With only four games left on the Denver Broncos’ schedule, every game has increased importance. Just as many fans needed to last year, Broncos fans need to worry about other games in the AFC again this year. This year, however, the Broncos are looking to wrap up the AFC’s lone playoff bye week.
Even as they look towards the top seed in the conference, the Broncos need to wrap up their division title first. The Broncos can put their clinching number to just one this week, but will need some help to get there. The Chargers are on the upswing, but face a tough divisional matchup this week.
More interestingly, the Broncos can see the elimination of the Chiefs this week. No Chiefs in the playoffs will be the craziest development of 2025, and the Broncos would be more than happy to experience that. The flip side? The second craziest development might be the return of the Patriots to the top of the league.
Here's who fans of the Denver Broncos should root for in Week 15 across the NFL
3) New York Jets over the Jacksonville Jaguars
This one is the least likely of them all, but it would all but confirm a two-team race for the AFC's top seed. At 9-4, the Jaguars could technically run the table and finish atop the AFC. With a loss, they'll drop to 9-5 and would likely pencil themselves into the third seed in the AFC. Considering Denver's brutal schedule to end the season, there is a not-terribly-crazy scenario where the Broncos end up in the three seed with the Jags in the second spot.
2) Kansas City Chiefs over the Los Angeles Chargers
The Broncos can't clinch the AFC West in Week 15, but a Chiefs win and a Broncos win all but seal it. Denver would have a 98% chance of winning the division with this outcome, according to The Athletic's Playoff Predictor, and Denver would need either one more win or one more Chargers loss to get it done. The Chiefs are eliminated from the playoffs with a loss, so a desperate Kansas City team might have enough juice to pull off the upset.
1) Buffalo Bills over the New England Patriots
If the Broncos win and the Patriots lose in Week 15, Denver will hold effectively a two-game lead over the Patriots for the top seed with just three games to play. Denver clinched the tiebreaker over New England with their Week 14 win over the Raiders, and could put that difference maker to work fairly quickly as the year comes to an end. A Bills win also leaves the AFC East wide open, putting the fate of the division right back up in the air.