The Denver Broncos enter Week 17 in playoff mode. With a road tilt vs. the Cincinnati Bengals, the Broncos are in a do-or-die situation.

Nine wins is nice. Delivering the first winning season since 2016 isn’t nothing. But it’s a far cry from a playoff berth.

Win just one more game and you’re in. The playoffs await. The Bengals are even more playoff-desperate, though.

How will this game shake out? Let’s go around the table to see how the Mile High Huddle staff envisions this one shaking out.

Scott Kennedy (@ScoutKennedy) 12-3: Any inclement weather probably hurts the Bengals’ passing game more than it hurts the Broncos offense. Cincinnati has done a better job this season of protecting Joe Burrow, but they’re still only about league average in sacks allowed (18th, 37 sacks allowed). With more to play for, Denver leans on its pass rush and running game to get the win and clinch a playoff spot. 

Pick: Broncos 24, Bengals 20

Bob Morris (@BobMorrisSports) 11-4: The Bengals have won three in a row but all against teams who are out of the playoffs. This isn’t to say they’re a pushover but the Bengals haven’t been beating top teams recently. The offense is very good but the defense is not good. The key for the Broncos is to execute on offense. Do that and the Broncos will secure a playoff berth. Here’s betting they do.

Pick: Broncos 27, Bengals 24

Nick Kendell (@NickKendellMHH) 10-5: The Broncos defense has fallen dramatically over the last month. Improbable turnovers and defensive touchdowns have kept the unit afloat while the overall defensive output has faded. Fortunately for the Broncos Riley Moss will be back this week. Will that be enough for the defense to springboard back into a top 5 unit or will their recent play of mediocrity continue against one of the best offenses in football in Cincinnati? Time for Sean Payton and Bo Nix to step upand clinch that playoff berth.

Pick: Broncos 34, Bengals 27

Thomas Hall (@ThomasHallNFL) 10-5: Denver is going to take Broncos Country down to the playoff wire. The Broncos will be in a must-win situation in the final week of the season to punch their ticket to the postseason. The defense hasn’t been playing like it did earlier in the season and the offense has become afraid to be aggressive which spells disaster against a Bengals team still in the hunt.

Pick: Bengals 27, Broncos 20

James Campbell (@JamesC_MHH) 10-5: The Broncos have had a brilliant season which has defied expectations but face an exceedingly difficult task against the Bengals. In this one, Burrow cements his MVP credentials by carving up the Broncos’ secondary, with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins providing a very difficult matchup for Denver’s secondary despite Moss’ return. The Broncos should have their wins against the Bengals’ defense, in the air and on the ground so if there is any chance of a win for the good guys, it will come from generating long, clock-consuming drives that keep Burrow on the sideline.

Pick: Bengals 38, Broncos 24

Zack Kelberman (@KelbermanNFL) 10-5: Conflicted, I am. This game truly could go either way considering the Bengals’ ultra-potent offense and Denver’s regressing defense (which will get a boost with the return of Moss). Bad weather or not, this needs to be a situation where the Broncos’ offense does the heavy lifting — at least enough to combat Burrow, Chase, and company. Surely the Broncos can, and the team won’t blow another chance to lock up a playoff berth, right? I still ‘Bolieve.’

Pick: Broncos 20, Bengals 17

Dylan Von Arx (@DylanVonArxMHH) 10-5: The Broncos absolutely need a win on Saturday but it will be no easy task as Burrow is red-hot the past few games. The Denver defense will have its hands full guarding against Higgins and Chase but the Bengals defense is criminally bad. If the Broncos defense can get a few key turnovers, they’ll be back in the playoffs for the first time in forever.

Pick: Broncos 24, Cincinnati 20

Lance Sanderson (@LanceS_MHH) 10-5: We’re about to find out exactly how important Moss is to this defense. Burrow and Chase are shredding defenses this season, and Higgins is no slouch. Denver’s defense is in for a big fight, and despite the reminder on his call sheet, Payton hates running the football. This is a recipe for disaster, especially on the road with inclement weather.

Pick: Bengals 31, Broncos 21

Keith Cummings (@KeithC_NFL) 9-6: The biggest game since Super Bowl 50 dawns on the Broncos as they give off some desperate vibes. Maybe it’s the kick to the ribs the Broncos require, throwing away opportunities cannot happen again. It doesn’t. When they need it the most, Patrick Surtain II makes a fourth-quarter house call to seal the Broncos playoff spot.

Pick: Broncos 31, Bengals 24

Ron White (@RonWhiteNFL) 9-6: Although the Bengals defense is below average, the offense can go blow for blow with any of the top units in the league. This game comes down to the Broncos defense: Pressuring Burrow, limiting Chase and Higgins, and creating turnovers. Expect them to respond from last week’s collapse and get a hard fought win.

Pick: Broncos 28, Bengals 24

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Chad Jensen (@ChadNJensen) 9-6: I definitely ‘Bolieve.’ But the Broncos’ lack of second-half intensity and execution in a playoff-clinching opportunity disappointed me greatly. Payton’s lack of self-awareness as a play caller was disappointing, and I’m not convinced that Moss’s return will be the antitode to assuaging the Broncos’ precipitous defensive backslide. Burrow is out for blood, up against the wall with a slim chance of staying alive, so he’ll be out for blood. The Broncos definitely don’t want to leave their playoff destiny up to a showdown vs. the Kansas City JV team, but that’s what it comes down to.

Pick: Bengals 27, Broncos 24

Mike Evans (@MHHEvans) 8-7: The Broncos’ playoff hopes ride on their ability to dominate the turnover battle in a pivotal matchup with the Bengals. Denver’s third-ranked defense is primed to make the difference. Look for a late-game interception from Surtain or Brandon Jones to swing the momentum. Add in the Bengals’ 19th-ranked defense, and it’s easy to see the Broncos exploiting if they can generate a competent run game.

Pick: Broncos 27, Bengals 24

Luke Patterson (@LukePattersonLP) 8-7: Saturday’s game in Cincinatti will be the defining contest of Denver’s 2024 regular season. Should Nix and Payton will their team to victory, they’ll have surpassed all expectations for this season with a playoff berth. But if I’m being honest, I think that Denver is still one season away from being as dangerous as this Burrow/Trey Hendrickson-led Bengals squad, playing at home in sloppy weather. Hope I’m wrong.

Pick: Bengals 31, Broncos 24

Carl Dumler (@CarlDumlerMHH) 8-7: Vance Joseph took responsibility for the defensive struggles over this past month and is getting back one of the most important pieces of the defense with the return of Moss. The Bengals have been an offensive force but this is a game the Broncos get a great game out of the defense. Payton finally follows his play sheet, calling for the offense to commit to the run and the Broncos win a close one to clinch their place in the playoffs finally.

Pick: Broncos 27, Bengals 21

Erick Trickel (@ErickTrickel) 8-7: The Broncos make fans’ christmas wishes come true by beating the Bengals on the road the clinch a playoff spot. The offense bounces back after a rough few weeks, as does the defense. Surtain locks up Chase and the Broncos’ pass rush rattles Burrow and gets pressure as they go back to being an aggressive man-coverage team with Moss back in the lineup. The Broncos are playoff bound!

Pick: Broncos 31, Bengals 16

Kenneth Booker (@kenneth_MHH) 6-9: If Denver’s scoring defense returns to form, it has a solid chance of securing a victory. The Broncos need to apply relentless pressure on Burrow and, with Moss returning, they have a pair of cornerbacks capable of matching up against the Bengals’ talented wide receivers. Look for the Broncos to have a statement game against the Bengals as they lock up their first postseason appearance since 2015.

Pick: Broncos 34, Bengals  20

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I started the True West Awards in 2013 – the same year I started The Denver Actors Fund, an all-volunteer nonprofit that helps Colorado theater artists pay down their medical bills.

And I started both programs with a colostomy bag attached to my gut – the result of what I playfully call my “colon blow.” After a foot of it was removed in a frantic emergency surgery that left my stomach looking like a ballpark frank ’n beans in a bun, a clever local playwright named Josh Hartwell dubbed what remained as my “semi-colon.”

I had just left my job of 20 years at The Denver Post. Thank all that is holy, my health insurance had not (yet) left me. During the five necessary months between surgeries to put Humpty Dumpty back together again, I took a good look around at the community I had been covering as a journalist since 2001. I saw four people under 40 battling cancer. One, a local technician 20 years my junior, had just lost his entire colon. Another, who has since died, was a single mom. I saw another director who had been partially but permanently paralyzed by a botched routine shoulder surgery. Everywhere I looked, people were scrambling to help in disorganized ways.

When I finally had what they call the “takedown” surgery that took away my bag and gave back my life, I finally went on Facebook and told folks what I’d been up to.

I quickly heard back from a local playwright and distinguished military veteran who had done two tours in Afghanistan. He had a colostomy bag, too, and was way overdue for his second surgery because his military health benefits had run out – and his insurance company canceled his takedown. Now he would have to wait until he could fully pay off the first surgery before doctors could proceed with the second. To make a bad situation downright obscene, he had also run out of the disposable bags you have to change at least once a week or risk infection because he could not afford them. I asked for his address and immediately dropped off my extras on the porch of the modest duplex he was renting.

News flash (not): Our health-care system is broken.

Talking about all this with Christopher Boeckx, an actor, lawyer and now an Arapahoe County magistrate, it seemed so simple. If we had a fund with some money already in it, I could have gone online, ordered that man some bags and had them overnighted to him. From that, Boeckx and I started the Denver Actors Fund, which has since paid down Colorado theater artists’ medical bills by $1.5 million.

Around that time, I lost my journalistic stomach (pun intended) for dispensing traditional annual theater awards – the kind with nominations and categories and winners. Whether it’s the Oscars or the Henry Awards or my own original Denver Post Ovation Awards, no matter how positive your intentions are, you are going to leave those unnominated – and 80 percent of those that are – feeling like losers.

In my recovery year, I transitioned my old Ovation Awards into the True West Awards, a daily December writing project that aspires only to tell 30 positive stories from the year. I call it “30 Days, 30 Bouquets.” Think of them as an old-school ring-and-run that leaves flowers on an unsuspecting porch rather than a fiery bag of you-know-what.

With no categories or nominations, the hope is that, from one day to the next, those honored get a surprise boost during the holidays, and no one can feel dissed because no one (should) see it coming.

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Today, my worlds collide because I’m shamelessly using this platform of positivity in the Denver Gazette to lay flowers at those in the Colorado theater community who give back by giving to the Denver Actors Fund.

In 2024, 26 Colorado theater companies, five school groups and a select group of creative individuals proactively raised $134,000 for the Denver Actors Fund, which in turn has paid down Colorado theater artists’ medical bills by $236,000 for the year.

I can talk with all the bluster in the world about all the good my little side labor of love aspires to do for artists in this community. But it’s all talk without the companies that hire those artists stepping up and giving back. Because that $134,000 represents 57% of the funds we had to send out this year. One doesn’t happen without the other.

We’re grateful for the participation of all 26 of those companies, but three warrant special recognition because they have made the extraordinary ongoing commitment to donate 100% of all proceeds from one designated performance of every production to the Denver Actors Fund. They are the Littleton Town Hall Arts Center, which led the way with $27,103 in 2024; Miners Alley Playhouse in Golden with $21,656; and the mighty little Firehouse Theater Company at the Colorado Free University with $6,081. Others that help in large ways include the Arvada Center with $6,076, Candlelight Dinner Playhouse with $5,555 and Vintage Theatre with $3,296. BDT Stage closed in January, but not before raising $6,714 in one glorious night. 

Keep in mind, the DAF eligibility pool includes every artist in the state. And there are more than 80 theater companies in all. In the past 72 hours alone, we’ve helped a stroke victim pay for his cognitive, physical and speech therapy; an actor who’s recovering from an ovarian cyst; and another navigating the expensive terrain of Crohn’s disease.

Remember the guy with the botched shoulder surgery? That was Robert Michael Sanders, who has had a direct hand in helping to raise more than $125,000 for the DAF since 2013. Since he was named Executive Director of the Town Hall Arts Center in 2021, designated performances have generated $96,000 for the DAF. 

“From a person who did not know they would ever need the DAF to discovering first-hand how truly scared and lost and alone a major health event can feel, that all drew me to do everything possible to support this organization,” Sanders said. “When I went to my board and explained why this commitment is so important, they didn’t ask why, they asked, ‘How can we do more?’

“Who we are really helping are the performers on our stage, and on other stages, and the technicians and the backstage artists, so that they can continue to tell stories and take care of themselves. Without them, it doesn’t matter how many tickets you sell. You don’t have a show.”

But here’s what should make your heart grow three sizes: A huge chunk of DAF revenue is raised by young people under 18. Eli Testa, a now legendary (to us) college freshman, created a teen company called Future is Bright when he was 14 just to raise money for the DAF through an annual, all-kids cabaret that raised an astonishing $17,045 in January – and $37,000 over the past three years.

Students at Denver School of the Arts have held fundraisers for the DAF every year since 2014, including a camaraderie-building rite of passage called the Drama Dash that raised $9,645 in September, and $42,000 overall.

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This is why we do it

The margins at a small theater company like Firehouse are razor-thin. But Producing Artistic Director Helen Hand said supporting the Denver Actors Fund is important, “and we are committed to keep doing it.

“We are proud of the shows we are producing at Firehouse, but the reason we are able to do what we do is largely because of the artists who come here and work with us,” she said. “And they clearly appreciate our commitment to an organization that is committed to helping them. Knowing we have their back with regard to health care and other traumas they experience increases our credibility with our actors and creates a sense of partnership that results in better work.”

It matters to actor Candace Joice, who in 2020 held a bake sale that raised $369 welcome dollars for the DAF. She could not have known then that, four years later, she would need more than $8,000 in bills assistance to have some pre-cancerous lumps removed.

“That was an emotionally and physically taxing journey that spanned many months of 2024, including MRIs and biopsies and surgery,” Joice said. “ The Denver Actors Fund took away that huge financial burden so I could focus my energy into my health. What a beautiful gift. It’s no exaggeration to say that the DAF rescued me this year.”

But here’s what’s so organic about all of this: When Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company manager Mark Ragan read that the DAF had stepped up to help a woman who has performed with his company, he was moved to donate $10,000 of his own money to replenish the DAF’s coffers.

Community helping community.

Companies supporting the Denver Actors Fund in 2024:

• Town Hall Arts Center: $27,103
• Miners Alley Playhouse: $21,656
• BDT Stage: $6,714
• Firehouse Theater Company: $6,081
• Arvada Center: $6,076
• Candlelight Dinner Playhouse: $5,555
• Vintage Theatre: $3,296
• Veritas Productions: $2,376
• Creede Repertory Theatre: $2,342
• Beehive Productions: $2,000
• Wesley Players/Elitch Theatre:$1,910
• Cherry Creek Theatre: $1,040
• Shifted Lens Theatre Company: $1,034
• Dana Cain Events: $800
• Buntport Theater: $767
• Magic Moments: $728
• Benchmark Theatre: $700
• Give 5 Productions:  $556
• Two Cent Lion: $530
• Insight CoLab: $405
• OpenStage & Company: $243
• Theatre Artibus: $200
• Third Side Theatre: $200
• Aurora Fox: $150
• Everyman Theatre Company: $125

School groups:

• Future is Bright: $17,045 
• Denver School of the Arts Drama Dash: $9,645
• Cherry Creek High School: $2,000 
• Mile High Youth Theatre: $848
• MSU Denver: $298

Special events:

• Ebner-Page Productions: $7,779
• Applause for PAWS (Mary Dailey) $5,232

Note: The True West Awards, now in their 24th year, began as the Denver Post Ovation Awards in 2001. Denver Gazette Senior Arts Journalist John Moore celebrates the Colorado theater community by revisiting 30 good stories from the past year without categories or nominations.

Unsung hero of the day

Carter Edward Smith has had spent plenty of time in the acting spotlight, but 2024 “was an incredible year for his growth as a human and artist,” said his friend – and fellow bartender at Vintage Theatre – Luke Rahmsdorff-Terry.

Smith made his directorial debut this year with “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” but you would never know it was his first time, Rahmsdorff-Terry said. “He had a gentle hand with a lot of younger performers and helped guide them to some heartbreaking and hilarious performances.”

On stage, Smith appeared in Town Hall’s “Urinetown” and Candlelight’s “Scrooge.” He also made a little history by playing bag, bad Callahan in Sasquatch’s “Legally Blonde” eight years after having played the pervy professor’s teaching assistant in a run at Town Hall. “That was a fun little twist, and he brought some charismatic sleaze to the part,” Rahmsdorff-Terry said.

Speaking of Candlelight, another actor who made his directorial debut this year was Chas Lederer, with “Scrooge.”