Dems Must Get Smart

SAN ANTONIO — Can Coach Prime afford to stand pat on Pat Shurmur? Deion Sanders turned up in Boulder two Decembers ago with an NFL-ready pocket passer ready to take the wheel. He won’t have that in 2025. Kaidon Salters isn’t Shedeur Sanders. Julian Lewis won’t be as a true freshman. As an NFL lifer, offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur smoothed over some of what few rough edges Shedeur had left in his game.

CINCINNATI — Sean Payton was in the midst of discussing the Broncos’ 30-24 overtime loss to Cincinnati on Saturday night when he made and immediately reiterated a point, almost in passing. “No. 5 is a good player,” Payton said, referring to Bengals receiver Tee Higgins. “A real good player.” Higgins didn’t catch his first pass until a third-down conversion in the second quarter, but from then on he worked over cornerback Riley Moss and the rest of Denver’s secondary all the way through his 31-yard toe-tap and walk-off overtime touchdown on back-to-back plays. Higgins authored the first three-touchdown game of his career and, in the process, helped keep Cincinnati’s season alive. Whenever the Bengals’ season ends — the Broncos can ensure it’s a week from now if they beat Kansas City and clinch the final AFC playoff spot — Higgins is in for a massive payday.

Five people were injured in three Denver shootings Saturday night and Sunday morning, police said. No arrests have been announced in any of the incidents, including a triple shooting in the 4400 block of East Jewell Avenue early Sunday morning. Around 5:40 a.m. Sunday, Denver police officials said officers were investigating a shooting on East Jewell Avenue in the city’s Virginia Village neighborhood. Paramedics originally took one person to the hospital but, in a 6:15 a.m.

CINCINNATI — In recent weeks, the Broncos’ offense has been in a tug-of-war between artistry and mediocrity. In Week 16’s loss to the Chargers, Denver scored 21 points and rushed for 89 yards in the first half, then mustered only six points and 21 rushing yards the rest of the way.

One person is dead and another is in the hospital after a Sunday morning crash in Aurora that shut down Interstate 225 for hours, police said. The northbound interstate closed at East Iliff Avenue around 5 a.m. for the crash cleanup and investigation. It reopened just after 10:30 a.m.,, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. Aurora police officials said at 5:02 a.m.

Even as the second round of snow to hit Colorado’s mountains in the last week winds down Sunday morning, a third wave is expected to arrive in the evening, according to National Weather Service forecasters. The mountains will, on average, see between 2 and 8 inches of fresh snow from Sunday night to Monday morning, according to a NWS Winter Weather Advisory.