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Recap: Denver Nuggets pull away from Detroit Pistons in second half, win 131-114 – Denver Stiffs

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2 years ago

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Recap: Denver Nuggets pull away from Detroit Pistons in second half, win 131-114 – Denver Stiffs


The Denver Nuggets weren’t about to let the Detroit Pistons find any sort of feel good stories against them. Detroit was able to keep with Denver for a half but Jamal Murray was scoring with ease while Nikola Jokic issued masterclass on passing. Meanwhile the Pistons got hit with yet another injury as star Cade Cunningham was unable to finish the game. The differences between the team with the worst record in the league and the team that is the defending champs became clearer and clearer as the game went on and by the time it was over it was a full on blowout. Denver wins going away, 131-114

The Nuggets started off slow from the field. Murray was firing away and got a couple shots to go to keep the game tied. The Nuggets defense challenged every Pistons shot at the rim and kept Denver in the lead but they weren’t able to string together enough makes to grow it. Detroit kept shooting from three and had some success there to also help keep the game tight. As the quarter progressed it stayed back and forth with the Nuggets still clinging to a small lead. The benches checked in with the Nuggets up a couple possessions. Murray came back in to stagger with the reserve group and gave them some offense but the Pistons continued to be pesky with Kevin Knox hitting a couple shots. After one quarter Denver was up 31-29.

Murray opened the second quarter like he did the first, firing away and hitting shots. Otherwise though there wasn’t a ton of offense from the reserve group. Meanwhile the Pistons started to get things rolling. They went on a 13-2 run to take the lead and make Michael Malone take a timeout. After that Reggie Jackson had back to back nice feeds for his teammates to tie the game and then lobbed a pass up to DeAndre Jordan that he finished like it was 2015 DeAndre to take back the lead. Detroit pushed right back and probably would have got the lead back if they’d stop stepping out of bounds on the corners. Murray stayed cooking for the Nuggets while Jokic served as the distributor but the Pistons continued to be able to match Denver’s offensive output. That was saying something because Murray could not miss in the second quarter. The Nuggets closed the quarter strong and were finally able to gain a little separation. The half ended with Denver up 65-57 and Murray with 25 points.

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The second half opened with Cunningham not in the lineup for Detroit. Murray continued to be aggressive for the Nuggets and they started to finally grow their lead into double digits. Unfortunately they took their foot off the gas a bit and Detroit pushed the lead back down to eleven which had Malone taking an angry timeout. Out of the TO Murray knocked down a step back three to put him past the thirty point mark with more than eight minutes still left in the third quarter. The Nuggets got a little sloppy with the ball but the talent difference between the two squads was starting to become apparent and the lead stayed north of ten. Jokic was headed towards a career high assists (he fell two short) and picked apart the defense while the bench was checking in. The only thing that slowed him down was the referees getting their feelings hurt that they were missing calls so they called a flopping technical on him (absolutely was not a flop) and then gave him his fourth foul because he apparently didn’t let James Wiseman push him hard enough. Watson got it going with the quarter winding down as the game was quickly turning into a blow out. Jackson hit Watson with a behind the back pass for a breakaway jam to put the exclamation point on a great quarter for Denver. The Nuggets finished the third up 108-85.

Watson continued to give strong minutes to open the fourth, he had his whole game working from the driving to the shooting to the defensive menacing. The Nuggets kept shooting well and the lead kept growing. It started too look like Jokic’s services would not be needed in the fourth quarter. Just when Murray checked out though the Pistons went on a mini-run and pulled the lead back down to seventeen provoking a Denver timeout. The teams were trading baskets from there as the quarter progressed past the halfway mark. With just over four minutes to go Malone pulled the last of the starters off the floor with the Nuggets up twenty. The deep bench fully checked in at the two and a half minute mark and they were predictably sloppy which made this game a nail biter for those who took the Nuggets -16.5. Otherwise it was a laugher and even the Nuggets betting faithful was rewarded when Isaiah Liver missed a three with twenty seconds to go which kept a seventeen point Denver lead intact. Nuggets win easily 131-114.





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Denver, CO

Broncos offensive line is the engine that drives offense

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8 hours ago

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January 10, 2026

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Broncos offensive line is the engine that drives offense


I’ve been covering the Denver Broncos for his entire career and I remember writing up some pretty harsh criticism of his play early on — especially in regards to holding penalties. I recall at one point he was committing holding penalties at a record-breaking rate. He was so far above the rest of the field that he’d break charts if anyone tried to chart it. The best part of that saga is that he never let the outside noise (from me and many others) get to him. He worked on his craft and he got better. And then got even better to the point where it is pretty clear that he is one of the best left tackles in all of football. He is going to go down as one of the best tackles in franchise history too when its all said and done. It’s a great comeback story.

All that said, he wasn’t the only one of the Broncos players on that offensive line to make an impact with guard Quinn Meinerz also being named a PFF All-Pro player. The whole offensive line has been dominant in nearly every category and is the main engine that has driven the offenses successes this season.

4) Denver Broncos
Team OLi Grade: 83.0
Best-Ranked OL: Garett Bolles, 89.0 (7th overall, 3rd position)
Worst-Ranked OL: Alex Palczewski, 63.5 (159th overall, 61st position)

And one more to complete the picture comes from Sharp Football Analysis who has the Broncos ranked fifth-overall in their NFL Offensive Line Stats:

There is so much evidence that shows the trenches on both side of the ball is what has brought the success of the 2025 Broncos. It’s an area that Sean Payton has said in the past is always an area of focus. He knows you don’t win consistently if your team is being dominated in the trenches.

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Denver, CO

Here’s how the NFL typically handles the top seeded team’s Divisional Round schedule

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20 hours ago

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January 9, 2026

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Here’s how the NFL typically handles the top seeded team’s Divisional Round schedule


As the number one seed in the AFC, the Denver Broncos could end up playing on either Saturday or Sunday. It all comes down to which teams win during Wild Card weekend.

Head Coach Sean Payton was asked about the potential Divisional Round schedule and he said nothing is finalized. However, the NFL has been known to follow a certain schedule that could end up with the Broncos playing on Saturday if either the Buffalo Bills or Los Angeles Chargers win on Sunday and they’d play the following Sunday only if they had to wait until Monday for the outcome of the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers game.

The other thing with that extra week off is about preparation. One of the better questions the media asked of Payton on Friday was whether or not they do more advanced scouting on potential opponents they have not yet played this season.

“Look, there are four options,” Payton said. “One is in the division. We’ve played one two years in a row—or it feels like that with Houston. Buffalo. We’ll break down kind of all four and then look at… We’ll have personnel reports on the four… You do have enough time to look at third down, look at personnel packages, study situational football. I think that’s pretty common when you look at playoff history. A lot of times, you end up with a division team sometimes in the first round. I know that’s happened a number of times over the years with me. It’s hard to gauge how these other games are going to go not having spent much time looking at New England. [We’ve] seen Jacksonville. It’s one of those where you just watch them. You’re working while you watch them. You’re working on each plan, and then you go from there.”

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I came away feeling like Payton and the Broncos know two of their potential opponents fairly well. The other two will get some high level review, but nothing super deep as there just isn’t enough time. That is saved for this coming week when the opponent is finalized.

Payton and his staff have some great experience coaching in the playoffs, so this young Broncos team should be well-prepared for their football game.

Frankly, I like the idea of the Broncos getting their game out of the way early. Give Payton and his staff an extra day to begin the prep work needed for the AFC Championship game provided they come out with a win in the Divisional Round.



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Denver, CO

Denver weather: Snow tails off Friday, but morning commute could be slick

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1 day ago

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January 9, 2026

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Denver weather: Snow tails off Friday, but morning commute could be slick


The waves of snow that fell across Denver Thursday were expected to diminish Friday morning, but the roads could be slick for commuters, a weather forecaster said. The National Weather Service in Boulder said to expect a 40% chance of snow across Denver on Friday with a high temperature reaching about 34 degrees. That’s about […]



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