How Denver Broncos can clinch AFC West, playoff spot Sunday

It’s that time of year, Denver Broncos fans, when your team is on the verge once again of making the playoffs.

The orange and blue have won the AFC West four straight seasons in a row, and they’re now close to being donned champions for a fifth straight year. Talk about dominance of a division.

The nice folks over at NFL Communications put out an entire playoff scenario guide today, with this being the part pertaining to the Broncos:

1. DENVER BRONCOS (vs. Oakland, Sunday)Denver clinches AFC West division with:

1. DEN win + KC loss or tie OR
2. DEN tie + KC loss​

Seems simple enough. Beat the Oakland Raiders when they come to town this Sunday — 2:05 p.m. MT kickoff — and have Kansas City lose or tie and the AFC West is Denver’s. The Chiefs play the lowly San Diego Chargers, though, so it will take a great game from Philip Rivers and Co. to pull out a victory.

Denver could also tie, which almost never happens, and the Chiefs would have to lose.

Denver clinches a playoff spot with:

1. DEN win + NYJ loss or tie OR
2. DEN win + PIT loss or tie OR
3. DEN tie + NYJ loss OR
4. DEN tie + PIT loss

This is also simple. Win against Oakland and have either the New York Jets lose to the Tennessee Titans or the Pittsburgh Steelers lose to the Cincinnati Bengals, and the Broncos are guaranteed a playoff berth. The Broncos could also tie and then would need the Jets or Steelers to lose outright.

Interestingly, all of these games occur in the early slate, kicking off at 11 a.m. MT, so the Broncos will know what a win would mean at that point.

Denver beat the Raiders in Oakland 16-10 back in October, taking a 9-7 lead into the fourth quarter when Chris Harris picked off Derek Carr and returned it 75 yards to the house.

Don’t forget, the Broncos could also win the AFC all together by winning out. Thanks to a victory over the Patriots, Denver holds the tiebreaker, and a win over Cincinnati would drop them from first to second in the American Football Conference. Of course, with four weeks of football remaining, a ton can happen.

But, Broncos fans can basically rest easy, knowing a win this week will go far in their hopes of making the postseason for a fifth straight year.