The Denver Broncos still control their playoff fate against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 18 despite consecutive losses to the Los Angeles Chargers and Cincinnati Bengals. The Broncos have been in a "win and in" situation for the last couple of weeks but they haven't been able to seal the deal, keeping the door open for teams like the Bengals, Colts, and Dolphins to still be in the mix entering the final week of the season.
Only the Denver Broncos have a chance to win and get in next weekend, and they'll likely be doing it against the Kansas City Chiefs' backups.
The last couple of months have been a wild rollercoaster ride for all of Broncos Country. The Broncos lost a game they had all but won on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs earlier this season, and then they ripped off four straight wins to get into the position they find themselves in today. They had an 11-point lead in the 2nd half against the Los Angeles Chargers and they were gifted opportunities against the Cincinnati Bengals before losing that one as well.
The situation the Denver Broncos are in is an enviable one. The pressure is undoubtedly on, but any one of the Bengals, Dolphins, or Colts would absolutely trade places with the Broncos if they could. Win and in is the most coveted place to be in the NFL, and the Broncos have one more shot to take advantage.
Broncos playoff scenario after loss to Bengals in Week 17
Here's how the three long-shot teams can still earn the last AFC playoff spot:#Bengals: Beat Steelers, Broncos lose to Chiefs, Colts go 1-1 or 0-2, Dolphins go 1-1 or 0-2#Dolphins: Beat Browns and Jets, Broncos lose to Chiefs, Colts go 1-1#Colts: Beat Giants and Jaguars,…
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 29, 2024
Every other AFC team needs serious help to get in. The Colts may have the most convoluted path to the playoffs, and how weird is it that the Bengals could win out and still miss the playoffs because of a three-way tie-breaker with the Colts.
Mind-boggling.
Unlike these other teams who need to win and get help via the Broncos (and others) losing, the Broncos can just take care of business at home against the Kansas City Chiefs. Again, that's going to be easier said than done, for sure. The Broncos still have to go out and get the win by making plays, regardless of who the Chiefs are trotting out there.
Even if the Chiefs do rest some key starters in Denver, they are pretty close to playing at full strength right now as well and have a lot of good players all over that roster who could still take advantage of the Broncos making mistakes.
And the Broncos playing not to lose against the Chiefs like we saw at times against the Bengals? Well, that could lead to disaster.
A lot of folks out there think the Broncos don't deserve to make the playoffs after the letdowns against the Chargers and Bengals, and there are some who have said they'd rather not make the playoffs at all at this point. It's hard to fathom that way of thinking for a fan base that just went through eight years of total drought and some of the most embarrassing football in franchise history.
The Broncos need to win one more game and they'll likely book a trip to Buffalo for the Wild Card round of the playoffs. No matter what the outcome of that kind of game would end up being, Denver's young roster (3rd-youngest in the NFL) making the playoffs would be an extremely valuable experience.
Can they make it to the dance? We've got one more week against the team's most bitter rivals to find out.