Denver, CO
‘[I’m] proud of how we fought’: Broncos close out two-week road trip with second consecutive victory
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Broncos are returning to Denver as a different team than when they left.
After starting the season 0-2, Denver hit the road for a two-week road trip that Head Coach Sean Payton said could provide a “better idea” of where the team stood. And as the Broncos now return to Denver back at .500, it’s safe to say the trip showed the team’s potential for the rest of the 2024 season.
“Coach Payton [kept] just kept telling us, ‘These two road games are going to define us as a team,’” safety P.J. Locke said after Sunday’s win against the Jets. “… [To] figure out what our identity is and come back home with two road wins, it’s awesome. We’re putting ourselves in the right position.”
Denver wasted no time in beginning to develop this identity during the two-week stretch. While traveling to Tampa and taking on a 2-0 team may have seemed to be a daunting task, the Broncos took control of the game with a touchdown on their opening drive and never looked back. The 26-7 victory showcased an improved run game, a stellar defensive performance and several other positive takeaways that left the team feeling confident and energized heading into Week 4.
The job, however, was far from complete. Denver then traveled to The Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia to train for the week and prepare for its upcoming matchup with the Jets. And although the team entered the week with an increased sense of confidence, the commitment to continuous improvement remained unchanged. For Payton, this helped paint a picture of what his team could be moving forward.
“It had a chance to be a pivotal part of the season,” Payton said Sunday of the two-week trip. “We’re early in the season, but you find out a little bit about everyone. … You kind of [find out] a little bit about your grit and toughness.”
And Sunday’s rainy matchup with the Jets in East Rutherford provided the perfect opportunity to do just that.
“Obviously [it was] a gritty win,” Payton said of Denver’s one-point victory. “[I’m] proud of how we fought. … [It was a] good team that we played, and we fought hard.”
While Denver’s defense continued to build positive momentum, keeping quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Jets’ offense out of the end zone, the Broncos’ offense struggled to find a rhythm early and failed to put any points on the board during the first half. Trailing by six at the half, courtesy of two Jets’ field goals, the Broncos found a way to battle back in the third quarter. Rookie quarterback Bo Nix led a scoring drive that was capped off with his first career touchdown pass, and kicker Wil Lutz later added a field goal that gave the Broncos enough points to pull out the victory.
“It was huge to go on the road, get two tough wins against two really good football teams, two tough defenses, two tough offenses,” Nix said. “… You find a way to win in this league, and that’s a big day.”
But for left tackle Garett Bolles, who described his team as “young” and “gritty,” the perfect ending to the two-week trip meant a little bit more than just adding another tally in the win column.
“I’m just very grateful,” he said. “This team is just so special. From the locker room, our relationships that we have, we’re just trusting each other, trusting in the game plan, trusting in our coaches and I think just the importance of a team. … Everyone just put their pride aside, and we just focused on each other these last 10 days. We got one in Tampa, but I think this one was a special one.”
Bolles noted that the back-and-forth nature of a game that came down to the wire is what made the victory that much more special, and running back Javonte Williams, who led the team in rushing yards, echoed this sentiment.
“Resilience [and] grit,” Williams said of what he believes this game showed about the team. “We can play in any conditions, we are super focused, no matter what the factors are. [We] just come out here with our heads up.”
As the Broncos now return to Denver to prepare for their second home game, they will look to continue to carry this mindset with them. For Payton, getting back to .500 was a great step in the right direction.
“[We went] into some tough environments,” Payton said. “You get on a plane tonight and you get back home at 2-2. That’s important.”
Denver, CO
Colorado State Patrol urges drivers to remain in Denver amid winter weather in the mountains
GEORGETOWN, Colo. — The Colorado State Patrol said the “best option” is to remain in Denver amid winter weather that’s impacting roadways in the mountains.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the agency said westbound Interstate 70 is closed at Georgetown due to unsafe conditions between Georgetown and the Palmer Divide.
There is limited lodging and parking in Clear Creek County, according to CSP. The agency said the “best option is to stay in Denver.” It is unclear when the roadway will reopen.
Eastbound I-70 traffic was held at the Eisenhower Tunnel due to a crash just east of the tunnel, according to CSP. The roadway has since reopened.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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Denver, CO
How Broncos’ Alex Singleton, Wil Lutz ended up in the Colorado Ballet’s rendition of “The Nutcracker”
If you find yourself in a Christmas chariot this week, perhaps a pair of Broncos will be carrying it.
Denver inside linebacker Alex Singleton and kicker Wil Lutz looked like pros over the weekend at the Colorado Ballet’s performance of “The Nutcracker.”
The duo made brief appearances in the ballet’s rendition of the Christmas classic on Sunday night at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House downtown.
They carried out a chariot with a ballet dancer inside at the start of the Arabian Dance. Then they stood on the stage and posed for a minute before their appearance was finished.
It lasted, Singleton told The Denver Post, maybe two minutes.
And it was nerve-wracking.
“Oh yeah,” Singleton said on Tuesday. “I didn’t know what to do. But it was kind of funny, we just stood there.”
The whole thing came about because the Broncos and the Colorado Ballet each have Dr. James Genuario on their medical staff.
That helped clear the path for Singleton, who is on injured reserve after tearing his ACL in September, to participate.
“That was my first question: Can I do it? And he was like, ‘Yeah, you’ll be fine,’” Singleton said. “I mean, I think the dancer weighed about 80 pounds and the carriage weighed about 10. So I carry more than that every day, which is nice.”
Range of motion is no problem exactly 10 weeks post-operation for Singleton.
“I got to 152 degrees,” he said. “Regular life is normal.”
Performing in a ballet, though, is hardly normal life. Singleton and Lutz had exactly zero advanced prep work for their big debut.
“I think it started at 6:30, we showed up about 6,” Singleton said. “At intermission, before we did it, they showed us how to do it and that was it. We just had to make sure the costumes fit us. … But it was really cool. We got to watch from backstage, meet all the people. It was really cool to see how it all runs and everything.”
Did you see Will Lutz and Alex Singleton in the Nutcracker with the @ColoradoBallet?🎄#BroncosCountry | @gs_off_field pic.twitter.com/Lon7TMqNj1
— Guerilla Sports (@guerillasports_) December 24, 2024
Singleton said he was not particularly familiar with “The Nutcracker,” Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet.
“I still don’t know the story,” he said. “We asked a couple of the dancers and they were explaining it to us. So I kind of know that it’s like a dream for the little girl where the Nutcracker comes alive, but that’s about it.”
Singleton, of course, was Denver’s leading tackler the past two years, a captain this fall and was calling Denver’s defense before tearing his ACL in Week 3 at Tampa Bay. The injury happened early in the game, but Singleton played the rest of the game with it before being told the severity of the injury that evening. He had ACL surgery on Oct. 15 in Los Angeles and then returned to spend time around the team and rehabilitate here.
Lutz has been a model of consistency in his second year kicking for the Broncos. Three days before appearing in the show he knocked home a pair of field goals against Los Angeles, including a season-long 55-yarder.
Lutz is now 29 of 32 for field goals on the season. The only kick of less than 50 yards he’s missed was a game-sealing block by Kansas City in Week 10. Lutz has also made all 38 extra points on the year.
His 90.6% field goal rate is sixth in the NFL among kickers with more than 20 field goal attempts.
On the Colorado Ballet’s social media channels, Singleton gave himself a 7 out of 10 and Lutz an 8 of 10, with the kicker saying he was proud that he didn’t blink once.
In the locker room, at least one teammate was skeptical.
“Oh my god, I had no idea what was going on,” tight end Adam Trautman told The Post. “All they did was pick something up. Now, if they’d have danced or something, that would have been elite. But no chance they can move like that.”
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Denver, CO
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