Kareem Jackson delivers a strong message to the Broncos' locker room following the loss to the Chiefs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Denver Broncos got embarrassed on Sunday Night Football in front of the entire country against their division rival in Kansas City.

The Broncos 12th-straight loss to the Chiefs set a franchise record.

Denver’s offense failed to score double-digit points for the second time this season.

On top of all of that, Denver’s 22-9 loss to the Chiefs on Sunday night dropped them to last place in the AFC West.

But despite that, the message in the locker room following the loss was about the opportunity the Broncos still have in front of them.

“We are still in the hunt and we can take care of business,” Vic Fangio stated, shortly after his defense held Patrick Mahomes to the worst regular-season passer rating of his career. “We just have to rebound and start this last five games playing Detroit this Sunday and get back on track.”

While Sunday’s loss was a punch to the gut as Denver couldn’t even cover the nearly double-digit point spread, the Broncos are still right in the thick of the playoff chase.

Although Denver currently is the 12th seed in the AFC, they are only one game back of the final two wild card spots. If the Patriots beat the Bills on Monday Night Football, the Broncos will only be one game back of all three wild card spots.

“Kareem Jackson said it best in the locker room, that we have five games left and each one is a playoff game for us,” Teddy Bridgewater said after the game. “All we want to do is focus on one day at a time, one week at a time, one opponent at a time.”

The NFL playoffs begin on Saturday, Jan. 15.

The Denver Broncos playoffs begin on Sunday, Dec. 12, according to Denver’s star safety.

Fortunately, Denver’s first “playoff game” is against the worst team in the NFL, the 1-10-1 Lions, at home. A win over the lowly Lions and the Broncos have a chance to jump from the 12th seed into a playoff spot.

Additionally, to Kareem’s point, after playing the Lions, Denver’s four remaining games are all against teams either currently in the playoffs—the 8-4 Chiefs, 7-5 Chargers and 7-5 Bengals—or in the hunt—the 6-6 Raiders.

““We obviously know that there’s opportunities out there. There’s a lot of season left,” Pat Surtain stated, after recording his fourth interception of the season. “We’re going to see them again later down in the road. There’s a lot of season left and a lot of games to be played. We’re going to keep on playing and keep on fighting and do what we got to do. Correct things in the film room, like we always do and just bounce back.”

After playing the Lons next week, the Broncos’ final stretch is brutal, just like the playoffs. And just like the playoffs, Denver controls their own destiny.