at the very end. He was carrying the clipboard for Elway at the ’91-’92 AFC Championship Game in Buffalo when the Broncos icon had to leave the game with a deep bruise in his right thigh.

    Kubiak had already made up his mind before the playoffs that the 1991 season would be his last, that he would retire whenever the ride came to an end.

    “And all of a sudden, there I am in the game,” the former Broncos signal-caller recalled. “It was kind of ironic for me, (spending) all those years backing up John, here I am playing in the AFC Championship Game and had a really good chance to win.”

    Gary literally went into that contest cold. Although he does remember it being surprisingly warm for upstate New York in mid-January.

    “It was an unseasonable 32 degrees in Buffalo,”  he laughed. “I couldn’t have played if it was cold. My back was too bad. I’m glad the Good Lord gave me a game I could play in.”

    Kubes played admirably, too. No. 8 completed 11 of 12 throws for 136 yards. His touchdown run with 1:46 left got the Broncos to within 10-6 before the extra point.

    Denver recovered the ensuing onside kick, but, alas, on the next play, Steve Sewell fumbled the ball back to Buffalo. Three missed field goals at Rich Stadium proved fatal. The Broncos ultimately fell, 10-7.

    “Our defense was really good (in ’91) — a lot like this Broncos team,” Kubiak said. “We were in a lot of low-scoring games. We missed a few plays in the second half. We had ourselves in a position there at the end and unfortunately, the ballgame got away from us … we had our opportunity, but it just didn’t end the right way.”

    How can this one end better? Kubiak likes that Payton doubled down on Stidham publicly, and almost immediately, after getting the worst injury news imaginable.

    “I used to tell my teams, when you’re a coach, you’re going to go through some QB issues and lose a QB,” Kubiak explained. “And I used to always remind guys that when you start to worry about what’s going on at other spots on the team, then you don’t take care of your job. Just stay focused on your job, what you do. ‘We’ve got Stiddy here, he’s going to be ready to play.’ You have to stay focused and (then do) what you have to do to help him out.”

    Bubby Brister went 4-0 as Elway’s No. 2 in the fall of 1998, keeping things afloat as the Broncos eventually repeated as Super Bowl champions. Brister told me Tuesday that he thinks 90% of the battle for Stiddy, to paraphrase Yogi Berra, will be half mental.

    “I believe Jarrett knows he can do the job,” Brister said via text. “He also knows he has a great team and staff around him. Not to mention Sean Payton is in his ear, one of the best ever at calling plays.

    “To top it off, (there’s a) big advantage playing at home with our awesome fans and at Mile High. Just go play! Just go do your job.”

    Even if that means jumping on a moving train. Sportradar says Stidham is only the seventh NFL QB since 1950 to start a playoff game during a season in which he never started once.

    The last three guys who’ve been thrust into that position since 2000 — Joe Webb (Minnesota, 2012), Connor Cook (Oakland, 2016) and Taylor Heinicke (Washington, 2020) — went 0-3. Their average stat line? 216 passing yards, one passing TD, two picks.

    Their teams scored 10 points, 14 points and 23 points, respectively. That’s about 16 per game. Which is asking an awful, awful lot of your defense. Even one as good as Vance Joseph’s.

    “He’ll be all right,” Kubiak said of Stidham. “The thing I always go back to is, it’s all about the team.

    “Denver’s got a great football team. Stidham, that’s Sean’s hand-picked guy. He trusts him. And he’s on a great football team. It’ll be fun to watch the young man. He’ll do a great job.”

    Eight no valley low enough. And just because Frank Reich was a leprechaun doesn’t mean you can’t get lucky all over again.

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    Sean Keeler

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  • Broncos fans: This feels like 2016 all over again

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    DENVER — For Broncos fans, 2026 has the energy of 2016 as the team advances to the AFC Championship.

    It’s been ten years since the Broncos last hoisted the Lombardi Trophy.

    “It definitely reminds me of that year we won the Super Bowl,” said Matthew Tomaine, who traveled from Atlanta to attend the game with his brother Ryan.

    The Tomaines were still buzzing from the playoff win on Sunday morning.

    “It was just so loud. The whole stadium was shaking. I don’t have a voice,” said Tomaine. “We were trying to affect the game as much as we could.”

    Tens of thousands of fans brought the noise and energy to Saturday night’s overtime thriller against the Buffalo Bills.

    Denverite Mario Macias was also in the stands at Empower Field on Saturday night, where the Broncos secured victory with a three-point lead.

    “It was loud. It was really, really loud,” said Macias. “We were up pretty big. And then they came back to get everything all tied up, and then we had to tie it up. I was nervous, honestly.”

    The victory, however, came with a sobering reality – a season-ending ankle injury for quarterback Bo Nix.

    “We’ve been walking out of the stadium a lot of times when they win, you kind of hear, ‘Let’s go Broncos!’ chants. Everyone’s kind of getting pretty rowdy,” said Ryan. “We were about 15 minutes into our walk back to the hotel, and the news started spreading like wildfire. It just kind of quelled down the emotions.”

    Despite the setback, Broncos fans still “Bo-lieve” backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham can get the job done in the AFC Championship game.

    “I think he’s gonna play like the rent is due next week and we’re gonna make it a Super Bowl,” said Tomaine.

    At Tom’s Watch Bar on Sunday afternoon, fans were split on who they’d rather face in the title game.

    “If I need to pick my poison, it’d be the Patriots,” said Macias.

    “I’d probably lean towards the Texans,” said Ryan.

    The staff at Tom’s is already preparing for another high-energy playoff weekend.

    “The staffing, the execution, the product, the prep for food, the prep for alcohol,” said Lorna Clark, operating partner at Tom’s Watch Bar. “We had the entire patio activation [Saturday] with McGregor Square, so we’re looking to do the same thing for the next week, seeing if we can get that approved, so that we’ll have more space for everyone.”

    One thing remains certain – Broncos Country is ready to make 2026 the new 2016.

    “I’m like, let’s get up early, maybe beat the rush to the store and get the [Stidham] jerseys, right, because we got to support the team no matter what,” said Ryan.

    Broncos fans: This feels like 2016 all over again

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    Denver7 | Your Voice: Get in touch with Adria Iraheta

    Denver7’s Adria Iraheta shares stories that have an impact in all of Colorado’s communities, but specializes in reporting on education and stories in Arapahoe County. If you’d like to get in touch with Adria, fill out the form below to send her an email.

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    Adria Iraheta

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  • Broncos’ Sean Payton hoped Giants would make QB change from Russell Wilson to Jaxson Dart ‘long after our game’

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    For a second straight year, Empower Field didn’t see a Russell Wilson revenge game.

    But Sean Payton was evidently hoping for one.

    The Giants benched the former Broncos quarterback after just three games this season, turning instead to first-round rookie Jaxson Dart, who continued a stretch of generally strong play with a 283-yard, three-touchdown performance against Denver on Sunday. For three quarters, he gave Broncos coordinator Vance Joseph fits, sliding laterally side-to-side in the pocket to negate a juiced-up Broncos pass rush. And postgame, Payton offered a note of praise to Dart — and, perhaps, a note of shade to Wilson.

    “They found a little spark with that quarterback,” Payton said.

    “I was talking to John Mara not too long ago,” he continued, speaking of the Giants’ owner, “and I said, ‘We were hoping that change would have happened long after our game.’”

    Wilson threw for 3,070 yards with 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions in his lone season under Payton in 2023, and then was benched for Jarrett Stidham at the end of the year. The Broncos, of course, then took on a record $85 million in dead salary-cap charges just to cut bait with Wilson.

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    Luca Evans

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  • Broncos’ Audric Estime on running backs after preseason win over Colts: “We have a bunch of guys who can do it all”

    Broncos’ Audric Estime on running backs after preseason win over Colts: “We have a bunch of guys who can do it all”

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    INDIANAPOLIS — One of the Broncos’ most heated position battles of training camp was on display at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday.

    The quarterback competition may garner the biggest headlines, but the running backs have locked into a fierce struggle for playing time — and that came through loud and clear in the Broncos’ 34-30 victory over the Colts in their preseason opener.

    Second-year running back Jaleel McLaughlin’s investment in a JUGS machine proved beneficial when he caught a 22-yard pass from rookie quarterback Bo Nix on a wheel route. Five plays later, rookie running back Audric Estime showcased his power when he steamrolled into the end zone for a touchdown to give Denver a 20-10 advantage in the third quarter.

    In head coach Sean Payton’s offense, the run game is essential. He is high on having a backfield filled with versatile players. On Sunday, nearly each running back impacted the game in a multitude of ways, as Denver outrushed Indianapolis, 131-64.

    “They all had a spark,” Payton said.

    However, their performance emphasized the tough decision looming over the organization of how many running backs it keeps on the initial 53-man roster and who.

    Javonte Williams started the game, rushing for 15 yards on four carries in the opening quarter. Then the young guys went to work. McLaughlin had 56 total yards (30 rushing and 26 receiving) on nine touches. He averaged 4.3 yards on seven carries.

    Estime had 10 carries for 31 yards while undrafted rookie Blake Watson was active down the stretch. In the fourth quarter, Watson showed why Denver signed him when he caught a short pass from Wilson before bursting down the sideline for a 33-yard gain. Watson finished with 10 touches for 59 yards, including 26 on the ground, and a touchdown.

    Tyler Badie had his moment in the spotlight when he ran 11 yards for a touchdown to extend Denver’s lead to 27-17 with 2:18 to go in the third. Denver’s offense finished with three rushing touchdowns.

    “We have a bunch of guys who can do it all,” Estime said. “We have smaller guys (and) bigger backs but no matter who you are, you gotta be able to (play) all three downs. I feel like it’s a great group of guys.”

    While Denver’s backfield had its moments, veteran Samaje Perine offered a lowlight. In the first quarter, Perine couldn’t control a short pass from quarterback Jarrett Stidham. The ball juggled out of his hands and was picked off by Colts cornerback Kenny Moore. The failed reception was his only target, and he didn’t have a single rushing attempt the rest of the game.

    As a whole, Payton wasn’t pleased with Denver’s ball security from the running backs, as they had two turnovers. In the third, Estime fumbled at the Broncos’ 47-yard line before cornerback Micah Abraham recovered the ball and scored to cut the deficit to 20-17 with 6:58 remaining. Later in the fourth, Watson fumbled a handoff from quarterback Zach Wilson that was recovered by the offense.

    “Those are the things that you gotta make sure you clean up (and) those guys will learn from that,” Payton said.

    During training camp, Williams, Estime and McLaughlin have stood out at running back. If Sunday was a reflection of what’s to come, that trio could be taking snaps this fall.

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    Ryan McFadden

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  • Keeler: Broncos put QB Bo Nix third on their depth chart? Sean Payton needs to stop trolling Broncos Country and get on with the rebuild

    Keeler: Broncos put QB Bo Nix third on their depth chart? Sean Payton needs to stop trolling Broncos Country and get on with the rebuild

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    Why does Sean Payton have to be such a pain in the ash?

    Jarrett Stidham is ballast. Zach Wilson is insurance. Any meaningful Broncos snap in 2024 that isn’t devoted to Bo Nix is a snap wasted, a dollar burned. A pile of cinders, right next to the smoldering $53 million you just gave Russell Wilson to hurt himself in Pittsburgh.

    Can we just get on with it? Please? Declaring Steady Stiddy as your starter, as Payton more or less did for Sunday’s preseason opener at Indianapolis, is just delaying the inevitable. It’s cute for cute’s sake. It’s either an epic troll job or a backdoor message to Nix, picked 12th in this past spring’s draft to be your franchise quarterback, that his present isn’t promised.

    “I’m not ready for a depth chart, but I have to get (the league) a depth chart,” Payton said after Tuesday’s practice. “So it’s easy to push the (younger) players to the back of the line and then make sure it’s kind of where we sit right now.

    “And that’s really it. No, it’s a good question, but I’m not trying to send messages at all.”

    Whatever. No. 10 turns 25 in February. Start the meter or get a different cab.

    This isn’t 2021. This isn’t about Drew vs. Teddy, about dividing the family and picking a side. This isn’t about an unproven coach who desperately needs to win now, the way Uncle Vic Fangio had to and didn’t.

    Broncos Country should be united around Nix, until he gives them ample cause, gives them enough evidence, to cut bait and turn the page. Which might be never.

    But dang it, there’s only one way to find out.

    It’s about 2025. And 2026. And 2027. Until then, you’re thumb-wrestling with the Raiduhs for third in the AFC West.

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    Sean Keeler

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  • Broncos podcast: Previewing 2024 training camp and Denver’s three-man QB competition

    Broncos podcast: Previewing 2024 training camp and Denver’s three-man QB competition

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    Denver Post reporters Parker Gabriel and Ryan McFadden cover key storylines as the Broncos get ready to start 2024 training camp under Sean Payton, including Quinn Meinerz’s massive contract extension, whether Pat Surtain II might be next and how the three-man QB race between Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson sets up in the coming weeks. All that and more on the latest edition of the 1st & Orange Podcast.

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    Parker Gabriel

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  • Youth, competition create excitement within Broncos offense: “We have a team full of hungry dogs”

    Youth, competition create excitement within Broncos offense: “We have a team full of hungry dogs”

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    As Sean Payton embarks on his second season as the Broncos head coach, he has felt rejuvenated.

    Denver’s offense has been sprinkled with youth, sparking position battles — and not just at quarterback — as players are try to make their mark on a team that’s in the midst of a rebuild.

    “I think it’s that challenge of working with a young team,” Payton said. “I think that’s the one thing I notice at least watching. I feel the competition.”

    Courtland Sutton didn’t show up to the Broncos’ facility until mandatory minicamp, but for the two days the veteran wide receiver was on the practice field, he felt the same energy.

    He said the offense is filled with hungry players who are determined to go on the field each week to prove themselves, which is one reason there’s excitement among the players and coaches about training camp.

    Indeed, the battle between rookie Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson for the starting quarterback job will be the highlight of the summer. But the competition at center, wide receiver and running back could be just as heated. The current state of the organization has created opportunity for first- and second-year players to step into meaningful roles this fall.

    “You have a lot of guys that are still on their rookie deal, just got drafted or (undrafted) free agents,” Sutton said. “(We have) a team full of hungry dogs.”

    Denver’s wide receivers room is filled with young players who have the potential to make an impact. After the Broncos traded wideout Jerry Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns in March, Marvin Mims Jr. has a chance to be a second option in the passing game. Denver also has rookies Troy Franklin and Devaughn Vele, both of whom could command significant playing time, depending on how they perform during training camp and preseason games.

    At running back, the one-two punch of Javonte Williams and Samaje Perine might not be guaranteed. The Broncos drafted former Notre Dame standout Audric Estime — who has been sidelined due to a knee procedure — and is viewed by Payton as a first- and second-down running back. Meanwhile, Jaleel McLaughlin and undrafted rookie Blake Watson have spent the offseason program displaying the receiving traits that Payton desires from running backs.

    With Greg Dulcich continuing to work his way back from injury, there’s an opportunity for tight end Lucas Krull to show the coaching staff that he can potentially be the pass-catching threat that the Broncos desperately need at the position.

    “It felt different this year in a good way,” Payton said of the competition level within the team.

    While there might be an emphasis on the Broncos developing their young talent, Sutton said the mid-career veterans have something to prove as well. Wide receiver Tim Patrick, who restructured the final year of his contract, is hoping to show that he can still be a reliable asset in Denver’s wide receivers room despite having back-to-back season-ending injuries — and despite the team drafting Vele, who has similar traits.

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    Ryan McFadden

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  • Keeler: Broncos landing Zach Wilson at QB? Smart. Settling on Wilson if Bo Nix, Michael Penix are available? Dumb.

    Keeler: Broncos landing Zach Wilson at QB? Smart. Settling on Wilson if Bo Nix, Michael Penix are available? Dumb.

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    Rescuing Zach Wilson is smart. Stopping at Zach Wilson is hubris.

    As a quarterback, Wilson’s merely appetizer material. If the NFL draft is still serving Bo Nix or Michael Penix Jr. as a main course, and at a reasonable cost, the Broncos would be crazy not to bite.

    A QB room consisting of Wilson, Jarrett Stidham, Ben DiNucci and a seventh-round flier to be named late would be the worst in the division (pending Raiderfoonery ). And arguably the worst in an AFC that’s still loaded with franchise signal-callers.

    In isolation, though, you get it. Landing Wilson from the Jets with a seventh-round pick for a sixth-rounder is a solid, low-cap, low-risk move. It just better not be the only one, at least where the quarterback is concerned.

    After Russell Wilson took the money and ran, the best thing the Broncos could do at QB1 right now is open this competition to the masses. Bring in as many bodies as you can afford until one of them actually sticks.

    And, on paper, this body’s got more upside than most. Maybe. The draftniks at NFL.com three years ago described the 24-year-old Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick in the ’21 draft, as a “blend (of) Jake Plummer and Johnny Manziel coming out of (BYU).” Which is both awesome (the Plummer part) and terrifying (the Manziel part) in the same sentence.

    On one hand, the kid did beat Russell Wilson, head-to-head, at Empower Field as a visiting QB with the Jets twice in two trips since September 2022.

    On the other, what the heck does that say?

    If you look at Zach Wilson’s 30 career starts against anyone not named the Broncos, he’s sported a 10-20 record, thrown 23 touchdowns and 22 picks, and completed 17 passes per game at a clip of 56.5%.

    Also, he got benched for Trevor Siemian. 2023 Trevor Siemian.

    Wiser football heads, old coaches and scouts texted me Monday to say they still see a spark in Zach Wilson, that nobody could’ve walked away from the dumpster fire that is the J-E-T-S without some second-degree burns. That maybe Broncos QB Whisperer Sean Payton — Russell Wilson notwithstanding — is the sensei who winds up bringing it out of the guy, the way he brought it out of Drew Brees, Teddy Bridgewater and Kerry Collins, another top-5 bust in his early days with Carolina.

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    Sean Keeler

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  • Renck: Russell Wilson went from “Let’s Ride” to “Last Ride” with Broncos, revealing dangers of desperation

    Renck: Russell Wilson went from “Let’s Ride” to “Last Ride” with Broncos, revealing dangers of desperation

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    From “Let’s Ride” to “Last Ride” in two years.

    Broncos coach Sean Payton filed for divorce from quarterback Russell Wilson on Monday. The only thing to figure out now is who gets custody of Thunder.

    I was enjoying my return to The Denver Post, stomach full of lunch and face sore from laughs. Then the phone pinged. Any time there is an alert in early March about an NFL team, it means you’re not going to be home for dinner.

    Wilson arrived in Denver in March 2022 determined to make history. This is not what he had in mind. The Broncos will take on an $85 million salary cap hit, divided over two seasons. No team has absorbed this much money for a mistake. As in, ever.

    When the Broncos acquired Wilson, he was viewed as a savior — a former Super Bowl champion capable of returning Denver to relevance. Somehow, inexplicably, he made it worse. He won 11 games for roughly $124 million, a return-on-investment cringe not seen since the Rockies shipped off pitcher Mike Hampton in 2002.

    It was not all Wilson’s fault, though his decision to reinvent himself as a pocket passer in 2022 under clown show coach Nathaniel Hackett and consistent failings in the red zone this past season left his fingerprints at the scene.

    No one quite knows how the Broncos became a quarterback nadir, replacing the Cleveland Browns. Peyton Manning retired, walking into a life of commercials and coaching youth football, and there became a sobering new reality. The Broncos did not know how to find a replacement. John Elway had as much to do with it as anybody when he whiffed on Paxton Lynch, leading to long-armed reaches into the island of misfit toys that included Joe Flacco and Case Keenum. When general manager George Paton took over in 2021, he inherited the mess at the league’s most important position. Watching the Broncos spiral out of playoff contention in the final month, he surveyed the AFC landscape and determined a franchise quarterback was a must.

    Tired of shopping for a couch on Craigslist, Paton wandered into IKEA and wasn’t going to take no for an answer. He traded four draft picks (two first-rounders, two second-rounders) and three starters (quarterback Drew Lock, tight end Noah Fant and defensive end Shelby Harris) to Seattle in exchange for Wilson.

    The trade now serves as a cautionary tale of desperation. The Broncos gave up everything and ceded all power to Wilson in the relationship. Getting a revised contract was always part of the deal to waive his no-trade clause, though he will never play a down on his five-year, $242.5 million extension.

    Wilson was given the green light to bring his entourage into the building and function as a pseudo-coach.

    It was an epic failure. With Hackett complicit, Wilson sacrificed a season trying to prove he could run an offense that was designed for Aaron Rodgers, the Broncos’ original 2022 target before he received a new contract from the Green Bay Packers.

    At one point in 2022, nobody was neutral in Broncos Country about Wilson. They disliked him. Or hated him.

    When the Broncos hired Payton 13 months ago, he made it clear he was not married to the quarterback. He would give it a season. It only took 15 games and he went to Jarrett. Stidham, that is. He became the 13th starter since Super Bowl 50 and was as underwhelming as those before him.

    It is important to remember Payton was not brought here to fix Wilson. He was brought here to fix the Broncos. That could not happen, he decided, with Wilson. The Broncos offense stank in the red zone and specifically in goal-to-goal situations. While Payton was rather ordinary on game day in his return after a one-year hiatus, he laid the blame on Wilson.

    Russ went off script. He failed to call plays quickly enough. He forgot to send players in motion.

    Payton, however, did the impossible and made Wilson a sympathetic figure when he benched him as it leaked out that the Broncos asked Wilson to adjust his contract during the bye week last October. Wilson’s $37 million in base salary in 2025 would have become guaranteed if he had remained on the roster past March 17. Denver wanted to move the date back. Wilson balked and explained in December that it was then that a benching was first broached. I don’t blame the Broncos for asking for relief, nor do I blame Wilson for refusing. The relationship was fraying at the seams.

    When the season ended, Wilson held a morsel of hope that things could work out as the team publicly kept the door slightly ajar.

    Wilson reached out to me last week, saying he “forever wished it was going (to happen) in Denver. I really wanted to win there.” His first year was a lost season for several reasons, including injuries — hamstring, shoulder, concussion. But he believed he played well last season, posting 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He was “grateful for long-lasting relationships,” but acknowledged it was time to move on from a “sad and disappointing” ending.

    No one will ever question Wilson’s work ethic or passion. He was better, but not in the eyes of the one person who mattered.

    Payton wants to run his offense — steeped in timing, execution and the ball coming out from the pocket. Scribbling outside the lines — Wilson’s strength — is not sustainable for the coach.

    Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton, center, stands between Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson (3), left, and Denver Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham (4), right, as the team comes out of the visiting tunnel before the game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada on Jan. 7, 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders took on Denver Broncos during week 18 of NFL season. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

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    Troy Renck

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