The Raiders have put in a request to speak with a coordinator from a division rival.
Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Las Vegas would like to interview Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph for head coach.
Joseph, 52, just wrapped up his second season as Denver’s defensive coordinator under head coach Sean Payton. The Broncos ranked No. 3 in points allowed and No. 7 in yards allowed this season, helping the team make it to the postseason for the first time since winning Super Bowl 50 in 2015.
Joseph was previously the Broncos head coach from 2017-2018, with the club going 11-21 in that span. He also spent 2016 as Miami’s defensive coordinator and 2019-2022 as Arizona’s DC.
This is Joseph’s second known interview request, as the Jets also put in one for him.
The Broncos ended a long playoff drought this season, but their stay in the postseason was not a long one.
Sunday’s game in Buffalo was tight in the first half, but the Bills scored the only points of the second half and advanced with a 31-7 win. The message in the Broncos locker room after the game was that the loss was a learning experience that, per head coach Sean Payton, has “got to fuel you and light a fire” as you head into the future.
Wide receiver Courtland Sutton said that a “new standard has been set for this organization” and rookie quarterback Bo Nix shared a similar feeling about the direction things are heading in Denver.
“It’s a lot to grow from, a lot to build from,” Nix said, via the team’s website. “I’m excited where we are. I’m excited to be here at this time, because our trajectory is going up. I’m excited for it. A lot of things we have out in front of us, a lot to look forward to, which I’m pumped about.”
Progress isn’t guaranteed in the NFL, so the Broncos have plenty of work to do to ensure that they continue rising after taking a big step forward in 2024.
The Bills are still alive, and next weekend the Ravens will be coming to Buffalo.
Today’s AFC wild card matchup was a mismatch, as the Bills beat the Broncos 31-7 and moved on to the divisional round.
As he has all season, Josh Allen made big plays with his arm and his legs. Allen threw two touchdown passes and was in command of the offense throughout, and the Bills got a big game from running back James Cook, who gained 120 rushing yards.
The Broncos got a good start to the game from rookie quarterback Bo Nix, who threw a touchdown pass on the first possession of the first quarter, but for the rest of the game the Bills’ defense kept Nix largely in check. Nix has shown plenty of promise this season, but today was not one of his better games.
Now the Bills’ defense will prepare for a much tougher task in the Ravens and Lamar Jackson. And the NFL will have a marquee matchup of MVP candidates in the divisional round of the playoffs, with Jackson and the Ravens heading to Buffalo to take on Allen and the Bills. After both the Ravens and Bills won easily in wild card weekend, they’re both going to be ready for a hard-fought battle in the divisional round, with a trip to the AFC Championship Game on the line.
The AFC’s third wild card game is going the same way as the first two: A blowout win for the home team.
Josh Allen hit Curtis Samuel for a 55-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter to give the Bills a 28-7 lead over the Broncos, and the rout is on in Buffalo.
It was a tremendous play by Samuel, winding through the Broncos’ secondary to reach the end zone. And it continued a very strong game from Allen.
The Broncos got off to a great start with a Bo Nix touchdown pass on the first possession, but since then it’s been all Bills.
Bills running back Ray Davis has gone to the locker room with an apparent concussion after an ugly hit in the third quarter today.
When Josh Allen floated a pass to Davis, Broncos defensive back Brandon Jones pursued and put a nasty helmet-to-helmet hit on Davis.
Davis immediately went to the ground and exhibited a fencing posture consistent with a brain injury. Thankfully, Davis did get up and walk to the Bills’ locker room under his own power.
Jones immediately raised his hand as if to gesture that he knew he had committed a penalty, and the officials did hit him with an unnecessary roughness flag. Allen also looked upset, as if he knew that by floating the ball up to Davis he was putting his teammate in a position where he was likely to get drilled.
The Bills’ drive ended with a touchdown pass and two-point conversion that gave them a 21-7 lead.
