The Denver Broncos and kicker Wil Lutz agreed to a three-year contract extension last week, but Head Coach Sean Payton told reporters they also had talks with other pending free agents. According to 9NEWS Denver’s Mike Klis, those other players were center Luke Wattenberg and defensive linemen Malcolm Roach.

Sean Payton met with the media on Monday and was discussing the Wil Lutz contract extension when he dropped this interesting nugget. He told reporters that “There are a few other players that we know we’ve reached out to, and I think the key is the communication aspect of it all”....

In talking about his well-deserved contract extension, Wil Lutz inadvertently hit on why Sean Payton is consistently successful.

He’s addicted to winning.

“The guy wants to win,” Lutz said when asked if the coach shifts his thinking this time of year. “He’s addicted to winning, and he’s brought in guys who are addicted to winning.”

And it’s not just addicted to winning for winning’s sake (though that certainly is a thing).

It’s what Payton says in any press conference when he’s asked about confidence among the team — winning builds confidence, and in turn, confidence is a huge factor in...

Most would have assumed an easy win for the San Francisco 49ers in this game about two months ago, but the Carolina Panthers have come on strong after a horrible start to the season. They were 1-3 then, but have won five of their last seven games and are playing some good football. Meanwhile, the 49ers can’t seem to figure things out and are .500 over their last eight games.

Kickoff is set for Monday, November 24, 2025 at 6:15 p.m. Mile High time at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California and will air on ESPN/ABC.

My Prediction

[According...

Last week, the Texans surprisingly waived running back Dameon Pierce, and many in Broncos Country, including myself, thought he would be a good fit for the Broncos. He ended up clearing waivers and was free to sign with anyone. Unfortunately, he would end up signing on to the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad, but according to reports, the Broncos did show plenty of interest.

According to 9NEWS Denver’s Mike Klis, the Broncos “were in strong” on Dameon Pierce and were in on him until the very end, but he decided to sign on to the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad....

While taking the week off is always welcome, it usually makes for a weird weekend of football-watching. Instead of rooting directly for a team from Denver, it’s suddenly all about rooting against a whole slew of teams. The Patriots and Chiefs did their best to ruin my Sunday by winning, but kudos are due to the Colts who found a way to blow it late against Kansas City. Scoreboard watching (that isn’t tied to draft position) has returned as a popular hobby in Broncos Country.

Due to the Broncos week off and an incredibly soft schedule for the Patriots, the...

While the Denver Broncos were enjoying their BYE week and still riding high on their big win over the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday, there were some developments in the AFC playoff picture. Unfortunately, the Broncos’ reign as the number one seed in the AFC lasted just one week due to the New England Patriots improving to 10-2 with a victory over the Bengals. However, the Broncos are the 2 seed due to the Colts blowing a 4th quarter lead to the Chiefs and falling to them overtime.

We also had a change in the AFC North with the Ravens...

And now we’re into the afternoon slate of games. Not a ton of rooting interest for us Denver Broncos fans for these games. I suppose having the Jaguars lose to the Cardinals could be of benefit, but I am kind of hoping to see the Jaguars take the AFC South from the Colts late and remove them from the seeding equation due to Denver losing to them. Of course, that means the Broncos will need to beat the Jaguars in a few weeks too.

I’ll always root for a Raiders win late in the season, because usually they are fighting...

Welcome to Week 12 of the regular season!

Your 9-2 Denver Broncos are relaxing on their bye week and, unfortunately, will likely fall out of the number one seed today. That’s okay though. Better to lose position when not playing than to lose it, well, through losing.

We have plenty of rooting interest this morning, starting with the Patriots. It’s a long shot that the 3-7 Bengals can take them down, but that is the outcome I’ll be searching for. The other outcome I will be hoping for is to see the 5-5 Chiefs fall below .500 to the visiting...

The Chiefs are dead, the Chiefs are dead, the wicked Chiefs of the AFC West are dead!

And it’s all thanks to the Broncos! Beating the Chiefs with a fourth-quarter comeback just before a Bye Week could not have been scripted better for the season, and I may be biased (well, of course, I am!) but I believe it was ultimate fans like us who gave the team enough juice to pull off that win on Thursday Night Football. The stadium was loud, the crowd was on fire and the team was primed to convert that energy into a victory....

Welcome back to another edition of our bye week roundtable discussions. In the first three installments, we have discussed the Broncos’ contender status, what gives the staff the most optimism, and what concerns them the most about Denver. For the fourth and installment of Broncos at the Bye, I asked the staff: “What players on the Broncos need to step up down the stretch?”

Christopher Hart

The Broncos need their offense to step up now more than ever. I’m delighted with how Bo Nix played against the Kansas City Chiefs, but that will need to continue down the stretch...

Good morning, Broncos Country!

Man, is it fun to have the Denver Broncos good again.

The Broncos sit atop the AFC West, the AFC and the NFL (as of today), and seem poised to do something they have not done in a decade — contend for a championship.

Since Super Bowl 50 and the retirement of Peyton Manning, we’ve yearned for this. It’s been a long, long 10 years. But Denver finally has the quarterback, head coach, general manager, and ownership all aligned on the same path. All bought into the same goal of making the Broncos a championship...

Another day, another roundtable question for the Mile High Report staff and loyal readership. So far, we have discussed the Broncos’ contender status and what gives the staff the most optimism after their performance to date. For the third installment of Broncos at the Bye, I asked the staff: “What’s the biggest source of concern for Denver after their first 11 games?”

Christopher Hart

I’m primarily worried about not having J.K. Dobbins available during the final stretch of the season. Having a strong rushing attack is critical, especially in the final weeks of the season and playoffs. Will the...