DENVER — Believe it or not, the Denver Broncos are just one game out of first place in the the AFC West late in November.
On Sunday, Dec. 5, in one week, the Denver Broncos have an opportunity to be at the top of one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL.
You read that right—the Denver Broncos have that big of an opportunity in front of them after they beat down the Los Angeles Chargers 28-13 on Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High.
After 12 weeks of the season, Vic Fangio’s 6-5 team is tied for second place—or last place, depending on how you look at it—in the AFC West with the Chargers and the Las Vegas Raiders. The 7-5 Kansas City Chiefs sit on top of the division, but just one game ahead of the rest of the pack.
The Broncos play the Chiefs in Week 13 for a chance to rip the division lead from Kansas City in front of the entire nation on Sunday Night Football.
But in order for Sunday Night Football next week to have so much on the line, the Broncos had to take care of the Chargers at home. They knew it too.
“Today, the message before going into today’s game is like ‘This is it. This is the season.’ If we don’t win today, you hate to think about it like that but if we don’t win today, our season is on the line. We had to get a win this game,” Justin Simmons stated after the game. “I think that came out and guys were playing with a lot of passion and energy. We have to make sure we carry that over to next week.”
Coming off their Bye Week, Sunday was a must-win game in Simmons’ eyes. Next week, against the Chiefs, however, there’s only one option.
“No matter what happens, we have to find a way to leave Arrowhead [Stadium] with a win,” Simmons stated without hesitation about playing the Chiefs next week. “For us, it means a lot going into next week. It’s going to be a really good game. Another statement game.”
Sunday wasn’t Denver’s first statement win of the season either. In Week 9, the Broncos smashed the Cowboys in Dallas 30-16. However, the following week, the Broncos were embarrassed in Denver by the Philadelphia Eagles, losing 30-13.
“We can’t have a ‘Dallas Week’. We had a good game against Dallas, and we came back the next week and kind of laid an egg against ‘Philly,’” Simmons said.
The Broncos will have every reason to not lay an egg against the Chiefs. Not only is first place in the AFC West up for grabs, they’ll be playing on prime time for only the second time this season and have lost 11-straight games to the Chiefs. Denver should—should—have every reason in the world to be ready for the division battle.
“It’s extremely personal,” Simmons said about losing to the Chiefs 11-straight times. “No matter what I say up here—no matter how good it sounds, bad it sounds. You have to go deal with it. No one cares what it looks like. All anyone cares about is that win-loss column. That’s what we have to do—find a way to win. We’ll enjoy this tonight. Look at the positives—obviously, look at the negatives. We’re all in [on] next week.”
For the first time in years, the Broncos will be playing a meaningful game in December. Beat the Chiefs, and Denver is nearly guaranteed to playing meaningful games the rest of the year. Those words haven’t been able to be uttered in Denver since 2015, when the Broncos won Super Bowl 50.
“We seem to bring the adversity on us. Even at the end of the half today we brought that on ourselves, and we just keep overcoming it,” Fangio said after the Broncos’ win, describing what it means to be fighting for first place in the division next week. “Hopefully, we keep playing meaningful games here moving forward. We’ve got six left—prior to this we would have said five—and a lot of big games. We’re excited to be in the hunt. This is a resilient group.”
Entering the all-important prime-time game, the Broncos—yes, the Broncos—have the best point differential in the division. Denver is plus 32. The Chiefs sit at plus 31.
The Broncos viewed Sunday’s game against the Chargers as a must-win. Next week’s game against the Chiefs is a step above that.
