The Denver Broncos secured a spot in the NFL playoffs with a 34-26 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, but the team is not content with simply reaching the postseason.
“Yes, it’s nice to clinch a playoff berth, [but] Goal 1 is try to go win your division,” coach Sean Payton said after the game. “Goal 2 is try to get the best seed, and then Goal 3 is try to win a world championship. So we still haven’t really accomplished 1, 2 or 3. So remember, 1 is win the division. We’re still going.”
The Los Angeles Chargers (10-4) are still alive in the AFC West’s division race, and they’re set to face the Broncos (12-2) in Week 18 of the NFL’s regular season. There’s still work to be done in Denver.
“It feels amazing to clinch a playoff spot, but I don’t feel like everybody’s satisfied with that, just that,” outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper said. “We still got things we have to clean it up. We still want to play our best ball when we get to the playoffs. So it’s important for us to go back in the film, see what we can get better at. Coach [Payton] says all the time, the things that we don’t tolerate in a loss we can’t tolerate in a win, so we have to make sure we look at the film. Get better. Keep climbing, keep stacking these wins.”
The Broncos aren’t turning their attention toward the postseason just yet. They have three regular season games remaining to determine their seeding in the AFC, including this week’s showdown with the Jacksonville Jaguars (10-4).
“[We’re] worrying about our next opponent and finding a way to get the best out of our season and get the best situation in the postseason,” quarterback Bo Nix said. “I feel like every week is the most important game. It’s the next best game. This is the next most important game, so this is a big week for us. We have to continue to find ways to execute, win games, no matter what it looks like. I thought tonight overall it was an effective game for us.”
Denver has clinched consecutive postseason appearances for the first time since the Peyton Manning era, but the job’s not done yet.
“We always say, man, ‘We’re going to play in bigger, bigger games down the road, down the stretch,'” cornerback Pat Surtain said. “We’re not a finished product at all. We still have more work to do and that’s the scary part about it. Going into this run… Going onto these last few games, going onto the playoffs, I feel like we still have a lot more work to do. We just have to correct some things, but man, this team’s going places and I can feel that.”
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