{"id":653604,"date":"2026-01-04T16:01:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T16:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/653604\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T16:01:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T16:01:12","slug":"broncos-will-clinch-the-one-seed-in-the-afc-with-a-win-vs-the-chargers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/653604\/","title":{"rendered":"Broncos will clinch the one seed in the AFC with a win vs. the Chargers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The Denver Broncos have already clinched a postseason berth and won the AFC West, but they have one last regular-season goal to achieve, and that is clinching the one seed and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. Due to their success this season, the Broncos control their own destiny, and the road to that one seed is simple. With a win over the division rival Chargers, the Denver Broncos will clinch the one seed, and the road to the Super Bowl will once again go through Mile High.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">It\u2019s that simple. As Al Davis famously once said: \u201cJust win, baby.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The Chargers typically would be a tough opponent for the Broncos. They are the one team that Sean Payton and Bo Nix haven\u2019t had much success against, but even they are making the road easier for the Broncos. Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh announced earlier in the week that star quarterback Justin Herbert will not start vs. the Broncos and that several other starters will likely rest or be backups for this game. Due to the Chargers\u2019 loss last week to the Texans, they have little play for as they\u2019re locked into a wildcard spot and will either travel to Jacksonville or New England next weekend. They chose survival over giving their best effort to beat the Broncos in the regular-season finale.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Still, a win is not guaranteed, and they will have to deal with a well-coached team led by backup quarterback Trey Lance. The former top pick has a big arm, is very athletic, and has the talent that made him the 3rd overall pick back in 2021. So, the Broncos defense cannot sleep on him and will need to get after him throughout the game, cause havoc, and hopefully, force some turnovers. Meanwhile, the offense will need to put points on the board and not play down to their competition, which is something they have done at times this season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Mile High is going to be loud, and the Broncos will be wearing the best uniforms in the NFL today. All they need to do is dispose of a Chargers team waving the white flag and clinch homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. Having teams come into Mile High will give the Broncos a huge advantage throughout the playoffs, and hopefully, they can secure that today.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">A win this afternoon will conclude a special and magical 2025 season for the Broncos. They will finish 14-3, be AFC West Champs, and head into the postseason as the one seed and as Super Bowl favorites.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Like I said earlier, \u201cJust win, baby.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Denver Broncos have already clinched a postseason berth and won the AFC West, but they have one&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":653605,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2062],"tags":[232,231,258,1151,2426,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-653604","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-denver-broncos","8":"tag-broncos","9":"tag-denver","10":"tag-denver-broncos","11":"tag-denver-broncos-news","12":"tag-denverbroncos","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=653604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653604\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/653605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=653604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=653604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=653604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}