Everything the Denver Broncos have worked for is now in front of them. They have conquered the regular season and have the best possible position heading into the NFL postseason.
Denver, CO
Round Table: OKC Thunder vs. Denver Nuggets Round 2 Predictions
Round 2 begins on Monday night as the Oklahoma City Thunder play host to the Denver Nuggets. The OKC Thunder are the favorites to win the series, after a historic regular season game and a first round sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies. The Denver Nuggets are on the heels of an exhilarating win in Game 7 against the LA Clippers to punch their tickets to get to this spot.
Let’s go through and give our predictions from the Thunder on SI team for who will have the edge this series and who is the X Factor. Stay tuned to the site for complete coverage of the second round.
Prediction: Thunder in 7
The Oklahoma City Thunder are the deeper and more talent-rich team. However, the Denver Nuggets have experience and a core that has been banded together to win a championship. They are no strangers to stages such as this one. in the Thunder’s lone second round date to this point, things got tight for its rolodex of young players. They have to get over the hump and be able to make critical shots in big moments.
Oklahoma City should win this series, it would be a stark disappointment to fall short of the Western Conference Finals. Though, you can not discount the fact that Nikola Jokic, the best player in the world and Jamal Murray, who is a playoff killer, is on the otherside with competent pieces around them –– no matter how shallow the rotation is. It is the playoffs, expect big minutes from Denver’s best players.
Murray and Jokic will be able to put this team on their backs to win a couple of games, especially when you bake into the cake a shot variants game that see the like of Russell Westbrook, Michael Porter Jr. and Christian Braun all splashing in triples at the same time.
Though, with Game 7 at home, the better team will win, with the Thunder punching its ticket to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2016.
X Factor: 3-Point Shooting
This series, for as much as we can dig into the juicy storylines and star power, the winner when the dust settles will likely be who shoots the ball better from 3. Something has to give, the Thunder are chalk full of youngsters who have not proven it at this level from beyond the arc but are capable of nailing triples and the Nuggets are littered with players you would dare to shoot but could burn you. Who gets the better end of the deal?
Prediction: Thunder in 5
Oklahoma City is a heavy favorite in its second round series against Denver, and for good reason. This Thunder team is a well-oiled machine, and it’s easy to see Denver’s holes. The playoffs are all about exploiting weaknesses, and the Thunder should be able to really expose the Nuggets in multiple areas. Anything can happen with an MVP candidate in Nikola Jokic, but the strength of the Thunder’s team should be overwhelming.
X Factor: Isaiah Joe
A handful of OKC’s role players have already had a “playoff moment.” Isaiah Joe was accurate in the first round, but he didn’t quite have an explosion. He is very capable of drilling triples in bunches and changing the game entirely. As Denver tries to take away Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the floor will open up for shooters like Joe. I expect a game or two with some 3-point flurries.
Prediction: Thunder in 6
Oklahoma City won 18 more regular-season games and finished with a +8.9 higher net rating than Denver. Both squads have well-oiled offensive systems led by this season’s top two MVP candidates, but the Thunder has shown far more defensive consistency this season. It has also rested for a week and possesses home-court advantage.The Nuggets shoot very well from the field and grab many offensive rebounds, while the Thunder dominates the turnover battle on both ends of the floor. Oklahoma City should neutralize more of Denver’s strengths than vice versa.
X-Factor: Bench guards
In the first round, the Thunder recorded a 97.3 defensive rating in 53 minutes with Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace on the court. Meanwhile, the Nuggets registered a 126.2 offensive rating in 109 minutes with Jamal Murray – who leads Denver’s second-unit offense – and Russell Westbrook on the floor. Either guard duo must step up for their team to move on.
Prediction: Thunder in 5
The Nuggets are coming off a grueling seven-game series and will have to face one of the toughest defenses in recent history. Add in Denver’s reliance on its top players, and the Thunder’s depth and youth could give Oklahoma City an easier-than-expected trip to the Western Conference Finals.
X Factor: Russell Westbrook
The Thunder’s former MVP has been massive for the Nuggets this season and is also responsible for almost all of their bench production. If the Thunder can shut him down, any minutes the Nuggets’ starters rest could be disastrous. Meanwhile, for Denver to win, it will need a big series with some big moments from Westbrook.
The Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets begin its best of seven second round series on Monday with Game 2 taking place on Wednesday in the Paycom Center.
Every team in the NFL has injuries every season. It is part of the game and to be expected.
In having a dominant regular season that secured the #1 seed in the playoffs, the Broncos have allowed themselves to get healthy by and large at the right time.
The one glaring link missing is going to be Brandon Jones, who is going to be missed on defense. He’s a versatile, physical safety who has played exceptionally well in the Broncos’ defense.
But getting back inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw is a big deal. He’s an enforcer over the middle and is capable of covering backs and tight ends in the passing game (which is what the Bills love to target).
With Brandon Jones out, the news of P.J. Locke returning is welcome news. The Broncos are thin at safety, and he’s been the #1 backup for the safety group all season long. Hopefully, he’s learned from last year’s playoff game and won’t let Josh Allen pick on him as he did in last year’s playoff game.
Another key player getting healthy is Jonathan Franklin-Myers, who is an absolute beast of an interior lineman and a pass-rushing nightmare. With the style of pass rush that the Broncos employ on mobile quarterbacks, Franklin-Myers and compatriot Jared Allen could have big games up front.
At the end of the day, the Broncos have no excuses for this game. They are healthy, prepared, and playing at home. Now they just need to go out there and execute on Saturday.
Denver, CO
‘I can only imagine what it’s going to be like’: Broncos eager to play in front of home crowd as postseason football returns to Mile High City
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — By the time Bills quarterback Josh Allen steps to the line of scrimmage, that’s already too late.
The noise — the deafening roar of more than 76,000 fans at Empower Field at Mile High — must start earlier.
The yells, the stomps, the claps and the screams, as Head Coach Sean Payton emphasized Tuesday ahead of the Broncos’ first home playoff game in a decade, must start when Allen and the Buffalo Bills enter the huddle.
In the leadup to Denver’s playoff opener, Payton has touched on the importance of the noise coming earlier. He’s pointed to the difficulty of the quarterback communicating the play call in the huddle — and how the communication breakdowns could provide an advantage for Denver’s defense.
“There’s a stress that goes with that, too,” Payton said in mid-December. “That’s stressful. Creating that stress is a big advantage.”
Payton pointed to Empower Field at Mile High as one of just a handful of stadiums in the league with a potential to be truly deafening, and he called for that level of noise again when Denver hosts the Bills. The request, too, is simple enough. In 10-second bursts, when the Bills are in the huddle and as they line up to snap the ball, the noise should boom through the stadium. And then again. And then again. And again, for each of the Bills’ offensive snaps.
As Denver looks to book a trip to the AFC Championship Game, Payton knows that would be “a huge advantage” for the Broncos.
Wide receiver Courtland Sutton, who is poised to play in his first career home playoff game, said he is eager to see how Broncos Country shows up for a long-awaited postseason matchup.
“I’ve been saying since I got here that we needed to get a home playoff game back in the city,” Sutton said. “The way that the fans have been showing up, Broncos Country has been bumping.
“… I can only imagine what it’s going to be like, first [postseason] home game since 2015. It’s well overdue, and I’m excited to see Broncos Country show up and show out.”
Cornerback Pat Surtain II said he’s also ready for a raucous environment that could help push the Broncos to a win.
“I know the atmosphere is going to be crazy,” Surtain said. “The stadium is going to be rocking at [Empower Field at] Mile High, and I’m looking forward to it. … I can already feel the magnitude of it and how electric that stadium is going to be. It’s going to be exciting.”
Playing a postseason game at home, of course, is not enough on its own to guarantee a win. During Wild Card Weekend, four of the six road teams earned victories.
“We have to be ready to play our best game,” Payton said.
In key moments, though, the Empower Field at Mile High crowd could help swing the game in Denver’s favor, whether via a miscommunication in the huddle or a pre-snap penalty. And in a battle that could come down to the very end, that could help the Broncos improve upon their 17-5 home postseason record.
“I expect it to be extremely loud,” quarterback Bo Nix said. “I expect it to be a great environment.
“… Something tells me it’ll be kicked up a notch, just because it’s got ‘playoffs’ on it.”
Now that we’ve got some separation from the regular season and a week without Broncos football being played, I’m ruminating on what the Broncos are going to do on the field in the playoffs.
One of the big things I love about cheering for this team today is just how dynamic and cunning the coaching staff is on both sides of the ball. Sean Payton is the real deal, both as a head coach first and foremost and as an offensive coordinator. He’s constantly shifting the team’s game plan to match opponents, keep them off balance, and take advantage of weaknesses that show up on film.
As a guy who loves to play armchair coach during the season a bit, I’m going to share some ideas I have that seem like somewhat obvious tweaks to this offense we are likely to see in the postseason.
Go with the hot hand at running back
One issue I see on offense is the disparity at times in who is getting carries at running back when you look at the production on the field. Most of the last few games have seen Jaleel McLaughlin produce more consistently than RJ Harvey in raw run play production. I think one obvious thing we may see Sean Payton do is to let McLaughlin have more carries if he stays hot.
That’s not to say that I’m down on Harvey. I just think when a guy is producing, you should adjust to give that guy more carries at the running back position. RJ Harvey is a talented back who produces both on the ground and through the air (especially in the red zone).
The only aside I can see about this idea is that it is possible that McLaughlin and Harvey aren’t interchangeable from a play-call perspective. It is possible
Punish man / off coverage looks with quarterback scrambles
Bo Nix is a scrambling weapon with the ball. In the playoffs, if the defense wants to sink coverage or play man Nix will need to be quicker to take the ground yards. For much of the regular season, we’ve seen Nix stay very disciplined with wanting to throw the ball down the field on scrambles. There’s a fine line to walk with this, as sometimes you need to just punish defenses for ignoring your athletic capability.
Nix ran 83 times in 2025 and averaged 4.3 yards per carry. He easily could have had 100 carries with a more aggressive approach. Keeping Nix healthy means it is a much better idea for him not to take the risk in the regular season. He’s pretty good at taking angles out of bounds or sliding and knowing when to do that to avoid big hits, though.
The Broncos’ offense doesn’t really scare anyone, but adding this wrinkle in the postseason should help open things up quite a bit.
Get Mims and Franklin some deep shots
Easily the most frustrating thing about the Broncos’ offense this season has been their inability to connect on their deep shots. Nix hasn’t dialed in his accuracy deep down the field yet, which is a shame. The Broncos end up in a lot of man coverage situations and rarely are able to capitalize.
In the postseason, it is time to change that. We have both Marvin Mims and Troy Franklin, who are superb deep pass targets with killer speed. If the Broncos can get their run game production geared up, they absolutely will have opportunities to hit these deep plays.
Bonus No Bull thoughts on Sean Payton
Don’t get lulled to sleep by the last few games of the season. Everyone who knows football sees the same thing I have in my game reviews: Payton kept things vanilla on purpose.
It is a hard thing to watch a team go run, run, pass ad nauseum (am I right, Broncos fans who “enjoyed” the Dan Reeves era with John Elway?). That was strategic, not senile.
Sean Payton is one of the brightest offensive minds in the game (with all due respect to Kyle Shanahan, Andy Reid, and Sean McVay). He knows exactly where this team is at and what is at stake in the postseason. The Bills are going to have to go back to some old tape to try to sort out what our offense is about.
No matter what they prepare for, I expect a good dose of plays that they won’t know are coming. The world at large may think that the Bills are Goliath. That’s just fine. Payton knows exactly how dangerous a team can be when everyone thinks your team is a bunch of young Davids.
Oklahoma3 minutes ago
Absentee Shawnee tribal leadership responds after citizens report harassment by ICE
Oregon9 minutes ago
Oregon Receiver Evan Stewart’s Return Could Shake Up Ducks’ Offense
Pennsylvania15 minutes ago
Geospatial Study Ties Melanoma Hot Spots to Farming Practices in Pennsylvania | Managed Healthcare Executive
Rhode Island21 minutes ago
CRMC asks RI Superior Court to force Quidnessett Country Club to take down rock wall
South-Carolina27 minutes ago
South Carolina women’s basketball adds French prospect vs. Texas
Florida1 year ago
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Connecticut2 years ago
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
Oregon2 years ago
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
Virginia1 year ago
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Education2 years ago
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Politics3 hours ago
Republicans light cigars, cigarettes on burning photos of Khamenei to show support for Iranian protesters
World4 hours ago
EU Parliament questions defence loan’s ‘€17 billion gift’ to Hungary
News5 hours ago
Trump administration sends letter wiping out addiction, mental health grants
News14 hours ago
Video: Clashes With Federal Agents in Minneapolis Escalate
Politics15 hours ago
Venezuela releases multiple American citizens from prison following military operation
-
Montana4 days agoService door of Crans-Montana bar where 40 died in fire was locked from inside, owner says
-
Technology1 week agoPower bank feature creep is out of control
-
Delaware5 days agoMERR responds to dead humpback whale washed up near Bethany Beach
-
Dallas, TX6 days agoAnti-ICE protest outside Dallas City Hall follows deadly shooting in Minneapolis
-
Dallas, TX1 week agoDefensive coordinator candidates who could improve Cowboys’ brutal secondary in 2026
-
Virginia4 days agoVirginia Tech gains commitment from ACC transfer QB
-
Education1 week agoVideo: This Organizer Reclaims Counter Space
-
Iowa1 week agoPat McAfee praises Audi Crooks, plays hype song for Iowa State star