Broncos LB Nik Bonitto: We play like we have a chip on our shoulder (1:59)
Broncos LB Nik Bonitto joins Pat McAfee to discuss the team’s win over the Browns and Denver’s defensive success. (1:59)
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Jeff Legwold, ESPN Senior WriterDec 23, 2024, 01:54 PM ET
- Jeff Legwold is a senior writer who covers the Denver Broncos and the NFL at ESPN. Jeff has covered the Broncos for more than 20 years, joining ESPN in 2013. He also assists with NFL draft coverage, including his annual top 100 prospects. Jeff has been a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Selectors since 1999. He has attended every scouting combine since 1987.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — It wasn’t on the usual recovery regimen for the Denver Broncos, but kicker Wil Lutz and linebacker Alex Singleton spent at least part of their holiday week schedule participating in a local tradition.
The two had cameo appearances in the Colorado Ballet’s performance of “The Nutcracker” on Sunday evening at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in Denver. They participated in the opening sequence of the Arabian dance scene and took a bow with the rest of the cast after the performance.
An annual part of the Colorado Ballet’s slate, “The Nutcracker” runs from Nov. 30 to Dec. 29. The Broncos played last Thursday night in SoFi Stadium — a 34-27 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers — so the players had no game Sunday.
Lutz and Singleton were briefly onstage with the company’s Sarah Tryon and Josh Allenback. Backstage, Singleton told the Colorado Ballet’s digital team that he rated his performance “a solid 7” while Lutz gave himself an 8 because “I didn’t blink the whole time.”
Lutz made both of his field goal attempts in last week’s game and Singleton continues his recovery from a Week 3 knee injury when he tore his left ACL in a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Broncos hope to extend their season well beyond the ballet’s run. They can clinch a playoff spot with a win in at least one of their final two regular-season games — Saturday in Cincinnati or the finale against the Kansas City Chiefs.
It would be Denver’s first playoff trip since the Super Bowl 50 win to close out the 2015 season.
