The Broncos have reached their first goal this season.

When Denver clinched a playoff spot two weeks ago, head coach Sean Payton made a point of saying that “goal one is try to go win your division” and not just make the postseason. Well, on Saturday, the Broncos won the AFC West for the first time since 2015 when the Los Angeles Chargers lost 20-16 at home to the Houston Texans.

With one game left in the regular season, Denver is 13-3 and the Chargers 11-5. The teams will face each other in the regular-season finale next Saturday or Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High, and there likely still will be something on the line for the Broncos. The time and date of the game will be announced at a later time by the NFL.

The Broncos could clinch the No. 1 AFC playoff seed Sunday if New England (12-3) loses to the New York Jets, Jacksonville (11-4) loses to or ties Indianapolis and Buffalo (11-4) loses to or ties Philadelphia. If not, they definitely would clinch it with a win over the Chargers. At worst, Denver will be the No. 3 seed in the AFC.

The Broncos clinched their second straight playoff berth with a 34-26 victory against Green Bay on Dec. 14. After the game, Payton was asked about that.

“Yes, it’s nice to clinch a playoff berth,’’ Payton said. “Goal one is try to go win your division. Goal two is try to get the best seed, and then goal three is try to win a world championship. So we still haven’t really accomplished one, two or three. So remember one is win the division.”

Clinching the AFC West assures the Broncos will have their first playoff game at home. If they have the No. 1 seed, it would be on Jan. 17 or 18 in the divisional round. If they don’t get the top seed, they would open Jan. 10, 11 or 12 in the wild-card round.

“I think it’s awesome,’’ longtime Broncos radio play-by-play announcer Dave Logan said by phone about the Broncos clinching the division. “I think it’s well deserved. They earned it, and now you go forward and try to do something with it.”

When the Broncos last won a division title, they sure did something with it. They were the No. 1 seed in the AFC in 2015 and won Super Bowl 50.

“Man, I’m excited,’’ Brandon Marshall, a linebacker on the 2015 team, said about the Broncos again winning the division. “It’s obviously been 10 years. Ten years is too long. But to see them come out and dominate all season, it’s definitely something I’m excited about and I’m proud of. It’s time to get back to that winning tradition. I’m hoping they go all the way.”

Marshall, who lives in Las Vegas, plans to attend a home playoff game. He spoke of how far the Broncos have come in Payton’s third season with the team.

Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton celebrates after a first down reception during the second half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers in Denver, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

“This team is definitely ahead of where a lot of people thought they’d be,’’ Marshall said. “They’re not winning pretty or sexy but at the end of the day, we didn’t win pretty or sexy when we won the Super Bowl. As long as they find ways to win, that’s the most important thing.”

Logan, an NFL wide receiver from 1976-84, including 1984 with Denver, also said the Broncos are ahead of where many thought they would be.

“I don’t know that anybody would have said they’d be 13-3 at this point in the season,’’ Logan said. “They have found the magic this year (and quarterback) Bo (Nix) has got a little backyard magic in his game.’’

Nix has led the Broncos to wins this season seven times after they either trailed or were tied in the fourth quarter. In the latest such effort, Nix threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to running back RJ Harvey with 1:45 left in the game to break a 13-13 tie in Thursday’s 20-13 win at Kansas City.

That was the Broncos’ first win at Kansas City since 2015, when they last went on to win the AFC West.