Broncos focused on Chargers, ‘best seed possible’ in AFC after Chiefs eliminated from AFC West

When they took off from the desert the Broncos lost provision and the fate of the AFC West floated somewhere tens of thousands of feet up in the desert air A insufficient hours after putting the Raiders away to put several distance between them and the rest of their divisional field head coach Sean Payton and staff turned on the Sunday night encounter These were the dying vestiges of the Kansas City Chiefs as the Broncos and the world knew them clinging for one last breath to their hold on the AFC West against the Houston Texans Denver hit the sky with Houston up - early and landed with the total knotted at - Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes and company of lesson would not go away quietly But Payton and staff watched Mahomes throw two picks in the fourth quarter and Houston take control in a - win And that solidified it a steady bleed after the Broncos beat the Chiefs - in mid-November Kansas City has been mathematically eliminated from winning their division Yes a association other than the Chiefs will reign in the AFC West for the first time since I think again if this makes any sense the focus gets so inwardly driven to our own unit Payton stated Monday pondering the significance of watching that Chiefs loss But Payton continued I recognize that a unit that s won the division for however multiple straight years won t be able to win it this year But it s more essential to focus on all right how do we finish this next quarter pole of the season starting with a real good squad in Green Bay There s no need entirely to watch out for Kansas City in this last month They ve been on top as cornerback Ja Quan McMillian revealed Monday They aren t anymore The boogeyman has been driven out the Chiefs at - The Broncos attention now as Payton indicated will turn to navigating a December gauntlet to set themselves up as best as accomplishable come January Focusing on what we can do to win the division the Chargers are very much alive in that battle Payton stated And then furthermore what we can do to give ourselves the best seed achievable Indeed the Broncos don t yet have claim to the throne now vacated by Kansas City They sit at - after this -game win streak a assured games up on Los Angeles But the Chargers have two incredibly pivotal distinctions that could come into play in a tiebreaking scenario Los Angeles already beat Denver in Week and at present has the best record in the AFC West at - this season And a -game lead with four games to play is not assured enough to cruise by any means The Broncos face one of the tougher final stretches of any NFL squad this season starting with those - - Packers who have leveled up this season after landing star pass rusher Micah Parsons in a blockbuster deal during camp Then comes a home matchup with - Jacksonville who ve won four of their last five even after losing rookie Travis Hunter to season-ending injury Then comes a road trip to Kansas City on Christmas and absolutely those Chargers in a potentially titanic Week matchup We got a stretch here Payton mentioned with a few real good teams coming in So do the Chargers though hosting Philadelphia - Monday night then at Kansas City at Dallas - - and hosting Houston - One slip by Los Angeles and one tough win by the Broncos and the AFC West will be Denver s Related Articles Renck vs Keeler Is Broncos underdog status at home vs Packers ultimate sign of disrespect Parker Gabriel s Thoughts from Broncos th straight win including why Denver can go far with Bo Nix Event Manager Broncos RB RJ Harvey shows he s grown up quick in punishing performance vs Raiders Keeler Think Broncos are NFL playoff frauds Not when Sean Payton calls challenge like he did vs Raiders Through up-and-down year Broncos Marvin Mims stays focused on return championship That s his release In the meantime too Sunday s win over the Raiders gave the Broncos an critical edge in AFC seeding overall a tiebreaker in shared-opponent matchups with the New England Patriots who also sit at - Don t forget about Buffalo who s - and will play New England this Sunday in an fundamental meeting with AFC seeding implications don t forget about Jacksonville who could challenge the Broncos in that matchup in two weeks These Broncos have been through a lot of crap on the road to wins as quarterback Bo Nix reported Sunday night Nine of those wins have come in one-score games They ll have to go through more to veritably lock up the AFC West and wade through even more muck for a shot at a no seed and a playoff bye But they played one of their cleanest games of the season against the Raiders on Sunday And over miles away their greatest historical roadblock fell The sky s the limit for us left tackle Garett Bolles disclosed in the locker room Sunday If we do what we re supposed to we re a hard band to beat Want more Broncos news Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis