On a not-so-Victory Monday, Liv Moods breaks down why the Denver Broncos’ season ended in the AFC Championship Game — and why there are no excuses to be made. From offensive inconsistencies and questionable play-calling to missed opportunities in a low-scoring loss, Liv explains why the Broncos weren’t quite ready for a Super Bowl run, even while believing strongly in the team’s future. This episode is an honest, emotional, and clear-eyed reflection on a season that exceeded expectations but ultimately revealed the work still left to do.
Liv Moods reacts to the Denver Broncos’ AFC Championship loss with a candid assessment of what went wrong and why weather, injuries, and circumstance can’t be used as cover. She explains how season-long offensive vulnerabilities — including play-calling, lack of consistent playmakers, and stalled momentum — finally caught up to the team when it mattered most. Liv dives into Sean Payton’s decision-making, the choice not to take points with a backup quarterback, and why the offense failed to complement a championship-caliber defense. While firmly rejecting excuses, she also makes the case for optimism, detailing why this team learned valuable lessons and is positioned to come back stronger next season.
00;00;01;19 - 00;00;17;06
Liv Moods
Welcome into another episode of Mood Swings with Liv. Moods. I am Liv moods and as always, this is presented by Landmark Lincoln. Shout out to our friends over at Landmark Lincoln. Make sure you head to their location off of Bellevue and Broadway to figure out why. They have been the number one Lincoln dealer in Colorado for as long as they have.
00;00;17;13 - 00;00;41;00
Liv Moods
I am the proud new owner of a 2025 Lincoln Nautilus and could not love my car more, so make sure you had their location, check out their vehicles and maybe get one for yourself. Enough about cars. Let's get into the show.
00;00;41;02 - 00;01;05;00
Liv Moods
Hello everyone, and welcome into another episode of Mood Swings with Liv moods. Really quickly I'm going to let everybody know we are live. I am Liv, let's let's wait. What do we say? Let's cope and chat. Come hang. Haha. There we go. All right, you guys, a not so victory Monday here following the AFC Championship game where the Denver Broncos fell short to the New England Patriots, the Super Bowl picture is set.
00;01;05;00 - 00;01;27;19
Liv Moods
The Seattle Seahawks out of the NFC and the New England Patriots out of the AFC. Let's get into it. I have been a diehard Broncos reporter cover analysts, if you will, all season. But most importantly a fan. Absolutely. I have never let my fandom interfere with my coverage of this team. That being said, I've always believed in this team.
00;01;27;19 - 00;01;47;18
Liv Moods
I'm proud of this team. I am sitting here on a not so victory Monday where most people would be sad, crying, licking their wounds, and I really just don't feel that way. And I think it's because I'm holding on to the fact that I know just how capable this Denver Broncos team is. On building on the year that they just had and being even better next season.
00;01;47;18 - 00;02;05;26
Liv Moods
I think this is a very special football team. I think there's a lot of potential. I think they were this close to something that they weren't quite prepared for. They weren't quite ready to make a Super Bowl run and to win a Super Bowl. That being said, this season they learned a lot about themselves. They learned how to win tough and ugly games.
00;02;06;02 - 00;02;30;27
Liv Moods
They learned how to, you know, ignore the haters. They learned how to defy the odds. They learned a lot about themselves as a as a franchise and as a team that I think will be very important for them next season. I have not lost faith in this team as a whole. And so as sad as I feel, or as bummed as I feel about this game not ending the way that it that I wanted it to end, I'm also feeling very excited for the future.
00;02;30;27 - 00;02;52;06
Liv Moods
This is a very special team that will be back and better than ever. I truly believe it. So I want to get into this game right? I want to talk about a couple of things. There's lots to discuss here. And and first and foremost, I just want to make sure you guys hear me loud and clear, right at the top of the show where I say, I am not going to make excuses for this Broncos team.
00;02;52;09 - 00;03;12;21
Liv Moods
They lost. It's that simple, right? I've seen a lot of Broncos country country members mentioning the weather, right? So so bad. The weather was so bad. It was, but it was also bad for the Patriots, you know what I mean? There really are no excuses here. And ultimately, what we saw in this game, in the most important game of the season so far, the AFC Championship game.
00;03;12;21 - 00;03;41;10
Liv Moods
Is it the Broncos season long vulnerabilities were ultimately their demise when it mattered most. It is what it is. I would say the two things this season that you could kind of put in the same category, the category being offense, the two things that the Broncos struggled with the most this season, their season long vulnerabilities being play calling and offensive playmaking were their demise when it mattered the most.
00;03;41;13 - 00;04;01;20
Liv Moods
So was I necessarily shocked? No, because here's the deal. You can have faith in your team and believe that they can overcome an injury to Bo Nix or the haters being loud or weather or whatever the case. You know, I've always believed in this Denver Broncos team to be able to overcome those situations because they've overcome a lot this season.
00;04;01;20 - 00;04;23;05
Liv Moods
They've overcome a lot just in one game alone. Just look at the Giants game alone. That was overcoming a lot through the first three quarters in order to win that game in the fourth. So this team knows very well how to be bigger than their problems. Right. And ultimately their problems, though, were just a little too big to escape this time around.
00;04;23;05 - 00;04;50;11
Liv Moods
And that's why I say, and this is maybe an unpopular opinion for most people in Broncos Country. I don't believe this Broncos team was ready for a Super Bowl. Could they have made it there and could they have given us a really great game? Yes. I don't think they were quite ready. And the reason I know that to be true now on the other side of this game is the way that they lost are the exact things they struggled with this season, the exact reason that people were worried, right.
00;04;50;14 - 00;05;13;03
Liv Moods
The exact reason people were worried all season long about whether or not this Broncos team could win a Super Bowl was their offense, was playcalling, was playmakers on offense, was the consistency or inconsistency of the quarterback at the helm of the offense? All things we got to see on full display, whether it was Bo Nix or Jarrett Stidham, all things we got to see on display in the game that mattered the most.
00;05;13;06 - 00;05;46;05
Liv Moods
Here's the deal. The New England Patriots were only able to score ten points, which is a testament to our defense. And yeah sure you could say weather right. But only ten points scored by a New England Patriots team that's now going to the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl contender the the the AFC representation that is playing in the Super Bowl was only able to score ten points in the conference championship game.
00;05;46;07 - 00;06;06;03
Liv Moods
The flip side of that is the Denver Broncos couldn't win, with the Patriots only scoring ten points in that game. What does that say to me? That says that the offense that we all stressed about all season long was ultimately not prepared enough to make a Super Bowl run. It's that simple. I think they will be prepared next season.
00;06;06;03 - 00;06;24;26
Liv Moods
Absolutely. I feel very, very, very confident in this team next season. If you guys were sick of me this year, I got to tell you, you're going to be devastatingly sick of me next year. Wow. Boy, am I going to be loud. Boy, am I going to be obnoxious, I will. I am just getting started. I have a lot of faith in this team.
00;06;24;26 - 00;06;43;14
Liv Moods
I think this team is very special, but what we saw from them and why they fell short in the conference championship game was the reason we were stressed all damn season long. Let's start with the play calling. Let's start with the power that Sean Payton has in these big games. I've talked about it before and I'm going to talk about it again.
00;06;43;14 - 00;07;02;08
Liv Moods
Sean Payton is a stubborn man and it's what makes him great. You know, what makes you great is what people hate. At the same time, what makes you good makes you bad. Sean Payton is very stubborn. His play calling has been problematic all season long, and some of you didn't want to hear me say that, but I stood by it for the majority of the season.
00;07;02;08 - 00;07;17;14
Liv Moods
We saw some moments where it was like, okay, all right, Sean, I'm going to trust your game plan. But there were a lot of times at the play calling never really made sense, and more than not making sense, it stood in the way of Bo Nix when he was healthy, really thriving and being the best version of himself.
00;07;17;18 - 00;07;43;21
Liv Moods
And it stood in the way of this Broncos offense getting better every week. What we actually saw from this Broncos offense was a lot of a plateau that was reached by week six. You know, we weren't really seeing this offense elevate themselves week after week after week because Sean Payton was play calling and I think he was a little bit stubborn in what he wanted to do and what he believed would work.
00;07;43;24 - 00;08;04;23
Liv Moods
So what we saw in that conference championship, there are no excuses to be made here, because that the issues of the Denver Broncos had very simply put, you lost a game because you couldn't score more than ten points. That's a reflection of a problem that the Broncos have had all season long, which has just been the consistency of the offense.
00;08;04;26 - 00;08;18;26
Liv Moods
And the play calling has been a huge part of that. In a game where you have your backup quarterback playing for the first time all season, to choose not to take the points is a choice.
00;08;18;28 - 00;08;20;25
Speaker 2
00;08;20;28 - 00;08;54;25
Liv Moods
A choice. I'm not sure I will ever understand, and I'm just going to chalk it up to stubbornness, because I know for a fact Sean Payton is exceptionally smart. He's a very strategic and a very intelligent head coach. But to not take the points in a game like this season on the line with your backup quarterback, who at this point is still unproven to the world, is crazy.
00;08;54;27 - 00;09;23;12
Liv Moods
It is crazy to not take the points in a game like this. Now, where that stubbornness comes into play is, I believe, Sean Payton, who did a lot of talking pregame in his confidence in them, in his confidence in this team. I mean, he was kind of making comments that were alluding to the fact that the Denver Broncos were going to the Super Bowl, and he was certain of it in the same ways.
00;09;23;14 - 00;09;50;07
Liv Moods
Sean Payton and I'm not sure if you guys have like, picked up on this, but something I've picked up when it comes to Sean Payton is Sean Payton likes to find a diamond in the rough. He likes to see things in athletes that nobody else sees. He likes to take an underestimated, undervalued, underappreciated quarterback or player, take them under his wing and make them amazing.
00;09;50;09 - 00;10;13;12
Liv Moods
He likes to put athletes on the map. He loves to have his draft pick doubted just to prove the haters wrong. I think Sean Payton thrives on proving haters wrong. So put yourself in Sean Payton shoes knowing that right. Put yourself in Sean Payton shoes that he spent all week leading up to this game talking very big, which I can appreciate.
00;10;13;12 - 00;10;35;01
Liv Moods
He was confident in his group but especially confident in Jarrett Stidham. So Sean Payton, who I think historically we know can be a little stubborn from time to time, doesn't take the points. Why? Because he wants to be ballsy. He wants to show you show the world. I wasn't just talking I wasn't just talking. The talk. We're about to walk the walk.
00;10;35;01 - 00;11;02;14
Liv Moods
We don't need to take the points because we've got Stidham and I love that he's confident in his guys that way. But in a game where you have a quarterback who is starting for the first time and has not proven a thing yet in the biggest game of the season, take the damn points. Take the points. You have to.
00;11;02;16 - 00;11;24;14
Liv Moods
It was a bad decision to not take the points. It was a bad play call and an even worse result because had the Denver Broncos gone up ten nothing on the New England Patriots, I think there would have been a swing of momentum in their favor. And when the Patriots could only score ten points, because that's what this Denver Broncos team has been good at all season long.
00;11;24;16 - 00;11;42;08
Liv Moods
It's stopping good offenses from being great. The game would have been tied. We would have gone into OT, who knows. Or you go up ten nothing and you have all the momentum in your favor and you're able to get some more points on the board.
00;11;42;10 - 00;12;01;27
Liv Moods
So the cut of what a write will never really know what could have happened had Sean taken the points, because also you had a little bit of an out of body game for Will Lutz and I'm going to stop you guys here immediately right now. Okay, I get it. You need your kicker the most in these pressured spots in these important games.
00;12;01;29 - 00;12;22;27
Liv Moods
But some of the best kickers in this league are going to miss when it matters most. I'm just going to call for will Lutz to be left alone in this moment. Because just a couple weeks ago, we were crowning him MVP of the season. And in a game where the weather's bad and things aren't going well, I don't think we're immediately going to start going, get him out of here.
00;12;22;28 - 00;12;53;11
Liv Moods
You know, we don't want. Will Lutz leave? Will Lutz alone? Just two weeks ago, you were willing to call him the MVP of the season. Okay. Shit happens. Yeah. The missed field goals were a big deal. They would have been a game changer, but so would of the one that the Patriots missed. Right. You know, all these should have could have put us at the end of the day I think that the Denver Broncos have been in a position all season long where they have been winning because of defense and because of Will Lutz.
00;12;53;11 - 00;13;22;08
Liv Moods
And ultimately in the AFC conference championship, they finally needed their offense to show up in the offense couldn't. And that's kind of been the theme all season. The offense is just getting by. You can't just get by when it comes to a conference championship game. And let's say the Broncos get past the conference championship game. What we've seen from this Broncos offense over the last few weeks, outside of that bills game, which was exceptional by Bo Nix.
00;13;22;08 - 00;13;45;22
Liv Moods
But knowing you don't have Bo Nix and now you've got Jarrett Stidham. What we saw from the Denver Broncos yesterday wouldn't have been enough to compete in the Super Bowl. And frankly without sounding like a hater the Patriots are screwed in the Super Bowl if they can. If they can't find a way to score more than ten points versus a Seattle Seahawks team that is dominating everywhere right now, the Patriots are screwed.
00;13;45;24 - 00;14;05;16
Liv Moods
Sam Donald is lining up to win his first Super Bowl before a Josh Allen, a Joe Burrow and a Lamar Jackson. Yes, Sam Darnold is on his way to win a Super Bowl before Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow and Josh Allen.
00;14;05;18 - 00;14;17;25
Liv Moods
That's the deal guys. Unfortunately you know the main characters I talked about it last show. The main characters are changing in this league and you better get on board with it.
00;14;17;27 - 00;14;38;23
Liv Moods
So plenty and plenty and plenty of missed opportunities in this game. So no, I will not be sitting here talking about the weather because it was the same weather that the Patriots had to play in. It was. And ultimately, if the Denver Broncos could not score more than ten points to win this game, then they're not ready for a Super Bowl just yet.
00;14;38;23 - 00;15;02;15
Liv Moods
And that's okay. Will they be better suited and ready next season? I believe they will. I believe they will. I feel very, very good about the future of this team I do now. How do you how do you treat your offseason question that I'm hearing from the group, which to me is crazy, guys. The coaching carousel, the turnover rate of head coaches in the NFL is a little psychotic.
00;15;02;17 - 00;15;06;12
Liv Moods
It is. I mean.
00;15;06;15 - 00;15;40;22
Liv Moods
I saw a tweet that said the Steelers pooped their pants and changed their shirt with their new coaching change, and that really is the epitome of coaching in the NFL. It's a carousel, constantly hiring and firing coaches in this league. The turnover rate of head coaches is crazy crazy. That being said, to call for Sean Payton to be fired from the Denver Broncos head coaching position when a guy like Zach Taylor still has a job won't make sense to me ever.
00;15;40;24 - 00;16;09;00
Liv Moods
Okay, as long as Zach Taylor is the coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, Sean Payton should be a okay, let's call it what it is. Okay, guys, there were a lot of mistakes that the Denver Broncos made. When it comes to paying Russell Wilson, getting Sean Payton here was the blessing in disguise. Right. But we were still kind of in this, I don't know, hole from paying Russell Wilson the way that we did.
00;16;09;00 - 00;16;30;11
Liv Moods
Then you get a rookie quarterback. You do great things under this rookie. You take this team all the way to an AFC conference championship game. I don't think there's a world where we should be entertaining conversations about Sean Payton being fired. Did Sean Payton make a bit of a boneheaded decision from a perspective like mine? Yeah, take the frickin points, of course, but I'm not sure I.
00;16;30;11 - 00;16;55;26
Liv Moods
I think we're a little cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. If we're if we're entertaining conversations about Sean Payton not being the coach. This was a 14 and three regular season. This was a win for a winning team of the AFC West. This is a team that I'm going to say upset the Buffalo Bills, despite the Denver Broncos being the favorite in that game.
00;16;55;26 - 00;17;15;25
Liv Moods
But an upset to the Buffalo Bills despite Josh Allen being on the other side of the field. So you know I just and I know Vance Joseph let's give him credit right that that's more a reflection of Vance Joseph than anything else. But at the end of the day, the point I'm trying to make is, it's very easy in these isolated moments or in a game where there's a lot of missed opportunities to try to point the finger.
00;17;15;25 - 00;17;37;18
Liv Moods
At the end of the day, in my personal opinion, the reason that the Denver Broncos lost in the AFC Championship game versus the new England Patriots is because of season long vulnerabilities that they were able to get by with. They were able to get by with an offense that didn't show up till the fourth quarter. They were able to get by with not having a ton of playmakers on their offense.
00;17;37;21 - 00;18;01;15
Liv Moods
They were able to get by with poor play calling, and in a game like that, you can't get by anymore with things like that, you can't. And that's that's where I'll give the Broncos haters one smidge of a moment here and say that, yeah, the doubt that you had for the Denver Broncos all season long was fair in moments, right?
00;18;01;19 - 00;18;20;04
Liv Moods
I mean, I I'm a fan and I know that there are plenty of games where I'm like, this isn't going to work. And I said it on my show. It's not going to work to play offense this way in a game like the Super Bowl. So all of that to say, I just don't think the Broncos were quite ready for a Super Bowl yet, because here's what I'm going to tell you.
00;18;20;07 - 00;18;37;06
Liv Moods
You get to the Super Bowl, you better win that sucker. We're not going there just to play patty cake. We're also not going there to get embarrassed, which I think is what's going to happen to the Patriots. And that's not me being a hater. That's me genuinely being honest. And for the Patriots fans out there, and I'm going to let you guys have your moment, right.
00;18;37;12 - 00;18;45;09
Liv Moods
I'm gonna let you have your moment. What's funny is people think I'm a troll, but I only troll people that come to my house to troll me.
00;18;45;11 - 00;19;15;16
Liv Moods
Right. I only troll people who come to my home, my page, my account, and try to troll my Denver Broncos. So, you know, as a form of protection, I'm defending my home. Don't go there because I'm fine to not be a troll on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, whatever day. I'm trying to not be a trouble. When you come to my property, my home, my sanctuary, my space and troll me, I'm going to fire back every single time.
00;19;15;21 - 00;19;35;16
Liv Moods
Never once have I gone out of my way, though, to stop on a page and to leave a troll comment. I don't really roll like that. On my own page. Fair game. I don't usually go out of my way, but to the Patriots fans that are going out of their way to do the whole one, two, three Cancun thing, word of advice, keep it humble.
00;19;35;19 - 00;19;53;24
Liv Moods
I would probably, if I were you, go into this Super Bowl with my tail tucked between my legs because scoring ten points versus the Seattle Seahawks will not work. You will get belt to a double s quickly. And I think the world knows that. So Patriots fans celebrate you won the football game. I'm not taking that away from you.
00;19;53;24 - 00;20;13;16
Liv Moods
And never one time even when the Broncos lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars I gave the Jags their credit. I'm going to give you the credit I've been impressed by the Patriots all season long. Drake Maye playing at an MVP level. I've been impressed when people try to throw your team under the bus for having an easy schedule. I defended the Patriots.
00;20;13;16 - 00;20;31;28
Liv Moods
I did, so I don't have any beef with you guys. I'm excited for you. Go win a Super Bowl right. Go represent the AFC. But at the end of the day I wouldn't get too cocky here. You scored ten points in a championship game. I think that game could truly go down in history as one of the worst conference championship games we've ever seen.
00;20;32;01 - 00;20;52;14
Liv Moods
If you want to chalk it up to weather, be my guess, but I've seen teams play better and worse conditions I have. This is coming from a Broncos fan. I'm just keeping it real. I did not like what we saw of that game yesterday from either team, so I would just keep it a little more humble. Patriots fans, because that to me didn't really give.
00;20;52;14 - 00;21;17;22
Liv Moods
We can win a Super Bowl from either team in the AFC. That to me gave. Sam Darnold is about to win a Super Bowl before Joe Burrow Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen. Yeah that's what that gave to me. So maybe keep it humble. Here's the deal. Another conversation. And and I'm not really big on entertaining. This should have coulda woulda was right because at the end of the day we lost period.
00;21;17;27 - 00;21;37;02
Liv Moods
Our season is over. Period. That's all there is to it. That being said, I've seen a lot of conversations about would we have won it all with Bo? This might shock you to hear me say no, no.
00;21;37;05 - 00;22;00;16
Liv Moods
We've had an offense all season, even with Bo that hasn't been showing up till the fourth quarter. That doesn't work in a Super Bowl game. That doesn't work in a conference championship game. Do I believe that the Denver Broncos could have won that game with Bo Nix potentially? I mean, sure, if you want to entertain the idea, by all means.
00;22;00;19 - 00;22;08;00
Liv Moods
But I really I'm not sitting here putting much of the blame on Jarrett Stidham for that loss.
00;22;08;02 - 00;22;29;23
Liv Moods
I'm not I think it's a very different it's a very different game. If you take the points as Sean Payton. If a couple more of those field goals go in you've got a different game. I really don't put Jarrett Stidham in a position to be taking all this blame because here's why. The switch up can't be you know, astronomical right.
00;22;29;23 - 00;22;51;10
Liv Moods
Because just a week ago Broncos Country was very loud and proud about the idea that we would be just fine with Jarrett Stidham. Unfortunately, Jarrett Stidham didn't show up the way that we wanted him to. But I also talked on my last show about the fact that Jarrett Stidham shouldn't have to be the super hero. Jarrett Stidham shouldn't have to be putting the Superman cape on to win this one for us.
00;22;51;10 - 00;23;11;03
Liv Moods
We should be positioning this team and Jarrett Stidham in such a way that they can get a win. Even if Stidham doesn't have a perfect game. Because if you for one second thought Jarrett Stidham was going to have a perfect game, you were sadly mistaken. If you believed in him great so did I. But there was no world in which Jarrett Stidham went into this game and had a perfect flawless performance.
00;23;11;07 - 00;23;36;19
Liv Moods
No way. But the Denver Broncos didn't do themselves any favors, missing opportunities elsewhere in this game. This was not a Jarrett Stidham loss. This was a team loss at the end of the day from coaches to kickers to offense to defense, it was a team loss, which sucks because our defense was phenomenal. But they're a part of this team.
00;23;36;22 - 00;23;59;17
Liv Moods
But then I remind you that's how it's been all season. The doubters that and most of which went a little too far. Right. Here's my let me make this very clear. I'm not upset with people for doubting the Denver Broncos. I actually, from a Broncos fan, this may surprise you. I believe the Denver Broncos gave you every reason to doubt them.
00;23;59;19 - 00;24;19;29
Liv Moods
I've been saying it since the beginning. You are not going to win a Super Bowl or any championship game waiting until the fourth quarter to show up offensively. There's been many times where I have not agreed with Sean Payton's play calling, and I've said, this is not going to win you a Super Bowl. I'm not mad at people for doubting the Denver Broncos.
00;24;20;02 - 00;24;39;23
Liv Moods
I'm mad at the people who couldn't tuck their tail and admit they were wrong. When the Denver Broncos continued to score on goal posts, you were moving. That's what I'm mad about. You doubting them is fair. As Broncos fans, I think there were times that we doubted them, but we were willing to give them the credit they deserved when they showed up and shocked the world.
00;24;39;23 - 00;25;03;06
Liv Moods
That's what I was frustrated about all season long. I knew for a fact if our offensive, you know, our receivers and and in Evan Ingram if you will, and if we couldn't get the playcalling figured out and get the run game going more or if our offensive weapons couldn't be playmakers or if, you know, I knew that all of these things would eventually catch up to them.
00;25;03;11 - 00;25;22;11
Liv Moods
You can't get by in a championship game. There were a lot of games this season. The Denver Broncos were just getting by. My problem, though, is not the people that doubted the Denver Broncos after wins like that. My problem is with the people that couldn't say, oh, they've got to tighten some things up, but damn, I'm pretty impressed with how they keep finding ways to win.
00;25;22;11 - 00;25;48;26
Liv Moods
There was never that. It was always ugly games. They suck. That's not the case. They still had a 14 and three season. They still won the AFC West. If the Broncos suck, then what? What then? What are the Chiefs? What are the Chargers? What? I mean, if the Broncos suck then what are the bills? That's my problem. I don't have an issue with people that doubted the Denver Broncos because frankly, they gave you every reason to offensively this season, right?
00;25;48;26 - 00;26;06;26
Liv Moods
They did. Bo Nix would show up in the fourth quarter and be a hero. But there were many minutes of football before that that were a little scary. So doubting the Denver Broncos was never the issue. Not giving them credit when they proved you wrong was the issue all season long. So that's my beef with the Broncos haters.
00;26;06;28 - 00;26;27;02
Liv Moods
You can be a Broncos doubter, but to be a Broncos hater is a completely different thing. And that's just you refusing to give them any credit at all for what they were able to accomplish this season. And that's not fair, because I know as a Denver Broncos fan, I can sit here and tell you, as much as I love this team, I don't believe they were ready for a Super Bowl just yet.
00;26;27;04 - 00;26;53;25
Liv Moods
Do I think they'll be ready next season? I do, I think they learned a lot about themselves when they had close and ugly games. I think they learned a lot about themselves when their star quarterback in Bo Nix goes out and it's time to rally and it's time for the next man up mentality, I think our receivers got to learn a lot watching film and seeing how many balls were dropped and how the only thing people were talking about on social media was how bad Bo Nix was, but not the fact that there were plenty of receivers that dropped perfect passes.
00;26;53;27 - 00;27;12;29
Liv Moods
They learned a lot about themselves this year, getting this close and winning ugly games. So do I think this Broncos team is going to be better for it next season? Absolutely. I'm not mad at people that doubted this team. I believe the Denver Broncos gave you reasons to doubt them from time to time. The playcalling was never perfect.
00;27;12;29 - 00;27;31;07
Liv Moods
The offense was very inconsistent. That's fair. You can sit there and say, I don't know if this is going to get the job done, but when they did get the job done, you didn't give them credit for it. That's my problem. You were never willing to turn around and say, I didn't think they could do it, but they did.
00;27;31;12 - 00;27;37;07
Liv Moods
You just said, I didn't think they do it. I didn't think they could do it. And I still don't.
00;27;37;09 - 00;27;38;23
Speaker 2
00;27;38;25 - 00;28;01;24
Liv Moods
Like, that's what's crazy to me, so I don't I'm not mad at the doubters this season. Hell, as a as a fan, I had moments where I was like, geez, who is this going to be enough? Is this going to be enough for this group? This team learned a lot about themselves. This team, more importantly, proved the grit that they have.
00;28;02;01 - 00;28;27;19
Liv Moods
And that really can't be taught right when things aren't going swimmingly. There's a lot of quarterbacks, players, defenses, offenses, even coaches that kind of just throw their hands up and say whatever. This group has a winning mentality. This group is now going to be hungrier than ever. You know, this group saw red after that bills game last season and they they were able to right their wrongs this year.
00;28;27;21 - 00;28;50;00
Liv Moods
This group has now seen red in the conference championship game. And I think they're going to try to right their wrongs next season. I do. The offense needs some work. The offseason will be very interesting. What do you do with a guy like Evan Ingram, who was able to show up here and there, but didn't really reach the potential that you had hoped for?
00;28;50;03 - 00;29;20;06
Liv Moods
What do you do? What do you do with the play calling? Is Sean Payton able and willing to pass along the play calling baton to somebody else? I don't know. I don't know. So no excuses. The Denver Broncos lost. The season is over. We we mourn the loss. We grieve a little bit. But we move on knowing that this is a special group that's going to come back better than ever.
00;29;20;08 - 00;29;40;24
Liv Moods
You know in Broncos Country we do a little bit of a better job at taking some accountability. You know, I flashed myself back a week ago if I were a Bills mafia member. Here's how I'd sound today. Well, there has been like global warming type winter this winter where it's been like 57 degrees and like sunny, we haven't even seen snow.
00;29;40;29 - 00;29;58;13
Liv Moods
And then, of course, on the day of the conference championship game, it starts snowing and it's cold and you can't see anything and it's icy. And we've never had that this this winter. And it hasn't even been windy. And it hasn't been cold. So of course our guys weren't prepared. They haven't even seen snow this season. How can we expect will love to make it kick in in bad weather condition?
00;29;58;15 - 00;30;14;22
Liv Moods
That's what I would sound like if I were a Bills Mafia member. I'd go as far as bringing global warming into the conversation right now, but that's not what we're going to do because we're not Bills mafia, we're Broncos country. At the end of the day, the weather sucked and it also suck for the Patriots. Bingo. Okay, can't use that as an excuse.
00;30;14;26 - 00;30;34;29
Liv Moods
We missed opportunities throughout the entire game. It is what it is. We are playing with our backup, which created a lot of having to just rally and figure it out. At the last second. There was a there was a world in which they went into that game feeling ill prepared because it was just different. It is what it is.
00;30;34;29 - 00;30;58;00
Liv Moods
You learn a lot about yourself when you when you lose. And I really, really believe in this team next season I do. You were sick of me this year. I promise you're gonna be sick of me next year. You really, really are. There's no doubt in my mind. But we are in an era right now of the NFL where Sam Darnold and I'm going to say this Sam Darnold is going to I'm not going to say Will.
00;30;58;07 - 00;31;19;23
Liv Moods
Because based on what we saw in that AFC conference championship game I think it's pretty safe to say the Super Bowl winners coming out of the NFC. No offense. I mean it would be the same if the Denver Broncos made it only scoring ten points. Okay. The NFC has has proven pretty much all season long that the Super Bowl belongs to them, unfortunately.
00;31;19;25 - 00;31;46;21
Liv Moods
So I can say with my chest Sam Darnold will win a Super Bowl before Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow. Yeah crazy. That's the era of the NFL that we are living in. And it's a beautiful thing. So here's the deal. Broncos country. We keep our head held high. We move forward and not backwards. Only forwards knowing that this Broncos team learned a lot about themselves.
00;31;46;28 - 00;32;05;28
Liv Moods
There were some unfortunate circumstances that are not excuses, but should make you excited about next season. What's the future of Jake Dobbins look like on this team? You know, you finally finding a rhythm in a groove and he gets injured, unfortunately. But when you get him back, hopefully next season if he's a Denver Bronco next season, you open up the run game a little bit more.
00;32;05;28 - 00;32;24;12
Liv Moods
Sean Payton maybe lets go of the play calling duties and let somebody else get in there. Sean Payton learns to not take risks in games like this and takes the points instead. There's a lot that can be learned from this season. There's also a lot to celebrate, so don't forget to celebrate it. Okay, Broncos country and we're going to be just fine.
00;32;24;15 - 00;32;41;21
Liv Moods
That's it for today's show. I just wanted to get on here and do a little brain dump and just chat with you guys about all things Denver Broncos. I am always proud to be a Broncos fan. DB for all you guys already know what it is. Broncos country. We are going to be just fine next season is looking up and just keeping keep this in mind as well.
00;32;41;23 - 00;33;02;15
Liv Moods
In just a few short weeks everybody will be on to the next season. So let's get ahead of it. Let's move on. Let's let's let's reflect on the season. Be excited for the guys and everything they accomplish. They overachieved in almost every single way. They silenced the haters in many, many, you know, instances. And they just they had an exciting electric season.
00;33;02;17 - 00;33;18;10
Liv Moods
So we're going to hold on to that. And we're going to know that they are going to be back and better than ever next season. I truly believe it. So thank you guys for letting me cover this team with you and be a professional troll to everybody that deserved it. That was a hater of the Denver Broncos. I'm excited to do this with you again next season.
00;33;18;10 - 00;33;40;01
Liv Moods
I love you guys tons. Now we're going to go head first into all things Denver Nuggets and keep our fingers and toes crossed for that season. So thank you guys for being along this journey with me on this Denver Broncos outstanding season. We'll be back again next season, of course, and we'll be back again on Friday for another episode of Mood Swings to talk all things Denver Nuggets and also preview the Super Bowl that the Broncos are no longer playing in.
00;33;40;01 - 00;33;51;14
Liv Moods
It's all good. We're still going to talk about it. So thank you guys for tuning in to another episode of Mood Swings. I'm live mood signing off for now. We will see you Friday. And as always this has been presented by Landmark Lincoln. See ya.
00;33;51;16 - 00;33;51;23
Speaker 2
Okay.