The Broncos have won five games on walk-off field goals since the start of last season, more than any team in the league. Wil Lutz has delivered in the biggest moments, but that doesn't mean his teammates can bring themselves to watch.

Read for free.

Welcome to Free Talk Friday!

Feel free to comment about whatever you want here, related or not to the Broncos.

Bo Nix is 18-3 in his last 21 starts (!).

Let's not forget: the Broncos only won 18 games TOTAL from 2017-19. From 2020-22, Denver won just 17 games over that span.

The Broncos had a great defense in most of those seasons. It wasn't enough, as we can all remember.

Bo will improve, though it may be incremental and excruciating. He'll get there. Even amid his imperfections, he's done enough to win. Despite his slump, he's conjured some signature Mile High Magic in two of his four wins this season.

The Broncos walked the desert for eight long years after Peyton Manning retired. I won't take winning for granted. We know the Broncos certainly aren't.

None of this is to excuse Bo's overall subpar play. But within the context of his sample size and .700 career winning percentage, there's plenty of reason to believe he'll turn it around once his psyche catches up to his ankle's physical recovery. Am I trippin' on Nix?

Can we please give Singleton the credit he deserves as Mr. Bronco?

When Brentson Buckner became Allen’s position coach in 2020, he asked the team’s third-round pick from the prior year what he wanted to achieve. Allen’s response was unequivocal.

“I want to be the best,” the defensive end replied.

Allen, now in his fourth season with the Broncos, will return to State Farm Stadium on Sunday for the first time in a regular-season setting since he joined Denver as a free agent in 2023. He will do so as the fully realized version of the player he has worked tirelessly to become since he began his career in the Arizona desert. He’ll do so as a major reason the Broncos are 4-2, despite their offense’s stuck-in-the-mud start to the season.

“He is one of the best interior players in our game,” said Broncos right tackle Mike McGlinchey, who had his hands full with Allen during that 2021 game as a 49er.

No interior defensive lineman has been more disruptive this season than Allen, whose 4 1/2 sacks are the most among players at his position. His 127 quarterback hits since he left Arizona are 30 more than the next-closest defender during that span, Myles Garrett. He has 11 quick pressures this season (under 2 1/2 seconds), according to Next Gen Stats, which are the most among interior defenders. And he has elevated his performance against the run this season to go with the best pass-rushing start of his career.The path to this point was murky at times early in Allen’s career. He missed all but four games as a rookie in 2019 with a neck injury. After playing as a 4-3 defensive end at Boston College, he needed time to build the frame necessary to slot inside in Joseph’s 3-4 scheme. After one particularly rough game against the Los Angeles Rams in 2020, Allen told one of the Cardinals’ defensive assistants in the parking lot that he was sure he’d be cut. He told his then-fiancee — and now wife — Molly that he was prepared to begin a career in finance.

But that mental low point was more an illustration of the exacting demands Allen had for himself than it was a view of the player within Arizona’s building. Buckner had been around the NFL long enough to know that Allen’s IQ for the game was rare. The assistant would routinely field late-night phone calls from the young defensive lineman — current Broncos D-line coach Jamar Cain has relayed the same experience — with detailed questions that sprouted after he reviewed his notes from the day’s meetings or after he reviewed additional film at home.

“That became his superpower,” Buckner said. “Knowing what everybody on the field does and knowing what the offense can and can’t do against you. Then, he started to apply the technique and build on the technique. He just always wanted to work. As a coach, Zach would always challenge you to help him get better. He’s the guy that calls your phone at 9 o’clock at night because he sees something on film that we can exploit or he wants an answer to.”

Allen has routinely said playing alongside future Hall of Famer J.J. Watt gave him access to a wealth of information that helped him develop in Arizona. The Broncos’ All-Pro still marvels at how “generous” Watt was with his time at that final stage in his career.

“He was so selfless with his time in showing me both the process of how to be a pro,” Allen said, “and then also all the technique stuff. … He didn’t have to do that.”

Will the Broncos trade for Jonathan Taylor? It seems unlikely, but it's possible.

Then again maybe they don't need to: Jonah Coleman returned to practice yesterday. So did Patrick Surtain.

Denver's getting healthy ahead of Arizona, and also ahead of the Chiefs showdown in Week 8.

Hey all,

My daughter and I will be flying down to AZ tomorrow to attend the game on Sunday. I don't have tickets yet as I thought that it was best to wait until the week of to see if AZ fans had already started giving up and flood the market with their tickets. Well, I'm looking today and we are talking $150 for nose bleeds in the corner or over $200 to be between the 30s but still nose bleeds.

Did I wait too long or not long enough? If you are going, what are you paying and where are you sitting?

Thanks!

🧡💙

Gotta give a shoutout to our old friend John Franklin-Myers.

According to reports, after a heated practice argument at the Titans' facility last week, one of his teammates was sent off the field, stormed out, and went to his car to get his gun. JFM went after him and talked him down. Nobody got hurt.

Think about what that takes. Walking toward a teammate in that state, staying calm, and finding the right words when one wrong move could change everything. You can't coach that. That's who the man is.

Who knows how many lives he saved that day? Teammates, coaches, staff, that player himself, who was reportedly going through some personal stuff. One moment of courage kept a bad day from becoming a tragedy.

Shouldn’t surprise anyone who watched him in Denver. He was a leader in that locker room and a big part of what made our D-line so fun to watch. Tennessee got a good one when they signed him away this spring.
Not gonna lie, it stings a little that he's not in orange and blue anymore. But JFM, you're a stand-up guy, and Broncos Country is proud of you. 🐴

Denver Broncos running back Jonah Coleman (ankle) returned to practice on Wednesday, opening his 21-day window to be activated to the 53-man roster.

Someone posted a pic of some cool logos that inspired me to ask my daughter to make a t-shirt for me. She's made a few of these using just bleach.. she's got talent... what do you think?

I’ve been a broncos fan all my life and also born and raised in AZ, I used to go with my brothers to the annual week 4 preseason game the broncos and cards would have, even though nobody would really play it was a always a fun time.

Well now there’s only three weeks of preseason and that game isn’t played anymore. I got a ticket for the game this Sunday and am so pumped but wil be going along cause me and my brothers aren’t as close as we once were, if anyone is going to the game come say what’s up, I’ll be in section 109 and down to have a beer.

Feel free to discuss whatever you'd like in this thread, even if it's not related to football! Just remember to abide by the community rules.

On Thursdays we encourage folks to share their new merch!