Broncos can clinch a playoff spot with these Week 16 outcomes

The Denver Broncos have a magic number of just one to clinch a playoff spot for the first time in eight years and can accomplish that goal a couple of different ways in Week 16. Their dominating win over the Colts shot their playoff chances through the roof, and the team is now a heavy favorite to make this year's tournament.

They will head to Los Angeles to play the Chargers and are early three-point underdogs. At 9-5, Sean Payton's team currently holds the sixth seed in the AFC, and a win over the Chargers can all but lock up that spot, at absolute worst. Let's take a look at the two different ways the Broncos can clinch the playoffs this week.

Two playoff-clinching scenarios for the Broncos in Week 16

1) Beat the Chargers

When your magic number is one, there is one incredibly easy way to clinch a playoff spot: win one more game. The Broncos are coming off an emphatic Week 15 victory over the Colts, in which they once again wreaked havoc on defense, forcing five turnovers by a Colts team that was not able to muster much of anything in the second half, especially after Jonathan Taylor's costly goal-line fumble that resulted in a Broncos touchback.

On the other hand, the Chargers got smacked around by the Buccaneers this past week, the same Buccaneers team that the Broncos defeatedly handily in Tampa Bay earlier this year. Denver will have their work cut out for them on multiple fronts, especially considering that the injury fate of potential Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain hangs in the balance after exiting the 4th quarter of the Colts game with an ankle injury. It might be an uphill battle for the All-Pro corner to give it a go on a short week.

This could make for another big week for rookie Kris Abrams-Draine

2) Losses by the Colts, Dolphins, and Bengals

This scenario requires a little more heavy lifting from the rest of the AFC. Regardless of their outcome on Thursday night, the Broncos can clinch a playoff spot if all three of the AFC's 6-8 teams lose this week. All three teams play at home, and there is reason to believe that all three will be favored in their matchup. The Bengals host the Browns, who are once again in quarterback limbo after the benching of Jameis Winston.

The Colts are set to host the Titans, who were made to look silly by Joe Burrow and the Bengals this past week, and the Dolphins will host a 49ers team that is in troubled waters for the first time in a while. All three home teams figure to be competitive in these games if not outright favorites. A world in which all three teams lose is unlikely, but it would send the Broncos to the playoffs for the first time since their 2015 Super Bowl 50 run.