His beard damp and his cheeks still flushed, Domata Peko leaned back from the podium as a smile stretched across his face. The Broncos had just defeated his former team in Cincinnati and extended their win streak to three games, reviving a playoff conversation that had gone dormant.



The thought that maybe, just maybe, these Broncos finally turned a corner provided hope they could storm back. And Peko knew their suddenly bright prospects were in large part because of an unlikely candidate.



So Peko told the story of a time months earlier.



“I remember at training camp and OTAs he was wearing No. 2 and all the guys were like ‘Who the hell is that No. 2? He’s making plays on us, man,’” he said. “The funniest part about it, we had introductions to meet the new guys, and Phillip Lindsay said (the pitch of Peko’s voice raised): ‘My name’s Phillip Lindsay. I’m from Colorado, and I went to...