When the season started, few around the NFL expected the Denver Broncos to amount to much. A rookie quarterback, combined with a roster that was universally panned across the NFL media landscape led to very low expectations outside of Denver.
After an 0-2 start, all those doubts and misgivings seemed to be justified. But then something curious happened. The Broncos went on to win eight of their next 11 games, hitting their Week 14 bye at 8-5.
Riding a three-game winning streak and protecting a two-game lead for the AFC’s No. 7 playoff seed, the Broncos now emerge from the bye with something new to manage: expectations. Both Broncos Country and the NFL at large now expect this team to punctuate its impressive season with a convincing finish down the stretch.
With the playoff-desperate Indianapolis Colts coming to town, it’ll be interesting to see how Bo Nix and company shoulder those expectations. The Colts are no joke, so how do the Broncos emerge from Week 15 with another win and really load the deck for their first playoff berth since Super Bowl 50?
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Let’s dive in.
The Colts defense isn’t very good, but it is opportunistic. Ranked 29th in yards, 22nd in points per game, 14th in rushing defense, and 26th against the pass, the Colts are both bendable and breakable.
However, Indy’s saving grace has been its penchant for taking the ball away. With nine interceptions and nine fumble recoveries, the Colts rank No. 8 in takeaways.
Nix has gone three straight games without a giveaway twice this season, so we know how hard it is to get him to cough it up. If he can bounce back in this respect from his two-interception game against the Cleveland Browns, I don’t see how the Colts could stop the Broncos’ rookie quarterback.
The Broncos have momentum, yes. But the Colts are desperate. That intensity will bleed into the game, and the Broncos have to be prepared to meet and exceed it.
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But I like Nix’s outlook in this one. He’s kept his eye on the prize. It’s shaping up for another big passing day with multiple scores.
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The Broncos have been inconsistent this season in scoring early. It dove-tails with the above key, but Sean Payton’s got to cook up a great first-quarter script to put the Colts on their heels early.
Even an early touchdown will play into Denver’s hands. Colts second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson is very talented and presents a dual threat to the Broncos, but an early lead puts the onus on him to stand and deliver.
I like the Broncos’ odds of getting after Richardson with their first-ranked pass rush, especially if they’re protecting an early lead. This is also the type of opponent that the Broncos can’t afford to let hang around.
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The Broncos have to step on Indy’s throat out of the gates and never let up. Easier said than done, because the Colts get paid, too (turns out), and you never know what the limits of that fighting-to-stay-alive desperation are.
Richardson is 5-4 as Indy’s starter this season, with 1,511 passing yards and seven touchdowns. But he’s been picked off nine times, and has fumbled nine times, losing three of them.
That plays well into Denver’s predatory defensive nature. The Broncos not only rank first in sacks, but they’re tied (with the Colts) at No. 8 in total takeaways. The big difference between the Broncos’ and Colts’ respective defenses, though?
Pressure.
The Broncos have 47 team sacks while the Colts rank No. 15 with 32. This is one of those games where Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph would be wise to call man coverage and throw some blitz numbers at Richardson.
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Pressure, pressure, pressure.
Yes, starting cornerback Riley Moss is expected to miss Week 15, but the Broncos simply don’t play well in zone, regardless of the personnel. Playing zone coverage requires a certain level of communication honed through live-bullet experience, and this young Broncos secondary simply isn’t there yet.
Let Patrick Surtain II smother Michael Pittman Jr. or Alec Pierce, as well as nickel corner Ja’Quan McMillian. I’m hopeful that Denver will go with rookie fifth-rounder Kris Abrams-Draine on the boundary opposite Surtain, and if so, I like his outlook for playing physical, bump-and-run coverage.
Sticky man coverage can force Richardson to hold onto the ball a beat or two longer, which plays into the Broncos’ ferocious pass rush, led by Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper. The Broncos’ starting outside linebacker tandem has combined for 19 sacks this season, and that’s to say nothing of the three other players with five sacks of their own.
Joseph needs to atone for that abomination of a game plan against Cleveland, and specifically, the horrendous performance of the secondary, outside of Surtain and McMillian. Richardson has a big arm and explosive athleticism, but the game hasn’t slowed down for him yet.
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Confound the Colts quarterback with sensory overload and watch him throw it to the other team and cough it up. Victory awaits.
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PLYMOUTH, Ind. (WISH) — A 35-year-old Indianapolis woman was hospitalized and later jailed after state troopers on Wednesday afternoon pursued her in a high-speed chase on a snow-covered U.S. 31.
Online court records on Thursday night did not yet show a court case for Amber McDowell, but a news release issued Thursday night from state police said she’s facing primary charges including low-level felony counts of OWI and resisting law enforcement with a vehicle as a result of the chase.
Online court records on Thursday night showed an active arrest warrant for McDowell in Hendricks Circuit Court in Danville on multiple criminal charges, including misdemeanor counts of OWI, driving while suspended, having a false certificate for motor vehicle registration, driving with an open alcoholic beverage container, and speeding. She had failed to appear for two court dates in 2021 following her initial hearing in December 2020.
The release also said McDowell was wanted on an arrest warrant from Kentucky, though no details were provided.
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Wednesday’s chase began about 1:15 p.m. when troopers saw a red 2005 Chevrolet Cavalier car speeding northbound on a rural stretch of U.S. 31 near 14th Road in southern Marshall County. It’s about an 8-minute drive south of the Marshall County city of Plymouth. The northern Indiana county of 46,400 residents sits south of St. Joseph County, where South Bend is located.
The release said a trooper activated emergency lights, and McDowell accelerated and drove erratically, passing other vehicles on U.S. 31. McDowell lost control of her car about 14 miles into the chase, near the Marshall County town of La Paz. The car entered the center median of the divided highway, but she managed to regain control and flee about 8 miles farther north until she crashed into a concrete ditch on the U.S. 31 interchange for State Road 4 and the southern St. Joseph County town of Lakeville.
The chase reached speeds of nearly 100 mph, state police said.
Following the crash, McDowell fled from the car on foot before troopers fired a taser and then took her into custody. Upon her arrest, troopers said, McDowell displayed signs of intoxication.
News 8 on Thursday night reached out to the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office for a jail booking photo of McDowell but did not receive an immediate response.
INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis City-County Councilor Vop Osili announced his candidacy for mayor Thursday, becoming the first person to officially enter the 2027 race.
Osili, a Democrat who served as council president for eight years, surprised some observers in December when he announced he would not seek re-election in the position.
The fifth-generation Indianapolis resident is positioning his campaign around neighborhood-focused governance and his track record of bipartisan problem-solving during his 14-year tenure on the council.
“This campaign isn’t about ideology or political labels,” Osili said in his announcement. “It’s about whether city government is delivering the basics people rely on every day.”
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Osili and Mayor Joe Hogsett have worked closely together during Hogsett’s tenure, with Osili often serving as a key ally on council initiatives.
During his time as council president, Osili championed affordable housing expansion, helped launch the city’s first microloan program for small businesses, and led efforts to remove criminal history questions from initial city job applications.
No other candidates have formally announced their intentions to run for mayor.
Osili plans to hold neighborhood town halls across Indianapolis in the coming weeks to gather input from residents about campaign priorities.
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis woman has been charged in federal court with making threats against a member of U.S. Congress.
Shayla Addison, 28, has been charged with two counts of influencing a federal official by threat. She faces up to a decade in prison and a fine of $250,000 if convicted.
U.S. Capitol Police and the FBI said Addison’s social media posts, phone calls, text messages, and emails to the Congress member included threatening statements such as “Come outside b****, we’ll kill you,” “we will kill you b****,” and “tread lightly.”
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After emailing the Congress member, Addison did not stop. She continued to post threats on her Instagram account stating “Shut up hoe I’ll kill you” and “I hope you got mace… cause you gone need it hoe.”
On Tuesday, a guilty plea was filed in federal court on behalf of Addison. If the plea is accepted, the court will set a sentencing date.
This isn’t the first time Addison has made threats towards others. In 2019, she repeatedly called a Firehouse Subs in Brownsburg and threatened to shoot up or blow up the store. Her second incident was in 2023, when she threatened to pour gasoline on the front porch of a home in Marion County.
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