The Denver Broncos are 13-3 on the season and are still in the driver's seat to clinch the top seed in the AFC for the playoffs. Earning the top seed guarantees them the first-round bye and homefield advantage.
Denver would only have to win two home games to make it to Super Bowl LX, which is, ironically, in the same place it was back in 2015. Many have pointed out all of the similarities between this year and the 2015 NFL Season, and you almost have to wonder if it's destiny at this point.
Anyway, there are multiple scenarios at play here for the no. 1 overall seed in the AFC that do not directly involve the Broncos beating the Los Angeles Chargers. That is still very likely to happen, as the Chargers will not be playing QB Justin Herbert and could rest other key starters, but here are the scenarios where the Broncos can clinch the top seed even in a loss.
The Denver Broncos still have a path to AFC's top seed even with a Week 18 loss
Here are all the scenarios for the no. 1 seed:
-DEN win
-DEN tie + NE loss or tie
-NE loss + JAX loss or tie
It would be odd, but the last scenario can happen. If all of the Broncos, Patriots, and Jacksonville Jaguars lose, the Broncos would still be the no.1 seed, as they would maintain their one-game lead over the Jags, and they already have a tiebreaker over the Patriots.
If all three teams win, Denver is obviously still the one seed, so a win over the Chargers makes it so the other games have no impact on the seeding. You can also see scenarios where a tie gets Denver the top seed, but the Pats would also have to tie or loss outright.
There is much at stake, but since the Broncos raced out to a 13-3 start, the odds are on their side. With a win over the Chargers in Week 18, the Broncos would tie the franchise record with 14 wins in the regular season.