DENVER — The Denver Broncos know if they just win their final two games, everything will take care of itself — even if things were made harder by Sunday’s 34-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Not only was the loss rough, but every single result that could have helped the Broncos went against them on Sunday. The Broncos would have clinched the AFC West with a win and a Chargers loss. Furthermore, they would’ve gotten the AFC’s top spot with those two results plus a Patriots and Bills loss.
The Broncos lost, and all three of those teams won.
Denver’s final game of the season looms large with the Chargers set to come to Mile High. But first, Los Angeles has the Texans, which is a tough battle. Given the Broncos’ play a third-string quarterback for an eliminated KC crew on Thursday, there’s a decent chance the West is locked up by Saturday night. But they’ll still need help on Sunday from the Jets and Eagles if they are to clinch everything in Week 17.
What Denver’s loss means is that it is likely to come down to Week 18 for the Broncos and their hopes of the bye.
According to odds from The Athletic, the Broncos still are the favorite to secure the AFC’s No. 1 seed, at 43%. Their chance to win the West still sits at 76%.
Meanwhile, the AFC picture as a whole cleared up on Sunday with the following seven teams all but locked into the postseason: Denver and New England, who already clinched, plus Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Buffalo and Houston.
Denver is tied with New England at 12-3, but the Broncos already clinched the tiebreaker. The Patriots face two bad teams to end the season meaning if the Broncos want to rest, they’re going to have to earn a bye by winning their final two games.
