Denver, CO
Denver Broncos secret weapon becoming known around the league
Arguably the biggest reason that the Denver Broncos are going to be playing in the 2024 NFL playoffs has been the quarterback play of rookie Bo Nix. The rookie out of Oregon by way of Auburn threw for 29 touchdowns and ran for four additional scores. He has been led this season by Broncos’ quarterbacks coach and former Giants signal-caller Davis Webb.
As the story goes, the Buffalo Bills had asked Webb to be their quarterbacks coach during his tenure as a quarterback in the AFC East, but he had decided to keep playing. Sean Payton was able to snag him as his QB whisperer, and his work in Denver has been impressive. In two years, the quarterback play of the Broncos has steadily improved and now reached the point where their 30+ touchdown rookie is arguably the biggest reason they are in the playoffs for the first time since 2015.
Davis Webb certain to draw interest outside of Broncos organization soon
Webb flew relatively under the radar in 2023, even as the quarterback play of Russell Wilson returned to a strong form. Since then, his name has begun to gain more attention on the national stage. As coaching changes begin to take place across the league, Webb figures to be a name that comes up consistently. As coordinator openings are now rumored and openings are popping up, Webb has already been tied to a fairly high-profile job.
Newsday’s Tom Rock shared on X that Webb could be a name to watch as the Giants continue evaluating their coaching staff after a disappointing 2024. Webb, a former Giants quarterback himself, could become a strong offensive coordinator candidate for multiple vacancies. If Vance Joseph, who has been tied to the Jets opening, is to take a head coaching job elsewhere after this year, Webb could be a strong candidate to follow him as an offensive coordinator.
It has been a decent amount of time since top Denver lieutenants were named in coaching searches around the league, but between Joseph, Webb, and the potential for others such as Pete Carmichael, Zach Strief, and David Shaw to get tabbed for jobs, the Broncos could be looking to rebuild aspects of their coaching staff in the next few months. However, there is no reason not to have faith in Sean Payton to once again build one of the NFL’s premier coaching staffs, just as he did heading into the 2024 season.
Denver, CO
Does Bo Nix spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E for Josh Allen? Experts make Bills vs Broncos predictions
The Buffalo Bills host the Denver Broncos at 1 p.m. Sunday at Highmark Stadium.
The Bills are 9-point favorites according to BetMGM.
The money line for the Bills is -450 (bet $450 to win $100) and +350 (bet $100 to win $350). The over-under is 47 points.
Democrat & Chronicle: Bills 24, Broncos 20
Sal Maiorana writes: “This is not going to be a walk-over for the Bills. Although their offense became the first in NFL history to score at least 30 touchdowns both passing and rushing, and it scored a team-record 62 TDs and 525 points, the Broncos figure to give Allen and company a big-time test.
“They finished third in points allowed (18.3), second in yards allowed per play (4.9), No. 1 in most sacks (63), third in successful QB pressure rate (37.4%), and third in red zone TD percentage (46.9%).
“The Bills had a league-low eight turnovers and given the fact that it will be tough to move the ball and score, at least at the rate they’ve grown accustomed to this year, they’ll need another clean game because a mistake or two might be all Denver needs.”
Jeremy Cluff writes: “The Broncos have surpassed our expectations this season, but it would really surprise us if they won at Buffalo, where the Bills are 8-0 this season. Denver is just 4-5 on the road. Highmark Stadium will provide a rude playoff debut to Bo Nix.”
Tyler Dragon writes: “The Bills won the AFC East for the fifth straight season. Led by MVP candidate Josh Allen, the Bills are the first team in NFL history with at least 30 touchdown passes (30) and 30 rushing touchdowns (32) in a season. The Broncos clinched their first playoff berth since 2015.
“The Broncos are ahead of schedule in their rebuild. It’s an accomplishment for Denver to be in the postseason. On the other side, the Bills are legitimate Super Bowl contenders. It’s going to be a tough game for a young, upstart Broncos club in Buffalo. Denver’s stingy defense will make some plays, but the Bills have the more talented roster.
“Buffalo hasn’t lost a game at home this season.”
ESPN Analytics give the Bills a 68.1% shot of winning.
Dimers’ model gives the Bills a 78% win probability.
— Bill Wolcott is a producer who helps cover the Buffalo Bills, high school and Rochester sports in general. The lifelong New Yorker has been a journalist for 30 years.
Denver, CO
Find out why Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton got a $500,000 bonus on Sunday
The final weekend of the NFL regular season brought the usual intrigue over which teams would clinch the final playoff spots and who would get the No. 1 overall draft pick. But there was also the smattering of money-packed milestones for some players who were within reach of lucrative contract incentives in Week 18.
Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton was among those players. He needed 82 yards receiving against the Chiefs Sunday for a $500,000 bonus. He got 98 yards on five catches in the Broncos’ 38-0 victory over Kansas City’s backups.
“Today, with you know, trying to keep track of some of those bonuses, those are good problems,” coach Sean Payton said after leading the Broncos into the postseason in his second season in Denver. “It’s hard to keep track of yards, catches are easy. Sutton needed 82 yards.”
Sutton had a fantastic regular season for the Broncos. He overcame a slow start and exceeded 1,000 yards — 1,081 (on 81 receptions) — for just the second time in his career. He called it “really dope” that the Broncos will be playing in a wild-card game and that the team gets to “continue this legacy of this season.”
Broncos linebacker Cody Barton also had an opportunity to make a little extra money before the end of the regular season, but it didn’t come to pass. He could have made $250,000 with an interception.
The mood in the Denver Broncos locker room on Sunday following the team’s playoff-clinching win over the Kansas City Chiefs was jubilant. Tones of triumph, relief, elation… the Broncos embodied it all and for understandable reasons.
Denver snapped its eight-year playoff drought, finishing the 2024 regular season 10-7. But before the Broncos could get into game-planning mode for the Buffalo Bills in the Wildcard Round, head coach Sean Payton finally gave fans a glimpse of the post-game locker room scene at Empower Field at Mile High.
For the first time this season, the secretive and protective Payton allowed the cameras in for his post-game locker room speech.
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You can see how excited and greaful Broncos CEO and co-owner Greg Penner was as he greeted the players and coaches at the door, exchanging hugs, fist-bumps, and words of encouragement. We learned from Coach Payton at the podium that his game balls went to the Walton/Penner ownership group.
“The game balls today went to ownership,” Payton said on Sunday. “They’ve been tremendously supportive. Man, I’ve been to a number of pro teams, but I told the players, you don’t get to pick a lot of times where you end up, but you guys are in a good spot. This is a group that cares about you.”
Payton has often talked about how big of a selling point the Walton/Penners were in his decision to come out of retirement and take the Broncos job. They rewarded Payton with a lucrative contract and traded a first and second-round draft pick to the New Orleans Saints to acquire his coaching rights.
Payton knew the long-standing tradition of winning in the Mile High City and was well aware of the legacy created by all-timers like John Elway, Peyton Manning, Mike Shanahan, and late owner Pat Bowlen, but in his NFL experience dating back to the ’90s, he believed that the caliber of a team’s ownership group is one of its predictors of the future.
“In today’s pro sports, I think it’s probably one of the bigger indicators of success,” Payton said of ownership. “I know for me, personally, when I went through this process, that meant a lot to me relative to where, and I said that it wasn’t like I was looking to choose to join Patrick Mahomes in this division, you know? But the ownership group here was the reason. They got the game balls.”
Kudos to Payton for relenting and acquiescing to the cameras being the locker room following Sunday’s win so that Broncos Country can partake in the message and the celebration. Now it’s on to Buffalo.
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