Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton didn’t spike the football after the Kansas City Chiefs were officially eliminated from AFC West title contention for the first time since 2015. A day after Kansas City’s 20-10 loss to the Houston Texans ended a run of nine straight division titles, Payton told reporters on his Monday conference call that “everything right now has that work in progress sign” when asked about the Chiefs’ fall and what it means for Denver.
Sean Payton Shares Measured Response to Chiefs Losing AFC West
The question hit the obvious storyline: with Denver at 11-2 and riding a 10-game winning streak after December 8’s 24-17 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, the Broncos now hold a five-game lead on the 6-7 Chiefs with four to play. The division race is essentially over, mathematically and emotionally.
Payton, though, wanted no part of a coronation. When he was asked about Kansas City being knocked out of the AFC West race, Payton replied, “Everything right now has that work in progress sign,” and noted that Denver still has “a stretch here against some real good football teams” ahead.
The comments fit the tone he has struck all season. Even as Denver has stacked wins and climbed to the AFC’s No. 1 seed, Payton has framed 2025 as a year where the Broncos are still building, not one where they’ve “arrived.” Local pieces have highlighted how his detail-obsessed, fear-of-failure approach has shaped the locker room and the team’s week-to-week mentality.
And while Broncos fans are reveling in the Chiefs’ slide — from perennial favorite to a 6-7 team fighting just to stay in the wild-card mix — Payton kept his focus inward on Monday, stressing Denver’s process more than Kansas City’s problems.
What It Means for the Broncos in the AFC West Race
Practically, the Texans’ win at Arrowhead and the current AFC West standings mean the Broncos are inches away from locking up their first division title since 2015, with home-field advantage in the AFC now a realistic goal. Denver controls the top seed and still has a Christmas Night trip to Kansas City and a season finale against the Los Angeles Chargers on its schedule.
Payton’s “work in progress” line tells you how he wants his team to handle that reality. Rather than framing the Chiefs’ elimination as the end of an era, he’s using it as a reminder that Denver hasn’t finished anything yet. The Broncos still have to navigate that final four-game run, including another matchup with Patrick Mahomes and a Chiefs team that, for all its flaws, remains dangerous.
“I think again if this makes any sense the focus gets so inwardly driven to our own team that I recognize that a team that’s won the division for how many straight years won’t be able to win it this year but it’s more important to focus on all right how do we finish this next quarter of the season starting with a real good team in Green Bay,” Payton said in the conference call.
It also fits the message he’s been preaching since training camp: no detail is too small, and nothing gets taken for granted. Earlier this year, Payton talked about hating the idea that “the hay is in the barn,” insisting that there’s always another edge to find in preparation, presentation or game-day adjustments. Monday’s answer about Kansas City simply applied that mindset to the biggest storyline in the division.
Payton’s Chiefs Comments Fit a Growing Pattern
This isn’t the first time Payton’s words about the Chiefs have resonated beyond Denver. During the Broncos’ 22-19 win over Kansas City in Week 11, Payton drew attention at halftime when he said on the CBS broadcast that “the team we’re playing is more of a first-half team,” a comment widely interpreted as a shot at the Chiefs’ inability to finish games this season.
That line aged well. The Broncos went on to win on Wil Lutz’s last-second field goal, and the Chiefs’ struggles in one-score games have only gotten worse since, culminating in Sunday night’s flat performance against Houston.
Now, with Kansas City’s nine-year AFC West reign officially over and a rematch looming on Christmas at Arrowhead, Payton is choosing a different tone — less bulletin board material, more big-picture perspective. For Broncos fans, his comments Monday are a reminder that while the Chiefs’ era atop the division may be ending, Denver’s job is to prove this isn’t just a one-year flip, but the start of a new run of their own.
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