The Denver Broncos are 13-3 on the season and need one more win to not only tie the franchise record for most regular season wins, but also secure the no. 1 overall seed for the NFL playoffs. This would give the Broncos a bye into the Divisional Round and also give the team home-field advantage in the postseason.
If the no. 1 seed is reached, Denver would have to win just two home games to make the Super Bowl in February, so a path to the big game is very realistic. Over the regular season, we have seen the Broncos struggle with being consistent at times, especially on offense. That has forced the team to turn it on in the second half and make up a deficit to win the game.
Denver has barely played a full four quarters on offense this year, which is frustrating, but starting QB Bo Nix has turned into one of the more clutch QBs in the NFL during 2025, and it's clear that he and the offense have come through when absolutely necessary. Ideally, Nix and the offense can start fast in the playoffs and sustain efficiency for most of the game. Tom Brady recently gave an accurate and scary assessment about the Broncos that nobody in the NFL wants to admit.
The greatest quarterback of all time can see why the Denver Broncos are a legit playoff team
Tom Brady's latest power rankings have the Broncos in the no. 2 spot behind the Seattle Seahawks, and this is what the seven-time Super Bowl champion had to say about the team:
Tom Brady on #Broncos: "This team has all the tools to win in the playoffs if Bo Nix can elevate his game over the next few weeks."
— Zack Kelberman (@KelbermanNFL) December 31, 2025
"We've seen it before, and nobody wants to play the Broncos at Mile High with Sean Payton leading the charge."pic.twitter.com/UtWlidgSAx
Brady is not wrong in saying that Bo Nix has to elevate his game if the Broncos want to win in the postseason - this is true for all quarterbacks, so this absolutely is not a dig at Nix at all. The playoffs are a different animal, and no team is going to win without supreme QB play.
Brady continues on and mentions how no one wants to play the Broncos at Mile High with Sean Payton in charge, and this is 100% true - Denver is now 13-3 in 16 home games since the start of the Bo Nix era back in 2024.
This team has been nearly unbeatable at home in the Payton/Nix era, and that's for a reason. If Denver can secure the no. 1 seed, the entire AFC playoff field is going to dread having to come to visit the Broncos in the postseason. It's one of the single-biggest home-field advantages in all of sports.