Mile High Report
Bo Nix, Sean Payton, and the Denver Broncos are in uncharted territory.
It’s been 10 years since the Broncos were in this position. Not only sitting atop the AFC West standings, but also fighting for the top seed in the AFC playoffs. With that comes homefield advantage and the bye.
Denver heads east to face the Washington Commanders on Sunday Night Football at 9-2 and everything within reach.
How does Payton balance keeping the Broncos focused on the task at hand and not looking ahead while also knowing the outcome if they continue winning games?
As Denver’s head coach said this week when asked that question:
“I can’t assume everyone on this team understands the playoff format. It switched in 2020. We added the seventh team, so beginning in 2020, there was only one team (with the bye). Analytically, in the 25 years of the (No.) 1 and 2 seed that didn’t play … Then the goal obviously is the end game. You are in a position where they can kind of see that if you are able to capture the No. 1 seed—and it used to be the No. 2 seed—you eliminate a game, and that is significant.
“Those early years in New Orleans, we were the No. 2 seed and ended up at Chicago as the No. 1 seed in tough weather. I remember after that tough loss feeling like, ‘We have to find a way to play this game at home,’ and there it was a few years later in the NFC Championship Game. Just from the studies—and look, that doesn’t mean you have to. We’ve seen years and years of teams — shoot Tampa Bay most recently on the road, on the road, and on the road and won the Super Bowl. Each week, we build up this equity of where we are at, and I think certainly the buy-in and these guys are smart enough to know what each of these games count for.”
What should help the Broncos mentally and physically is getting their bye week.
Over the course of this eight-game winning streak, Denver played a lot of football. So getting the chance to get away for a bit should help the team recalibrate and refocus.
The Broncos know that if they take care of business each week, it puts them in the best position to achieve their goals.
“We put ourselves in this position now to put ourselves in that position then,” Nix said to the media this week. “I think the job is definitely not even close to being finished yet, but we have put ourselves in a spot to obtain it, and so that’s part of the journey. You’ve got to put yourself in a situation to get it there at the end and grab hold of it.
“But it’s right there in front of us. Like I said, you don’t get these opportunities a lot. They’re definitely hard to come by,...
