The Denver Broncos are in a great spot right now, having won 11 consecutive games and sitting atop the AFC West with the No. 1 seed in the AFC Playoffs in their sights.
While the Broncos became the first AFC team to clinch a playoff spot with a 34-26 win over the Green Bay Packers in Week 15, there’s still quite a few hurdles to actually putting the division title and top seed in the books.
After a Week 16 home game against the Jacksonville Jaguars and depending on what happens in a few other place, the Broncos could very well have clinched the AFC West Division title and the No. 1 seed.
Stumble over the final 3 games of the regular season and neither one of those things could happen. It’s just been that kind of year in the NFL, where no division titles have been clinched headed into Week 16 for the first time since 2016.
How the Broncos Clinch AFC West, Obtain No. 1 Seed
For the Broncos, the most basic scenario in Week 16 involves them clinching the AFC West, which they can do if they beat the Jaguars and the Los Angeles Chargers lose or tie in a road game against the Dallas Cowboys.
The No. 1 seed takes some more mental gymnastics.
To get the top seed and the AFC’s lone playoff bye, the Broncos would need to defeat the Jaguars along with a Chargers loss or tie, the New England Patriots lose at the Baltimore Ravens and the Buffalo Bills lose or tie at the Cleveland Browns.
Broncos, Nix Have NFL on Red Alert
It’s tough to overstate how important home field advantage throughout the playoffs might be for the Broncos — especially not after their upset win over the Packers in a game in which the Broncos were home underdogs.
Defeating the Packers in such dramatic fashion and the play of second year quarterback Bo Nix has left the entire NFL buzzing with 3 games left in the regular season. Nix played arguably his best game as a pro against the Packers by going 23-of-34 passing for 302 yards, 4 touchdowns and no interceptions.
“If the Broncos finish with the best record in the NFL … Is Bo Nix the MVP?” FanDuel wrote on X on December 16.
“Bo Nix played the best professional game of his life on Sunday,” MB Fantasy Life’s Ian Hartitz wrote.
The Broncos went 9 seasons without a playoff appearance before drafting Nix at No. 12 overall in the 2024 NFL draft. They’re now in the playoffs for a second consecutive season.
Payton’s Super Bowl Prediction Could Come True
Denver head coach Sean Payton openly stated before the season he thought this could be a Super Bowl team … which seemed like a pipe dream after the Broncos started the season 1-2 after consecutive last-second losses to the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Chargers.
“The short term goal is winning the division,” Payton said on August 5. “But this is a team capable of winning the Super Bowl.”
Now, he’s not the only one saying it.
“The dream outcome I wanted for Denver this season was simply to know if Bo Nix is a QB worth extending after his rookie deal,” The LTB Podcast’s Frankie Abbott wrote on X. “Now they’re close to clinching the 1 seed in the AFC and have legitimate Super Bowl aspirations. Sean MF Payton man.”
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