The Denver Broncos wrapped up their Christmas Day practice inside the Pat Bowlen Fieldhouse on Wednesday as they inch one day closer to their Saturday showdown with Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals. What gift did they receive, and what was in their stocking?
Denver Broncos gifted good health ahead of Bengals matchup
One of the Broncos’ Christmas gifts, as they practiced on Wednesday, was every single player being accounted for during the media viewing portion of the day. This includes Riley Moss being present and fully active for the second consecutive day. He was a full participant on Tuesday and Wednesday, which points to him making his return this Saturday against the Bengals.
Joining Moss as full participants were rookie wide receiver Troy Franklin, running back Jaleel McLaughlin and running back Tyler Badie. McLaughlin was limited on Tuesday but upgraded to full participation on Wednesday.
Moss will be an important piece for Denver’s defense that is hoping to rebound after last week’s rough outing against the Los Angeles Chargers. He and Patrick Surtain II will have the tough assignments of limiting Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase who have put up big numbers this season with Joe Burrow throwing them the ball.
Merry Christmas #BroncosCountry
Team wrapped up practice from today. One final one tomorrow before CIN showdown! pic.twitter.com/uS6o3sQUbD
— Cody Roark (@CodyRoarkNFL) December 25, 2024
“They’re so good,” Sean Payton said. “The other part that they do a great job with is—and [Bengals QB] Joe [Burrow] does a good job with this—reading, feeling the pocket, climbing and extending a play. They’re really good with the second element of a play if it’s not open on time. He’ll keep it just as well and go get a first down. They’re really good with their scramble drill rules. You really have to work on plasters, staying with your guy, and then we have to rush him the right way as well.”
Stocking Stuffer: Chiefs’ win sets up interesting Week 18 matchup vs. Broncos
While the Broncos need to take care of business on Saturday against the Bengals, their Week 18 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs will be interesting. After the Chiefs defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day 29-10, Kansas City clinched the #1 seed.
NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero tweeted out that Kansas City will likely rest their starters in Week 18 against Denver, setting up a Broncos’ matchup against Carson Wentz. That means Patrick Mahomes, Chris Jones, Travis Kelce, and a handful of other Chiefs’ key players won’t likely play.
The #Chiefs have clinched the AFC’s No. 1 seed and a first-round bye.
Their next meaningful game will be Jan. 18 or 19, giving the banged-up likes of Patrick Mahomes and Chris Jones three weeks’ rest.
The road to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans goes through Kansas City.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 25, 2024
Hopefully, the Broncos will clinch a playoff spot with a win against Cincinnati on Saturday, and their subsequent matchup against the Chiefs will have seeding positioning at stake.
The players are focused on getting to the 10th win of the season by any means.
“We have to get to 10 [wins],” Payton said. “That’s the first thing. We have to get to 10, let’s focus on that. All our preparation, everything we do… [WR] Courtland [Sutton] just said it best, ‘We put ourselves in this position. Let’s take advantage of it.’”
The Denver Broncos will kick things off against the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. MT on NFL Network.