<b>judge</b>

Sean Payton found the courage to cut Russell Wilson and absorb a $53 million cap hit this season, freeing the Broncos to find something foreign for the past eight years: hope. His name is Bo Nix. As he stood at the podium on a raw Wednesday afternoon before the last regular regular-season game, the quarterback exuded confidence that belied his experience. This is the guy you think can’t beat Carson Wentz? That’s cute. We have no idea what Nix’s career will look like, not until the Broncos upgrade the weapons around him with a pass-catching tight end (Tyler Warren, please) and a No.

The Broncos are treating Sunday’s regular-season finale as a postseason game, even if the opposition views it differently. Denver needs a win over the Chiefs to secure its first playoff berth in eight years. And despite Kansas City’s plan to play mostly backups in Week 18’s matchup, the Broncos are not walking into Empower Field at Mile High Stadium expecting an easy win. “We don’t care,” wide receiver Courtland Sutton said.

Sean Payton spent 16 years of his coaching career in New Orleans. He got there in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and led the Saints as the NFL team helped the city heal. They won a Super Bowl in 2009, and he became one of the city’s mainstays until resigning after the 2021 season. Wednesday afternoon, hours after what the FBI called an act of terrorism in which a man rammed a truck into a French Quarter crowd around 3 a.m.

By DAVE SKRETTA KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs will start backup Carson Wentz at quarterback on Sunday in Denver in a game that means nothing to Kansas City, which has already clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs, but could mean everything to the Broncos. Chiefs coach Andy Reid announced his decision to rest Patrick Mahomes on Wednesday, shortly before they returned to practice from an extended break following their Christmas Day win in Pittsburgh.

The Colorado Avalanche Information Center is cautioning backcountry travelers to tread carefully across Colorado mountains on New Year’s Day and throughout the weekend amid “dangerous” avalanche conditions. RELATED: New Year’s Day brings another round of mountain snow, complicating travel “We’re less likely to see heavy snowfall the rest of the week, but we are still very worried about an avalanche accident,” said avalanche center Director Ethan Greene in a news release.

The Winnipeg Jets set an NHL record for the best start in league history and continue to sit at or near the very top of the standings. The Colorado Avalanche lost its first four games and was one game above .500 on Dec. 5. A Central Division title and potentially the No.