“We’re in a horse race,” quarterback Russell Wilson said Sunday, after the Broncos dismantled those Thunderdolts from Los Angeles. Denver routed the Chargers 24-7 in a game that was no contest after a devilish Denver defense broke the spirit and stole the soul of Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert with a goal-line stand early in the first quarter.

But enough of my silly football poetry. Let’s just stick to the facts, ma’am: Since the last Sunday in October, when they snapped a 16-game losing streak to Kansas City, the Broncos’ record is 6-1, while the dead Chiefs walking are 2-4.

Playoffs? Playoffs! Playoffs?

Yes, and a Wild Card berth is not the only prize the Broncos can aim for down the stretch of this NFL season. With four games remaining in the regular season, Denver finds itself only one game out of first place in the AFC West, a division the Chiefs have won seven years in a row.

By now you’ve memorized the M.O. of these Broncos. Play nasty defense, harass the quarterback, pound the rock and wait for one big play from quarterback Russell Wilson that, more times than not, seems to end with a no-freaking-way catch by Courtland Sutton.

“He’s like a big power forward,” said Broncos coach Sean Payton, admiring the way Sutton wins 50-50 balls as much with his muscle as his hops.

The big play that secured this W for Denver arrived with five minutes, 55 seconds remaining in the third quarter, when some jazzy improvisation between Wilson and Sutton resulted in a one-handed grab of a 46-yard touchdown pass that staked the Broncos to a 17-0 lead.

On a play that went delightfully off script when the Denver offensive line allowed Wilson more than six seconds to improvise before throwing the football, Sutton made touchdown magic by listening to a voice inside his head.

“Top down,” Sutton recalled. “Literally I heard (Wilson) in my head saying: ‘Top down.'”

Perception is the result of recognition. Exploit the space the defense has given.

The little confession by Sutton that Wilson was the little birdie in his ear delighted the veteran quarterback.

Sutton “did a great job, because he was going deep, came back for a second and then went deep again,” Wilson said.

That chemistry between a quarterback and receiver, in which no words needed to be spoken, was worth six points to the Broncos.

I mention this football ESP between Wilson and Sutton for a very specific reason. While nobody in the NFL mentions Wilson in the same breath as Mahomes when speaking of elite quarterbacks, anybody who has watched the championship reputation of the Chiefs slowly unravel can tell you this truth: The K.C. offense has been reduced to not much more than whatever magic can be conjured between Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce.

While Mahomes and Kelce have connected on 80 passes for 896 yards and five touchdowns in 2023, Denver’s QB-WR1 duo has exceeded that production in the most important category, with Sutton hauling in 53 catches for 799 yards and 10 touchdowns — the most scores by any Broncos receiver in a single season since the late, great Demaryius Thomas in 2014.

“I try to play with a certain attitude and demeanor and it came from the way (Thomas) played the game,” Sutton said.

In a city where a gallon of regular gas costs $5.19, Los Angeles has too many problems the other six days of the week to worry about the Chargers on Sunday. Broncos Country achieved such an overwhelming and nearly unopposed takeover of SoFi Stadium that Denver linebacker Alex Singleton felt confident exhorting the crowd for noise before the snap of a fourth-down play by backup Easton Stick, who replaced Herbert after the most overrated quarterback in the NFL departed with a finger injury.

With a 7-6 record, there’s every reason to believe the Broncos can end their long playoff drought, so long as they sweep the remaining AFC teams on their schedule (the reeling Chargers, wretched Patriots and reprehensible Raiders).

All the AFC rivals ahead of Denver in the wild-card race now feel the hot breath of Blucifer on their necks. The Broncos are taking names, checking boxes and kicking keisters. The long playoff drought is close enough to being over that everybody who loves this team can almost taste the champagne.

Win by win and week by week, Payton noted, “It’s one less question about one more demon we have answered.”

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Ron, free thinker

Kiz: As a kid who first fell in love with sports through college football, I’m a guy that loves voting for the Heisman Trophy. But it frustrates me that being a quarterback is now almost a prerequisite for winning the award. In years past, I have voted for dominant defenders such as Will Anderson Jr. and Ndamukong Suh. While I think quarterback Jayden Daniels of Louisiana State is an intriguing NFL prospect who might look good in a Broncos uniform, the only finalist for this year’s award I seriously considered putting anywhere on my three ballot slots was Michael Penix Jr., whose transfer to Washington after an injury-plagued career at Indiana struck me as a near-perfect fit for the story of college football in 2023.

With the instant media coverage of sports, nothing is a surprise anymore, including the Heisman winner.

B.V., San Antonio

Kiz: The 24/7/365 sports babble is fine by me. It’s fun. When it gets to be too much, I can easily switch to music by The National, Spoon or Olivia Rodrigo. But it bugs me when my media brethren get entrapped by groupthink. My Heisman ballot seldom follows the crowd, which leaves me open to ridicule. And that’s also fine by me. The players I voted for in 2023: No. 1, receiver Malik Nabers, who’s the best player on LSU’s team; No. 2, Jordan Travis of Florida State, the quarterback who had a huge impact on both an unbeaten team and the playoff field, and No. 3, Colorado School of Mines quarterback John Matocha, whose grit and spirit represents everything college football should be.

The Heisman Trophy reveal used to be exciting. When Colorado running back Rashaan Salaam won the award in 1994, it was awesome. But by 2015, when Valor Christian alum Christian McCaffrey should’ve won it and finished second, it became less exciting to me. Now? The Heisman is like the NFL, completely quarterback centric.

Chuck, SkoBuffs!

Kiz: With all the debate about whether Dak Prescott, Brock Purdy or some other quarterback deserves to be MVP of the NFL in 2023, let me humbly add: Are y’all nuts? I’ve never been granted the privilege of determining something so important as most valuable player of America’s sports obsession, and maybe that’s best for all concerned. But, in my not-so-humble opinion, two candidates you won’t hear mentioned anywhere else stand above this year’s field: Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill and McCaffrery, whose versatility as a running back makes San Francisco the most dangerous championship contender.

And today’s parting shot takes offense to my crazy idea that the Avs need to address a hole in their lineup at second-line center.

Keep trying, Kiz. You once again are trying to show your three readers that you know something about hockey. But you don’t!

Scott, hockey enforcer

While Denver has little margin for error to secure a wild-card berth, the notion that Payton deserves strong consideration for Coach of the Year if Denver recovers from a 1-5 start to get in the Super Bowl tournament is pure poppycock.

Broncos CEO Greg Penner and team ownership paid Payton a reported $18 million salary to fix Russell Wilson, not dig a hole and then regularly drop hints that the mess was his quarterback’s fault.

No contender for a wild-card berth in the AFC has an easier schedule than what awaits Denver.

With two games against the Chargers’ Brandon Staley, who’s a dead coach walking, a Patriots squad so bad it might get Bill Belichick fired, and Raiders that will already be packing for Cancun on the final weekend of the regular season, if Payton can’t get Denver to the playoffs from here, he richly deserves a grade of “F” for his first season in Colorado.

We haven’t forgotten Payton declared at the outset of training camp he would be ticked off if the Broncos failed to make the playoffs. So why should we not grade Payton’s work by his own words now?

Maybe the real genius of Payton’s success in New Orleans was quarterback Drew Brees. And if Wilson is so wretched, how did Seattle coach Pete Carroll figure out how to drag him twice to the Super Bowl with the Seahawks?

In victory or defeat with the Broncos, Payton has been quick to shove Wilson under the bus and slow to acknowledge it’s the coach driving the orange-and-blue bandwagon that somehow surrendered 70 points to the Dolphins, while also losing to quarterbacks named Sam Howell and Zach Wilson.

The latest example: Payton lamented that his team fell victim to chaos in the red zone during the final minute of a 22-17 loss at Houston. Wilson let panic get the best of him and he threw an interception in the end zone, ruining the chance for the Broncos to win the game and take control of their playoff destiny down the stretch.

While Wilson bears a heavy responsibility for a bad mistake at the worst possible time in this crucial loss to the Texans,  who should ultimately be held accountable for the defeat?

With the football in their possession and the clock winding down in clutch time, the Broncos looked so confused that if we didn’t know better, I would suggest they looked like a poorly coached team.

“I think as a teacher, we always have to examine the why. Did we explain it well enough? Did we cover it well enough? How could we have done a better job ourselves?” Payton said. “If you hand out a test to your students and two-thirds of them are getting C’s and D’s, then you have to look at yourself.”

Thanks for that refreshing moment of accountability, Mr. Payton.

For a master of the NFL universe, it took Payton far too long this season to realize that Wilson is never going to be Brees. Only after the record dropped to 1-5 did Payton fully accept that his Broncos must win gritty, not pretty, by leaning on their defensive talent and asking Wilson to put down his ego, hand off the football to Javonte Williams and throw the majority of passes short and outside the numbers, where interceptions seldom happen.

By putting back together a defense that was in shambles in September, maybe defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has had as much or more to do with the Broncos’ revival as Payton.

None of us is as arrogant, glib and grumpy about the NFL as Payton. He’s a football genius, as Payton makes it clear to everybody who’s not.

But the crazy-rich Waltons didn’t pay Payton anywhere in the neighborhood of $18 million per year to finish 9-8 and be stuck with a draft pick in the middle of first round, when all the marquee quarterbacks, from USC’s Caleb Williams to North Carolina’s Drake Maye to LSU’s Jayden Daniels, will be off the board and long gone.

We might all be fools, me most of all. But we all would be foolish to give Payton a pass and lay the blame on Wilson if the Broncos fail to make the playoffs.

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It would really hurt to waste a hockey club blessed with the generational talent of Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen.

Here we are, far enough into the NHL season for anybody in this dusty old cowtown not unhealthily obsessed with the mediocre Broncos to see the Avs have as good a shot as any team in the league to win a championship this season.

Except for one troublesome thing, and it’s the same old irksome thing: Colorado still hasn’t found a solid way to replace center Nazem Kadri from the fire trucks that rode through Denver during that glorious victory parade in 2022.

There’s a nagging hole in this team’s championship dream at 2C.

Can the Avs solve this problem without making a trade? Nothing in a 4-2 loss to Winnipeg gave me much reason for optimism.

When the Avs took the ice on Thursday night, their second-line center was … Ross Colton?

Don’t get me wrong. Colton is a bundle of hustle and heart, good on the forecheck and in the room. But isn’t that pretty much the definition of a third-line center on a legit championship contender?

Not to suggest Avalanche coach Jared Bednar has lost confidence in Ryan Johansen, a righteous dude who Colorado got for 50 cents on the dollar in an offseason trade with Nashville. But I don’t think it was just my imagination running wild to think Bednar got a little testy when recently asked to explain why Colton has surpassed Johansen in ice time.

“I don’t have to (justify it). There’s nothing saying that Ryan Johansen needs more ice time than Ross Colton,” Bednar said. “If Ross Colton’s played well and doing the job that he’s doing, then he’s earning more ice.”

Bednar has done an admirable job guiding Colorado to the top of the Central Division in another year when the hockey gods have not exactly been kind to a team winning at a remarkable rate despite the absence of captain Gabe Landeskog, winger  Artturi Lehkonen and defenseman Sam Girard.

But does Bednar have enough firepower at his disposal to compete with Las Vegas and Dallas when the playoffs roll around, if Colorado must depend on defenseman Makar to be the team’s de facto 2C behind MacKinnon?

Super Joe Sakic is the best thing to ever happen to hockey in Colorado, but now that he’s taken a step into the shadows, we still don’t know if general manager Chris MacFarland has what it takes to re-invent a championship roster.

Well, good Boy Scout that I am, let me offer a helping hand:

Go make a freakin’ deal!

Yes, there’s the very sticky issue of the Avalanche being stuck against the NHL salary cap with little room to breathe, much less wiggle.

But the genius of creative thinking and the guts to make hard choices were the trademarks of the late, great Pierre Lacroix, who stubbornly believed any year the Avs didn’t win the Cup was a failure.

MacFarland has the contacts around the league, so I’ll leave the grunt work to him. I’m just the idea guy, work-shopping the problem.

If I dare to dream big, let’s find the money and convince Minnesota it needs to rebuild and won’t regret trading 26-year-old Joel Eriksson, who has scored a dozen goals already this season, to a division rival. If that’s too much to ask, could Columbus be persuaded to part with 30-year-old Boone Jenner, who scored 26 goals last season in 68 games? Or is Jenner not a big enough upgrade on the talent Bednar can now send over the boards from the Avalanche bench?

As spectacular as Makar, MacKinnon and Rantanen can be, this core hasn’t achieved as much as Las Vegas. Dallas has a strong and younger core than Colorado.

With no clear-cut favorite to win this season’s championship, the Avs need to do whatever’s necessary right now to get their mitts back on the Cup.

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In this edition of the Kickin’ it with Kiz podcast, Denver Post columnist Mark Kiszla talks sports betting, bourbon, Broncos and the controversy surrounding the College Football Playoff. Among the topics discussed:

• Kiz is joined by Denver Post staff Nuggets beat writer Bennett “Benito” Durando as they break down the College Football Playoff and the game lines they are eyeing this weekend.
• Kiz talks Broncos and their chances for a playoff Berth after winning five of their last six games.
• Nate Kiszla, son of Kiz, stops by to talk bourbon with his pops.

The Kickin’ it with Kiz podcast is brought to you by Argonaut Wine & Liquor, featuring Buffalo Trace.

Subscribe to the podcast

SoundCloud | iTunes | Google Music | RSS

Producer: AAron Ontiveroz
Music: “Bumble Bees” by Schama Noel

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This sticky problem goes beyond the way Wilson and Payton process plays and analyze the game in real time.  What we’re witnessing is nothing less than a minor football miracle, because during this remarkable 5-1 stretch of success that has pushed the Broncos back in playoff contention, I sometimes wonder if this quarterback and this coach are even watching the same game.

While Wilson preaches faith that a struggling Denver offense is thisclose to a happy breakout of touchdown dances, Payton grouses about “chaos” in the red zone and laments receiver Jerry Jeudy has reason to be frustrated after repeatedly being undetected by his quarterback as he runs wide open down the field.

With not another misstep allowed against four AFC foes left on their schedule, the Broncos worked Wednesday on strategy to beat the Los Angeles Chargers. I asked Wilson what’s the process and line of communication between him and Payton in assembling the game plan.

“What’s the process?” Wilson replied. “It’s a long one, a very long one.”

And, apparently, a flawed one. What we have here is a failure to communicate. Payton’s vision for what the Denver offense could be has not translated into fireworks on the scoreboard. While Wilson praises his coach without fail, Payton barely conceals his contempt any time the Broncos make a mess of the masterpieces he has created on the big canvas of play calls he carries on the sideline.

During six losses by the Broncos in 2023, they’ve averaged 19 points per game, which is a slight improvement on the lousy job done by Nathaniel Hackett, but has done little to enhance Payton’s reputation as the genius that can fix Wilson and return a quarterback in his mid-30’s performances worthy of Pro Bowl recognition.

Ask Payton about the 22-17 loss to the Texans that snapped Denver’s  winning streak and he focuses on the potential explosive plays that were duds and the scoring opportunities squandered. “There were a number of them in that game …” he said. “There are four or five sequences that you can point at and be like, ‘Holy cow.’”

Wilson, however, viewed his work as good enough when he moved the chains on fourth down by tucking the football and scrambling instead of spotting Jeudy running free for a touchdown pass during the second quarter in Houston.

“We’re 5-1 in the past six games. You can’t forget that … We have a lot of confidence in this locker room in who we are and what we’re going to do and how can can go about it.” said Wilson, whose eternally sunny outlook is frequently in stark contrast to the dark-side-of-the-moon criticism from his never-satisfied coach. “I believe that’s the team were are the past six games. And we can be even better.”

To the credit of their professionalism and competitive spirit, Wilson and Payton have found a way to win games together. But that doesn’t mean this coach and quarterback are having much fun doing it. It’s gritty. Not pretty. Russ doesn’t cook the way he did in Seattle, although Payton can frequently be seen stewing on the Denver sideline. There’s little to indicate they have forged a mutual respect built to last.

I’m hear to preach the good news that the Broncos will make the playoffs with a 10-7 record, provided they find a way to sweep their four remaining AFC opponents by beating the Chargers twice, joyfully celebrating Christmas Eve by beating Scrooge Belichick, then finding some way to just win against the Raiders, baby.

But it’s fair to ask: Does Payton have full confidence in Wilson to get this job done?

And should the Broncos fall short of the playoffs, would the huge financial repercussions of cutting Wilson be enough for Payton to grimace and bear the mistakes of his veteran quarterback for another season?

Barring a complete and utter collapse, Denver figures to be on the board in the middle of the first round in the 2024 NFL draft. The marquee quarterbacks – Caleb Williams of USC, Drake Maye of North Carolina and Jayden Daniels of Louisiana State – all figure to be gone in the top 10.

So, if given the chance, would Payton really end this far-less-than-perfect relationship with Wilson to take a chance on Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr., whose extensive injury history is cause for consternation, or Oregon’s Bo Nix, who might not be anything more in the NFL than Kenny Pickett 2.0?

Like it or not, Payton and Wilson might be stuck with each other.

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The arms of Denver quarterback Russell Wilson are too short to fight with emerging Houston star C.J. Stroud. Even worse: Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton got clowned by Stroud for trying to intimidate a brash NFL rookie who refuses to blink.

“I’m going to stand on business,” Stroud said Sunday, when he led Houston to a 22-17 victory.

For Denver, this loss hurt far beyond the heart-wrenching end of a five-game winning streak and the damage done to its improbable playoff run. If the Broncos fall short of the Super Bowl tournament, this failed comeback will be a prominent and ugly chapter in their book of regrets.

“You hate losing,” quarterback Russell Wilson said.

For a full 30 minutes after he threw an interception in the end zone during the final seconds of the fourth quarter, Wilson sat on a chair in front of his locker, wearing his stained No. 3 uniform and cleats, and refused to hit the showers to wash away the bitter taste of defeat.

He threw zero interceptions during the winning streak, but three against the Texans, with the final one on an ill-advised 50-50 ball to the end zone with 16 seconds remaining on the clock. Even worse: Instead of throwing to Courtland Sutton or somebody we all know, Wilson decided to chuck it in a small window to tight end Lucas Krull.

Say what? And more important: Who?

At the most crucial juncture to this point in the season, the best available option was Krull, who had been targeted with only one other pass all year? Really?

With all the options on coach Sean Payton’s big play card, what was Krull even doing in the game? Far be it for me to challenge the offensive genius of Payton, but did the coach maybe listen too much to his inner giant and got a little too Annexation of Puerto Rico with that call?

“I feel like I definitely could’ve attacked the ball a little more … It’s frustrating,” Krull said after losing the jump ball in the end zone to Texans safety Jimmie Ward, whose pick iced the outcome.

As Wilson sat in his locker long after defeat, teammates and staffers came by to give an encouraging slap on his shoulder pads. But Father Time also lingered nearby, noting that for all Wilson has accomplished in a brilliant NFL career, he was outplayed on this December afternoon by Stroud, who threw for 274 yards and a touchdown.

“He’s going to have a great career,” Wilson said. “He’s really super talented.”

A team with such a slim margin for error can’t afford stupid football. Once again, Denver defenders irked by the suspensions to safety Kareem Jackson let testosterone get the best of them.

During the final seconds, the Broncos would’ve needed only a field goal instead of a touchdown if not for a mistake by Singleton that cost Denver four points way back in the first quarter.

After Houston coach DeMeco Ryans ordered a gamble in the red zone on fourth down, the Texans were flagged for a false start that would’ve certainly sent the field goal unit on the field. But Singleton refused to let well enough alone, stalking the rookie quarterback in the backfield and offering a push in a lame-brained effort to intimidate Stroud.

Stroud, however, is no ordinary rookie. He makes throws few QBs this side of Patrick Mahomes would even contemplate. And when asked about Singleton, he dropped a reference to comedian Druski about standing on business and not backing down.

“I’m a man,” Stroud said. “And I’m not going to just let somebody come push me, especially in my house. You’re not going to touch me after the whistle (when) you clearly hear it.”

Like it or not, this is a league that protects quarterbacks, not linebackers. The NFL is no longer the league of Dick Butkus or Mean Joe Greene. Instead of doing the smart thing by walking away, Singleton let a 22-year-old quarterback use a head butt to bait him into an unnecessary roughness penalty.

“I mean they’re not … they’re going to call it on the quarterback,” Singleton said. “You know how this league is.”

Yes, we do. So why can’t the Broncos get it through their thick skulls?

Jackson and teammates might cry foul about inconsistency in officiating, while the denizens of Broncos Country bemoan how soft the game has become, but a Denver defense that tries to play the macho man football of 20 years ago is going to cause itself unnecessary trouble in 2023.

Singleton’s loss of composure contributed heavily to a Denver “L” in the standings it can ill afford.

Given a new set of downs at the 3-yard line, Houston punched in a touchdown by running back Dameon Pierce two plays later. Singleton’s choice to use his macho instead of his mind dropped the Broncos in an early 10-0 hole that ultimately proved too deep in the desperate final seconds.

This defeat kept Denver stuck in ninth place of the AFC standings, behind Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and Houston in the race for three wild-card berths.

“With the way season started, and where we are right now, the margin for error is slim,” Payton said.

Whether it’s a reckless interception or an inexcusable penalty, stupid gets you beat.

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“I feel great. I feel young. I feel fast. I feel confident,” Wilson said Wednesday, explaining why he’s not afraid of any edge rusher or Father Time catching him from behind.

At 35, Wilson almost certainly will never again be a candidate for MVP of the NFL. But neither should we expect him to suffer a midlife crisis, because Wilson has adopted a brave refusal to be entrapped by his ego.

After a horrendous 1-5 start, the Broncos have played themselves back into playoff contention, while Wilson has inserted himself into the conversation about Comeback Player of the Year, in no small measure because Russ has decided he would rather win than cook.

While it’s hard to argue Wilson is worth the five-year, $245 million contract extension that doesn’t kick in until next season, he’s making a strong case the Broncos should bring him back in 2024.

While his league-leading 5:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio should be cited as a strong data point, statistics can’t tell the story of how the humility in Wilson’s leadership has served teammates so well during the five-game winning streak the Broncos take into a showdown between playoff contenders in Houston.

The turnaround almost nobody in Broncos Country saw coming was born of the evangelical belief by the team’s quarterback that hasn’t been seen in these parts since Tim Tebow.

OK, anybody with eyes can see Wilson spins a football better than Tebow ever did. What made Tebow a winner was his heart, not his arm. “Give me some of whatever feeling he wakes up with every morning,” Hall of Fame cornerback Champ Bailey told me at the height of Tebowmania. The magic Tebow and Wilson share is faith that adversity can be overcome by a stubborn refusal to surrender.

“When you have success, it normalizes for you. You understand that’s who we were destined to be, that’s who we are and that’s who we can be,” Wilson said.

“The best part … is everybody starts believing it and knowing it and seeing it and feeling it.”

When’s the last time you heard a former teammate bash Wilson? His sermons on positive thinking aren’t corny when you’re winning.

While Wilson insists his confidence never wavers, and constantly reminds us the highs in his 12-year NFL career have far outnumbered the low points, he deserves credit for the self-reflection required to recover from the disaster that was 2022, when he often looked washed up as the Broncos stumbled to a 5-12 record.

Wilson lost weight. He lost the entourage that followed him everywhere. While remaining a devoted family man, he lost the 24/7 obsession with being Ciara’s Instagram sweetheart.

Most of all, rather than feeling constrained by coach Sean Payton’s move to a more conservative, run-first offense, Wilson seemed liberated by having some of the burden of winning removed from his shoulders. His commitment to putting the team before his own statistics is the ultimate form of buy-in.

While the Buffalo Bills depend far too heavily on quarterback Josh Allen and the Los Angeles Chargers haven’t figured out how to transform the spectacular talent of Justin Herbert into consistent success, Wilson has refused to let his ego get in the way of playing complementary football.

These numbers don’t lie: His 199.9 passing yards per game are the lowest since Wilson’s rookie season. Although still capable of taking a dangerous shot down the field, Mr. Unlimited has accepted being Mr. Dink and Dunk. He takes off and runs or takes a sack rather than trying to throw the ball into too tight a window. It has resulted in Wilson’s 5.78 net yards per passing attempt being the worst of his career, but also greatly cut down costly interceptions.

While Wilson might not be a quarterback who can put a team on his shoulders for a Super Bowl run, he has already led four fourth-quarter comebacks. The next one this season would match his career high.

“I’ve got an obsession and passion for the game, learning the game, playing the game, being out there, and winning,” Wilson said.

The Broncos are back in playoff contention because Mr. Unlimited has embraced his limitations.

In a bottom-line business, the salary-cap implications aren’t what will keep Wilson wearing a Denver uniform in 2024 and beyond. So long as Wilson keeps on winning, why would the Broncos let him go?

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Dan-O, duly impressed

Kiz: Well, there’s no doubting Prime is a sportsperson of our time, where clicks count more than touchdowns and it’s not whether you win or lose, but how many eyeballs watch on television. With the same self-aggrandizing approach Sanders celebrates, I’m proud to be among the first journalists to emphasize the social change he could foster in Boulder was far more important than where the Buffs finished in the Pac-12 standings. So I have a fine appreciation for Prime being a sportsperson whose impact extends beyond the field of play. But if we’re keeping score that way, Sanders can’t touch Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King or Arthur Ashe, all distinguished past winners of this recognition from Sports Illustrated.

How can Sports Illustrated not give sportsperson of the year to a football coach who improved his team by a whopping three victories, lost six in a row to end the season and finished dead last in the Pac-12? With all these accomplishments, Prime was the clear choice.

Nash, kinda snarky

Kiz: Sports Illustrated will have to live with its choice. But would you kindly take a minute to chew on this fact? Everyone in Colorado that cares about championship-level performance and character knows the one athlete in Colorado that reminded us what true sportsmanship is in 2023. He put team over fame and realized it’s more about the journey than the victory parade. Sorry, Deion. The Colorado sportsperson on the year? By unanimous vote of the fine staff here’s at Kickin’ It Headquarters, it’s Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.

Being named sportsperson of the year is not really a big thing anymore. It’s much like Time magazine’s Person of the Year.

Terrance, Littleton

Kiz: You might have a point. Back in 1930, Time celebrated Mahatma Gandhi. In 2021, the winner was Elon Musk.

Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the biggest threat to Jokic winning the MVP. If the second-youngest team in the NBA continues to exceed expectations, it would be hard not to consider the Thunder’s leader, who’s averaging 30 points, six assists and six rebounds per game.

X.C., proud Oklahoman

Kiz: Only a knucklehead would take my gambling advice. While SGA is amazing, I’d be tempted by the +850 odds currently being offered for Celtics star Jayson Tatum.

And today’s parting shot is a fond farewell to the Pac-12, a conference that dared to champion all sports at a time when the term “student-athlete” no longer matters.

The demise of the Pac-12 is a shame. Iconic brand with iconic universities in premier campus destinations. Sad it ended the way it did, for the reasons it did, by the idiots who called the shots.

J.W., X’s and dough

Although the Broncos and Texans bring identical 6-5 records to a game Sunday with huge playoff implications for this season, which of these teams is closer to winning the Super Bowl down the road?

You tell me: Would you rather build a championship contender around two established NFL veterans in quarterback Russell Wilson and Payton, each with a championship on distinguished resumes, or 22-year-old rookie C.J. Stroud and Ryans, in his first-year as a head coach?

Advantage, Texans.

Money can’t buy you love or a championship ring.

And a glorious history of football success can sometimes be more of a burden than a proud legacy.

Let’s roll back the calendar to early 2022, when the Broncos had fired Vic Fangio as coach after a 7-10 record and the Texans were reeling not only from a 4-13 finish, but allegations of sexual misconduct against quarterback Deshaun Watson that had kept him off the field.

In a hurry to restore their glory rather than commit to the pain of rebuilding the team, Broncos general manager George Paton hired Nathaniel Hackett as coach and flirted with Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers before mortgaging the team’s future in March 2022 by trading a boatload of draft choices and three players for Wilson and a mid-round draft choice.

Less than a week later, the Texans decided to tear down their mess and broom away the stench by sending Watson and a sixth-rounder to Cleveland in return for a half dozen draft picks, including three future first-rounders.

What have we (myself included) learned from this cautionary tale?

In the NFL, a proud franchise itching for a quick fix doesn’t necessarily chart a faster path to championship relevancy than a woebegone team willing to swallow hard and stomach the indignity of getting worse before results on the scoreboard begin to get better.

The Broncos and Texans were so horrendous on the field last season that neither Nathaniel Hackett in Denver nor Lovie Smith in Houston earned a second year to fix the problems.

The major difference? The Texans owned two of the top three picks in the draft held during the last week of April. Houston took Stroud, who’s enjoying the most promising rookie season of any quarterback since Andrew Luck in 2012, and Alabama linebacker Will Anderson Jr., among the top three candidates for defensive rookie of the year.

You think Ryans would switch jobs and salaries with Payton?

The salary? No doubt. But the job? No way.

Earlier this year, Broncos CEO and Walmart chairman Greg Penner seriously wooed Ryans before luring Payton off the Fox television set with a salary reported to be a hefty $18 million, making him the second-highest-paid coach in the league, behind only Bill Belichick of New England.

When Denver started this season 1-5, all that money in addition to a first-round draft choice sent to New Orleans in a trade, appeared to be an exorbitant price to pay for Ornery Sean. And it appeared to be especially costly if you believe the theory Payton was a consolation prize for the Broncos, after they seriously considered Jim Harbaugh from Michigan and Ryans, whose football and family ties to Texas made him a natural fit for Houston.

After leading Denver to five consecutive victories, Payton has restored the optimism to Broncos Country and become a coach of the year candidate alongside Ryans. Although both are likely fighting for second place in that race, behind prohibitive favorite Dan Campbell, who has transformed the Detroit Lions from a laughingstock to an NFC juggernaut.

Nobody, least of all me, could’ve anticipated a month ago that this showdown between Denver and Houston could be the most intriguing football game played by the Broncos since Super Bowl 50.

But even more compelling: This is the first chance to chart the progress of two NFL franchises that took vastly different approaches in the desperate pursuit of victory and respect.

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