Broncos Country is getting ready to turn downtown Denver orange and blue and fans are being told to bundle up.

A free, family-friendly Denver Broncos fan rally is set for Saturday afternoon at Larimer Square, giving fans a chance to relive history and build excitement ahead of Sunday’s AFC Championship Game at Empower Field at Mile High. Frigid winter conditions are expected, but organizers say the cold won’t stop Broncos fans from showing up in full force.

The rally runs from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and does not require a ticket. Fans are encouraged to RSVP through the Broncos’ website before arriving. Admission is first-come, first-served.

The event comes nearly a decade after the Broncos’ last AFC Championship appearance, a 20-18 victory over the New England Patriots in 2016 that sent Denver to Super Bowl 50. That week, fans packed Larimer Square for a similar rally before the Broncos went on to win their third Lombardi Trophy.

Saturday’s rally will feature Miles the mascot, Broncos cheerleaders, Super Bowl trophies, live music, and appearances from team ambassadors. The official Broncos DJ will also be on site as the square transforms into a sea of orange and blue.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Atwater says events like this can have a real impact on a team’s mindset heading into a championship game.

“To get the chance to see all these people that are going to be there at the fan rally is going to be amazing,” Atwater said. “I remember we had something similar back in the day, but I’m sure it will be many more people here this time. It lets the team know Broncos Country is 100 percent behind them.”

Atwater, a legendary Broncos safety, played in four AFC Championship Games during his career, winning three, and was a key part of Denver’s championship runs in the late 1990s. He says that energy from fans can resonate inside the locker room.

Businesses along Larimer Square are also preparing for the crowds and the economic boost the rally is expected to bring.

“I grew up here and was here in 2016 when the Broncos won the Super Bowl,” said Shannon Manning, a sales associate at John Atencio Jewelry. “It’s exciting to see that energy revitalized again, especially for local Denver businesses.”

Despite the cold forecast, organizers expect a strong turnout as fans look to get the party started early ahead of Sunday’s showdown. Broncos Country is encouraged to dress warmly, arrive early and be ready to celebrate.

The Broncos host the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Fans who don’t want to brave the cold can watch it on CBS Colorado. 

Vance Joseph knows the knock on his defense.

Or, at least one of them.

Teams have had success throughout the season throwing the ball to tight ends, who often end up in coverage matchups against Joseph’s defense this season.

The Broncos in the regular season gave up the seventh-fewest passing yards overall but the sixth-most to tight ends. The numbers for opposing running backs are more moderate, but there have been instances of major hits against the defense out of the backfield, including long touchdown receptions by Green Bay’s Josh Jacobs and Philadelphia’s Saquon Barkley.

Joseph has a logical answer for why teams test his middle-of-the-field players.

“Our corners are really good players,” he said, referring to the starting pair of Pat Surtain II and Riley Moss plus nickel Ja’Quan McMillian. “Pat, obviously, the best in football in my opinion. And Riley is always close. Sometimes, in (defenses’) minds, their better matchups are with backers and safeties. They can control the leverage, which is smart. So we understand that.”

That approach, Joseph said, is nothing new.

“That’s been that way for two years now,” he said.

It will likely be that way again on Sunday in the AFC championship. New England’s offense is balanced and features a high-quality tight end in Hunter Henry (768 yards and 7 TDs in the regular season) and a pair of capable backs in TreVeyon Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson, who combined for 67 catches.

The onus isn’t just on inside linebackers like Alex Singleton, Dre Greenlaw and Justin Strnad or safeties Talanoa Hufanga and P.J. Locke, though they do have to make their plays in coverage.

Joseph said it’s on him to put those players in more advantageous situations, too.

“Having certain calls to help our ‘backers and safeties cover these guys is always important,” he said. “But also putting (tight ends and running backs) in certain structures where it’s pressure structures where they have to block first before they go out. You can cover a back or tight end with certain structures. He can’t leave until he blocks first. So, absolutely.

“It’s tough to find tight ends, especially on first and second down. But on third downs, that’s the matchup they want because they get the leverage they want. That’s just football. It’s always been that way for my defense. We understand that.”

Joseph, Bonitto up for awards. Joseph and edge Nik Bonitto each were named finalists for awards on Thursday and Joseph won one, too.

The defensive coordinator won the Pro Football Writers Association of America’s assistant coach of the year award and was named a finalist for the same award given by the Associated Press.

“It’s cool, but I go back to the players and the coaches and the entire team,” Joseph said. “When you win games in this league, coaches get rewards and players get rewards. It’s a team game. It speaks to our team winning.

“The more we win around here, the more people will get rewarded for doing their job.”

Bonitto was named one of five finalists for the AP’s defensive player of the year award, which Surtain won last year.

“I’m super excited when I saw that news,” head coach Sean Payton said Thursday. “They’re two great candidates. Vance has been outstanding and a big reason we’re here. Then Nik, with the season he’s had — you know how I feel when they do these voting things every once in a while.

“Bonitto is an All-Pro player and a Pro Bowl player, and I’m happy for both of them.”

Bonitto finished one vote shy of earning second-team All-Pro from the AP last week and was seventh in voting among outside linebackers. But his 14-sack campaign was enough to land him among the top five for an award given to the best defensive player in football. Go figure.

Broncos’ health trending up. Every player on the 53-man roster except for quarterback Bo Nix (ankle) practiced Thursday. Nix is a mere formality on the team’s injury report before he is transferred to injured reserve, likely Saturday.

When Jerome Síbulo left church choir rehearsal on a Wednesday night, he found his vehicle’s back windshield completely shattered.

The director of music and arts ministry had parked his car just outside of Trinity United Methodist Church, at Broadway and East 18th Avenue, when someone hurled a large rock into the glass on December 17. The rock was left sitting on the dashboard, Síbulo recalls. Nothing was stolen. There was no message or explanation for the crime.

It seemed almost random — except that the same thing has happened to twenty other cars belonging to church members since November, according to reports to church staff. And they’re not the only victims.

The Denver Police Department received 22 reports of broken vehicle windshields and twelve reports of broken building windows near Broadway from December 1 through January 7. Repeat incidents have occurred between 17th Street and Blake Street, covering a mile-long stretch of the boulevard.

“I work at the church part-time and I have other jobs, so I basically live in my car. Having my car broken into felt very violating,” Síbulo says. “But it didn’t feel like the harm was directed at the church members.

“It felt like someone disturbed. And it seems like it’s spreading.”

Police say the string of vandalism incidents began a couple of months ago, and they believe there are even more cases than they know about.

“DPD continues to investigate these incidents, including whether or not they are connected,” says the Denver Police in a statement. “We do not believe all the incidents have been reported to police and encourage anyone who has been victimized to report it. The more information investigators have, the more helpful it would be for the investigations.”

Emily Shupak says her car was attacked on January 3, while parked near the Brown Palace Hotel at Broadway and 17th Street. She was gone for no more than an hour between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. when someone shattered her back windshield, not stealing anything from the vehicle.

She claims the same thing happened to her partner’s car on December 26.

“It’s super frustrating,” Shupak says. “It’s happening to a lot of people, so it’s not just a prank. …It sucks for all these people who’ve been impacted, not just me or him.”

Shupak had to pay $510 to replace the windshield. “I’m a social worker, I don’t make much money,” she adds. Síbulo paid $486 to have his vehicle repaired.

Shupak says some witnesses told her that e-scooter-riding teenagers were responsible for the vandalism, while others claimed it was a homeless individual. Police are not releasing any suspect information at this time.

Such acts of vandalism are not typically common within the community, says Paul Smith, chair of the board of trustees of Trinity United Methodist Church.

“We’re in a neighborhood with a lot of unhoused people, and I don’t think this is characteristic of our experience with our neighbors there,” Smith says. “A lot of those people are very respectful of the church. Some of them are actually proactive in looking after the church, cleaning up trash and so forth.”

But beyond the broken windshields of church members, the building itself has recently been targeted.

Someone attacked the church’s stained glass windows on January 4 and January 7, Smith says. In one case, the vandal managed to break through the protective barrier and damage 140-year-old glass behind it. Smith estimates the repairs will cost upwards of $8,000.

“It takes a lot to break that glass,” Smith says. “Somebody really spent a lot of time hammering away on a couple of those windows. It wasn’t just throwing a rock and breaking it. The [protective] glass is very tough and very durable, but somebody really went to work on it.”

The church is in the process of installing security cameras, he adds.

Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to contact the Denver Police Department or Metro Denver Crime Stoppers.