The Denver Broncos are the 2025 AFC West champions. After defeating the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Night, the Broncos needed the Houston Texans to knock off the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday.
And that’s exactly what the Football Gods had in store, as Houston emerged victorious 20-16. The Chargers fall to 11-5, while the Broncos win the division at 13-3.
This is the 16th AFC West crown in Broncos history, and the team’s first since 2015. The Chiefs lead all time with 17 division crowns, but we’re witnessing a changing of the guard.
The Broncos have announced to the world, “We’re back!”
Considering that Denver opened the season 1-2, it’s amazing to see this team sew up the division with one game left to be played. After losing a heartbreaker to the Chargers on a last-second field goal, it would have been easy for the Broncos to go into a shell and wilt.
Instead, Sean Payton galvanized this team, and the Broncos would go on an amazing 11-game winning streak. One of the biggest differences between the 2024 Broncos and this squad is the outcome of one-score games.
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Dec 25, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) throws a touchdown pass during the fourth quarter at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
Last year, the Broncos went 1-6 in one-score games. This season? 11-2.
How do you explain such a turnaround? Maturation and wisdom.
The Broncos learned from those games last year when they came up just short. They haven’t been perfect in one-score games this year, with two of their three losses coming in such contests, but they’ve shown immense growth as a team and an unbending competitive will.
You want to see a team play its best ball when the chips are down. That has become a true hallmark of the 2025 Broncos, with Bo Nix at the helm.
The Broncos co-led the NFL this year with six players selected to the Pro Bowl. It’s the most Pro Bowlers the Broncos have had since 2016, more evidence of how the times have changed.
The Broncos wandered the quarterback desert for nearly a decade after Peyton Manning rode off into the sunset, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. Denver utilized every avenue available — the first round of the draft, free agency, and the trade market — but couldn’t get it right at quarterback.
Enter Sean Payton, who quickly pulled the plug on the Russell Wilson experiment, turning his attention to the 2024 draft class where he identified Nix as the ideal quarterback to run his offense, help build the culture the Broncos were cultivating, and lead this team.
Mission accomplished. Nix’s arrival on the heels of the Payton hire have totally transformed this team’s destiny.
Nix became the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for 7,500-plus yards and 50-plus touchdowns, while winning 20-plus games in his first two seasons. Historic.
Congratulations to the Broncos. Next week’s tilt with the Chargers still has high stakes, though, as the Broncos will have to win at home in order to secure the No. 1 seed in the AFC and have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The Broncos are back.
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