Denver, CO
Renck vs. Keeler: Is Broncos underdog status at home vs. Packers ultimate sign of disrespect?
Troy Renck: No disrespect to the wise guys, but what the (bleep)? The Broncos won their 10th straight game Sunday, leaving footprints on the Raiders, and they are an underdog to the Packers? Huh? The Broncos boast an 11-game home winning streak, and they are not favored against a Green Bay team that lost to the Cleveland Browns? Come again? For the second time this season, the Broncos have been told they are not yet among the Who’s Who of the NFL. They are not a Who, but a What? As in what the (bleep)? It is one thing to be doubted against the Chiefs, but is Denver as a home underdog — 1.5 to 2.5 points depending on the book — against the Packers the season’s ultimate sign of disrespect?
Sean Keeler: As I’m typing this within sneezing distance of a casino, my nose tells me that the books must want more money on the Broncos. And with lines like that? They’re going to get it, my friend. Like, a lot of it. Although I also get where they’re coming from — since 2019, the Packers are 8-3-1 during the regular season in games played west of Omaha. And Green Bay QB Jordan Love is toting a ridiculous 14-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio away from home this year.
Parker Gabriel’s 7 Thoughts from Broncos’ 10th straight win, including why Denver can go far with Bo Nix, Game Manager
Renck: Gambling lines are not set to lose money. They spur action, and this game may be a pick ’em by Sunday. But the line is a punch in the face to the Broncos, any way you look at it. This marks only the seventh time a team with at least a 10-game home winning streak has been a home underdog. Denver won in this spot in October when the Chiefs were 3.5-point favorites. But that was the Chiefs, who had won 18 of their previous 20 games against the Broncos. The Packers are 4-1-1 on the road this season, with a loss to the Browns and a tie with Dallas. Sure, they have won four straight games. Big deal. The Broncos haven’t lost since Sept. 21. The last time teams with a 10-game winning streak were underdogs occurred in 2019 (Ravens) and 2020 (Chiefs) when both were sitting starters in the final week of the season. Denver deserves better.
Keeler: The Broncos do, but I wouldn’t take it personally. And I’d expect this line to wiggle a bit over the coming days as the cash comes in. Smart cookies already know better. The Packers hate — HATE, HATE, HATE, HAAAAATE — playing a Mile High. Broncos Country has hosted the Cheeseheads eight different times since the AFC-NFC merger. The Broncos have won seven, right? And five of those meetings were decided by nine points or more. Average score of those games: Broncos 21, Pack 12. This one ought to be closer.
Renck: History doesn’t matter unless it does. Playing at altitude is a thing, regardless of the season. The Packers are 1-7 all-time in Denver. For that reason, in a game of evenly matched teams, they should not be favored. And the Broncos have regained their home-field advantage with the crowd roaring again as it did during 2015. About that season. The undefeated Broncos hosted the undefeated Packers in prime time, and embarrassed Aaron Rodgers (14-for-22, 77 yards) in a 29-10 laugher. It became a touchstone game in a championship season. This is not the first time Green Bay has become intertwined with Broncos greatness. Denver won its first title, outlasting the heavily-favored Packers 31-24 in Super Bowl XXXII. A win Sunday will continue the thread of Green Bay contributing to Broncos’ special seasons.
Keeler: With apologies to my CSU peeps, big swaths of orange and green don’t look all that great together. Can’t wait for Sunday afternoon, when 80,000 Broncomaniacs won’t hesitate to help get Bo Nix over the line to 12 wins. That said, respect from the sports books has to be earned, dude. While their road wins at Philly and at Houston get a little bigger by the week, the Broncos have yet, as of Week 14, to beat a team with a winning record at home. (Thanks, Travis Kelce.) But with Empower Field tussles against the Pack (9-3-1), Jaguars (9-4) and Chargers (8-4) looming, Sean Payton and Co. are going to get at least three cracks to send a message to the rest of the NFL.
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Denver, CO
Denver Barkey scores first career goal as Flyers take down Oilers
Item 1 of 33 Jan 3, 2026; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Philadelphia Flyers right winger Garnet Hathaway (19) skates on the ice during the pre game warm up as the Edmonton Oilers take on the Philadelphia Flyers before the first period at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images
[1/33]Jan 3, 2026; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Philadelphia Flyers right winger Garnet Hathaway (19) skates on the ice during the pre game warm up as the Edmonton Oilers take on the Philadelphia Flyers before the first period at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images Purchase Licensing Rights
January 3 – Denver Barkey’s first NHL tally highlighted a three-goal first period for the Philadelphia Flyers, who beat the host Edmonton Oilers 5-2 on Saturday.
Travis Sanheim and Bobby Brink also scored in the first, while Nick Seeler and Owen Tippett each posted a goal with an assist and Sean Couturier added two helpers for the Flyers, who finished a 3-2-0 road trip. Dan Vladar made 22 saves for Philadelphia, which allowed 13 Edmonton shots on goal in the first period, but just 11 the rest of the way.
Connor McDavid extended his point streak to 15 games with his 25th goal of the season and Evan Bouchard also scored for the Oilers, who have dropped two straight and three of four.
Philadelphia made its mark early in the first period. Tippett passed the puck into the slot for a streaking Barkey, who beat Oilers’ Calvin Pickard (24 saves) for his milestone goal just 7:16 into the contest.
Barkey’s marker essentially set the tempo, as the visitors made it 2-0 with 9:29 left in the first when Sanheim beat Pickard from the right circle.
Philadelphia then extended its lead a little over four minutes later when an Edmonton turnover led to the puck deflecting into the net off the heel of Brink’s skate off a shot from Cam York.
Vladar, meanwhile, was solid by stopping 12 shots in the first period. However, he couldn’t prevent McDavid from scoring on a breakaway, which came off a Sanheim turnover in the neutral zone, with 3:52 remaining before the first intermission.
The Oilers made it 3-2 on the power play with 10:06 remaining in the second period. With an assist from McDavid, Bouchard unloaded a successful slap shot from the left point to give Edmonton at least one goal on the man advantage in nine of the last 10 games.
Philadelphia found some breathing room with 10:51 remaining in regulation off Seeler’s wrister for his first goal of the season. Tippett added an empty-netter as the Flyers scored at least five goals for the third time in their last six.
McDavid, meanwhile, has 14 goals with 22 assists in the last 15 games.
–Field Level Media
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Denver, CO
A franchise quarterback is vital to winning division titles
You might respond to this headline with ‘and water is wet’ and I wouldn’t blame you, but I was looking over the Denver Broncos history and how often they have won a division title. In their 65 years, the Broncos have brought home 16 AFC West division titles. That’s not very many, but given their first winning season was almost 20 years into it then it doesn’t look so bad.
The other thing I noticed is that only those teams who had a franchise quarterback type player under center did they repeat often as division winners. 11 of those 16 titles were won while John Elway or Peyton Manning were quarterbacking the franchise. Craig Morton won two backed by the vaunted Orange Crush defense of the 70s, but the rest were one-off division winners like Jake Plummer and Tim Tebow. Now that latter list includes Bo Nix.
The craziest stat that I found researching this topic was that all but one Broncos team that did not win the division were one-and-done in the playoffs. The lone team that wasn’t was that 1997 Super Bowl winning squad. Every single other team that finished second or third in the division and made the playoffs did not win a game once they got there. That doesn’t have much to do with the franchise quarterback topic here, but I found this little tidbit too interesting to not share.
As for the division winners, there were plenty of one-and-done seasons there too, but all of their playoff wins sans-1997 are also there.
The question I meant to get to sooner before going off on that side quest regarding the playoff outcomes was whether or not Bo Nix joins Elway and Manning or ends up with the Plummer and Morton’s of history of pretty good but not all-time great. A few playoff wins over the next month would certainly move the needle some before adding more division titles down the road.
Denver, CO
Denver police report increase in street racing arrests and citations in 2025
DENVER — Street racing continues to pose threats to Colorado drivers, so Denver7 looked into the trends we saw throughout 2025.
Denver Police report 80 citations and arrests as of December 17 for 2025. That’s 20 more than last year, according to Doug Schepman, director of communications for the Denver Police Department (DPD).
There is one strip of road in Denver we asked Schepman about specifically, after hearing from business owners that it’s particularly troublesome.
We’re talking about the 2000 block of S. Santa Fe Drive in Denver.
Michael Gray, owner of Discount Fishing Tackle, said it’s a weekly occurrence to watch or hear cars and motorcycles zip past.
“Recently, we’ve seen the kids on the motorcycles coming by with the front wheel in the air, going just as dangerous as can be, and especially dangerous because so many other people are going so fast on this road,” Gray said.
He said he’s noticed that as more turnoffs are removed and the spacing between traffic lights gets longer, more drivers tend to use it as their personal raceway.
“It doesn’t affect us really too much, but you don’t like to have something as dangerous as that going on all the time,” he said.
Schepman said patrol districts are aware that street racing occurs along this stretch of South Santa Fe Drive, and that officers are directed to patrol the area during periods when reports are more prevalent.
He adds that the community plays a critical part in helping investigators curb this problem.
The Colorado State Patrol said it has received more than 1,700 reports from the community this year.
You can continue to report street racing here.
Denver7
Denver7 | Your Voice: Get in touch with Allie Jennerjahn
Denver7’s Allie Jennerjahn covers stories that have an impact in all of Colorado’s communities, but specializes in reporting on crime, corruption and ways to protect your family. If you’d like to get in touch with Allie, fill out the form below to send her an email.
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