What grade would you give the Broncos for drafting quarterback Bo Nix at No. 12?
The Denver Broncos stayed put at pick No. 12 in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft on Thursday night to select Oregon quarterback Bo Nix.
The Broncos now have their new franchise quarterback (and a new catchphrase), but some fans and pundits have been critical of the pick. There was thought going into the draft that Denver could trade down from pick No. 12 and still select Nix later in the first round.
Broncos coach Sean Payton pushed back on that notion on Thursday night.
‘[W]hen the Chiefs selected Patrick [Mahomes] and you go back and tune into everything, it was said, ‘Well, they could have got him later.’ No, they couldn’t have,” Payton said. The coach knows that firsthand because the New Orleans Saints were going to take Mahomes at No. 11, but Kansas City jumped above them in a trade to get Mahomes at No. 10.
The consensus in 2017 was that the Chiefs could wait for Mahomes, but the consensus was wrong. We’ll never know if Nix would have been available later, but after five quarterbacks went off the board early, there was certainly no guarantee. (The Las Vegas Raiders, who picked right after the Broncos, would have been a top candidate to draft Nix if Denver passed on him.)
So with that context in mind, how would you grade the Broncos selecting Nix? Let us know your take by voting in the poll below!
How would you grade the Broncos’ new uniforms? Vote in our poll!
The Denver Broncos have unveiled new primary (orange jersey, blue helmet) and alternate (blue jersey, white helmet) uniforms ahead of the 2024 season.
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Here’s how the club described the new look, courtesy of a press release from the team:
A collective tribute to Broncos Country, the Broncos’ primary closet is emblazoned with unique aspects of Colorado’s landscape throughout the fabric and new navy metallic satin helmets. It includes elements of the Rocky Mountain Region and Mile High City intertwined in the design of the helmets, jerseys and interchangeable pants.
The jerseys are developed on Nike’s Vapor F.U.S.E. Chassis, an innovative and sustainable performance fabric.
Helmets: The primary closet features two new helmets: a navy metallic satin finish (navy facemask) that pairs with both home & away jerseys and a white metallic satin finish (white facemask) to pair with the alternate jersey. An orange stripe of triangle clusters symbolizing Denver’s peak in elevation is featured from the base of the helmets to the middle of the crown.
The front helmet bumpers display an orange “5280” to mark Denver’s mile-high elevation and altitude advantage.
Jersey colors: Maintaining the same primary colors of the Broncos’ brand identity, the home jerseys will be Sunset Orange, away jerseys will be Summit White and alternate jerseys will be Midnight Navy.
Sleeve: Echoing the pant stripe, the sleeve caps show a mountain peak created from the linework within the Broncos’ primary masthead logo. The under sleeve includes three perforated triangles that recognize the thinning air at high elevation and need for increased oxygen. They also pay tribute to the iconic summit markers atop Colorado peaks.
Nameplate: The font featured on the back nameplates is a nod to national parks signage located around Colorado. The rounded interior corners are a simplified look from the previous font.
Numbers: Taking design cues from the previous uniform, the new look will take on a more classic block-style numbering.
Neck tag: The outer neck tag is now a triangle label inspired by the iconography of summit markers found throughout the Rocky Mountain Region. The inner neck tag has “Broncos Country” emblazoned across the back along with “5280” embroidered vertically to represent the Broncos’ passionate fanbase and mile-high elevation.
Pants: The pants, which come in all three colors and are interchangeable with the primary jerseys, feature two contrasting stripes going down the side that vary based on pant color. The contrasting stripes merge a jagged mountain incline with a standard pant stripe visual, representing a mountain peak.
“5280” sits centered vertically on the stripe to mark Denver’s mile-high elevation and altitude advantage.
We want to know what you think, Broncos Country! You can vote in our poll on the new uniforms on Twitter or in the poll down below. Note that we are not asking for a grade on the throwback uniforms, only the new primary/alternate looks:
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Poll: Would you bring C.J. Gardner-Johnson back to the Lions on a $3.5 million deal?
C.J. Gardner-Johnson is the highest-paid member of the 2023 Detroit Lions to hit free agency with an expiring contract. The Lions paid the versatile defensive back $6.5 million for his one season in Detroit.
The Lions did not get their money’s worth with “Ceedy Duce.” He tore a pectoral muscle in Week 2 and did not play again until the regular-season finale against Minnesota. Gardner-Johnson finished the regular season with 16 tackles and one INT in three games, primarily playing at single-high safety but also with a healthy dose of box safety and slot corner mixed in.
In 2022 with the Eagles, Gardner-Johnson led the NFL in interceptions with six picks in just 12 games. The 26-year-old offers up a fiery personality and is one of the NFL’s premier trash-talkers, and he’s often backed it up nicely — just not so much in Detroit.
If Gardner-Johnson wants to return to Detroit on a one-year, $3.5 million deal, would you want him back in a Lions uniform?
IT is Jordan Love vs. Dak Prescott. Who wins this postseason matchup?
The Arizona Cardinals are not in the playoffs and that means Cardinals fans will be watching other teams compete for a right to play in the Super Bowl.
The first of two Sunday wild card games has the Green Bay Packers facing the Dallas Cowboys.
The Packers won three games in row and six of their final eight to earn a wild card berth in their first season without Aaron Rodgers. Jordan Love was really good this season, throwing 32 touchdown passes and passing for more than 4,100 yards.
The Cowboys went undefeated at home and won six of those home games by 20 or more points. They won the NFC East. Dak Prescott had an amazing season, throwing 35 touchdown passes and only nine interceptions. He had over 4,500 passing yards.
Who will win this matchup? Vote in the poll:
Kickoff from AT&T Stadium is at 4:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. Arizona time) on FOX.
The New England Patriots will keep the Champagne on ice on Sunday afternoon when traveling to Orchard Park for a Week 17 New Year’s Eve showdown with the Buffalo Bills.
An unexpected road scare against the Los Angeles Chargers had the Bills looking vulnerable after back-to-back wins over the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs. They’ll try to bounce back by making an example out of the Patriots team that beat them back in October.
However, this is a much different Patriots team than the one they initially faced.
Bailey Zappe is now the starting quarterback, and the team has been dealt multiple injury blows. It doesn’t make the Patriots any less dangerous, though, as the Denver Broncos learned last week.
Zappe and the offense put together a game-winning drive, which culminated in a 56-yard field goal kick from rookie Chad Ryland for an upset.
They’ll need even greater magic to knock off the Bills at Highmark Stadium, which is still one of the toughest places to play at in the NFL.
Are you fine with the Patriots winning games if it means Bailey Zappe at QB in 2024?
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The New England Patriots fan-base is obviously split down the middle on the whole tanking topic.
Some would prefer for the team to lose football games and have a real shot at landing Caleb Williams, Drake Maye or at least Jayden Daniels in the 2024 NFL draft. Meanwhile, others would rather see the team go out on their shield and win as many games as possible.
The Patriots could potentially finish the season with six wins with their last two games being a road meeting with the Buffalo Bills and a home game against the New York Jets. They’ve beaten the Jets 15 straight times, and they upset Buffalo at Gillette Stadium earlier in the season.
The Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders and New York Giants could all be teams looking to draft a quarterback. Does winning football games make sense for the Patriots if it means more Bailey Zappe at quarterback next season?
In that situation, the Patriots could use their draft picks to address other needs on the roster, such as wide receiver and offensive line. But they’d be skipping on adding a possible generational talent under center to help lead the way into the future.
Of course, there’s always the option of trading up, but it could take a massive haul to climb up the draft board. They’d also have to hope to find a willing trade partner.
There are no right or wrong answers for a team that’s just looking to compete. But their willingness to do so and whatever comes after could impact the future for years to come.
Not even Santa Claus could save the New England Patriots from a historically bad season, but he might be able to help them get their fourth win in Sunday’s Christmas Eve tilt against the Denver Broncos.
However, the Patriots won’t be the only team with the Christmas wish of winning their primetime Week 16 matchup.
The Broncos are barely hanging on by a thread with their playoff hopes nearly dead in the water. So this is clearly a must-win game for them at home. They got blown out last week by the Detroit Lions, and there will be plenty of motivation for them to knock off a Patriots team that is amongst the worst in the league.
Coach Sean Payton has them playing like a well-oiled machine. They don’t make a bunch of mistakes, and so far, they’ve stuck well to his script. But their defense is vulnerable against the run, and even with Rhamondre Stevenson, the Patriots have two capable gashers in Ezekiel Elliott and Kevin Harris.
Will the banged-up offensive line hold up its end for New England? The answer to that question could mean the difference between a win and a loss on Sunday.
A clash between the New England Patriots and the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs takes center stage at Foxborough on Sunday.
This game felt like a surefire blowout on the schedule a few weeks ago, but so much has changed for both teams.
Granted, the Patriots haven’t been good, but the offense played well enough to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the defense has been lights out. Bailey Zappe has replaced Mac Jones as the starting quarterback.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs went from world-beaters to back-to-back losses and a complete meltdown by quarterback Patrick Mahomes. They’re looking as vulnerable as they’ve ever looked these days heading into a matchup against a legendary coach that can scheme up ways to give them headaches.
But there isn’t much trust to be had for a Patriots team that’s still sitting at 3-10 with no hopes of making the playoffs. It would be quite the miracle to see them pull this one off, but then again, this has been an odd season with wacky outcomes seemingly on a weekly basis.
The New England Patriots will try to snap a five-game losing streak in Thursday’s road trip to Pennsylvania for a primetime clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It’s the tale of two backup quarterbacks with the Patriots likely starting Bailey Zappe for a second straight week under center, while Mitchell Trubisky continues filling in for injured Steelers signal-caller Kenny Pickett.
Both quarterbacks are coming off losses. The Patriots couldn’t even muster a single score against a bad Los Angeles Chargers defense, and the Steelers threw up on themselves in a shocking 24-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals at Acrisure Stadium.
This game will likely come down to the defenses and special teams play. Can one of those units score points or make a big play that drastically improves field positioning for the struggling offenses?
Keep in mind, the Patriots will be missing both wide receiver Demario Douglas and running back Rhamondre Stevenson for this game. So they’ll be leaning on the proven legs of Ezekiel Elliott, along with hoping Zappe can continue finding connections with wideouts DeVante Parker, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton.
Even against a banged-up Los Angeles Chargers team, the New England Patriots will still enter Sunday’s game at home as 5.5-point underdogs.
It’s no surprise considering the Patriots have looked like one of the worst teams in football after blowing three consecutive games in a winnable stretch against the Washington Commanders, Indianapolis Colts and New York Giants.
The 2-9 Patriots are in danger of missing the playoffs entirely if they bite the dust against the Chargers. Bailey Zappe is expected to start over Mac Jones at quarterback with backup Malik Cunningham potentially working into some packages at the position.
There will be no Joey Bosa for the Patriots to worry about on defense, and the Chargers’ secondary is one of the worst in the league. So this could be a game where Zappe and the offense might actually have a shot at pushing the ball downfield.
But there is one problem: The Patriots are thin at receiver.
Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte have both been ruled out for the game, which means Zappe will have to depend on the likes of DeVante Parker, Tyquan Thornton, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Jalen Reagor to lead the way. It’s a daunting task for a second-year quarterback making his first start in the 2023 season.
