Broncos Win AFC's No. 1 Seed for First Time in a Decade

Regardless of how it looked, the Broncos did what it took to win the No. 1 playoff seed in the AFC.

Jan 4, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II (2) reacts to his tackle during the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers at Empower Field at Mile High. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Denver Broncos have won the No. 1 playoff seed in the AFC for the first time since 2015. That happens to be the last year the Broncos won the Super Bowl.

Entering Week 18's finale vs. the Los Angeles Chargers, the Broncos had already clinched a playoff berth and the AFC West crown, but they had to win to secure the No. 1 seed, which comes with a first-round bye and homefield advantage in the playoffs.

Denver did just that, dominating the Chargers defensively with a 19-3 victory. Now, the Broncos can take a week to rest and recover before hosting their first playoff game in a decade.

As elated as fans are that Denver clinched the No. 1 seed, many were dissatisfied with the team's effort in the season finale. The Broncos' defense absolutely dominated the Trey Lance-led Chargers, but Bo Nix and the offense struggled mightily throughout the game, failing to score a touchdown.

The bottom line, though, is that Denver found a way to get it done and clinch the No. 1 seed. Broncos head coach Sean Payton knows he has some fixing to do, but his team just bought him an extra week to get it done.

"To be able to host the Divisional Round is significant," Payton said post-game. "Yeah, we've got to clean some things up, and we will."

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Offensive Struggles

Jan 4, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Los Angeles Chargers defensive tackle Justin Eboigbe (92) sacks Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) during the third quarter at Empower Field at Mile High. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Broncos struggled to get anything going on the ground. Their 116 rushing yards is a deceiving number in the box score. Take away Nix's 49 yards scrambling, and Denver finishes with just 67 rush yards.

However, running back Jaleel McLaughlin once again maximized his opportunities to touch the ball, finishing with 41 rushing yards on six carries and catching one pass for 17 yards. He's seeing the blocking concepts better than his rookie counterpart, RJ Harvey.

Aside from that, it was Denver's inefficiency on third down and in the red zone that led to this being such a dissatisfying win. The Broncos went 5-of-15 on third down (33%) and 0-for-3 in the red zone.

The Broncos went from being one of the NFL's better red-zone offenses to really struggling in this area over the past three games. When Payton says they have "some things to clean up," it starts with third down and the red zone.

Defensively, the Broncos heard Payton's call for more takeaways. Cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian intercepted a Lance pass, returning it to the house for a pick-six. Rush linebacker Nik Bonitto also forced a fumble, strip-sacking Lance, which Denver recovered.

All in, the 10 points that came off of takeaways ultimately were the difference in this game. Some will say that Denver "played down" to its competition once again, this time against the Justin Herbert-less Chargers, but Payton's game-planning philosophy in this one was obviously "don't lose it."

Payton called a conservative game, and Nix did his best in the face of constant Chargers pressure to execute it. Of Nix's 23 pass attempts, only two traveled 10 yards or more, one of which went to Evan Engram for 43 yards.

The Broncos have earned themselves a bye and some extra time to fine-tune things. But the battle rages on. A new season begins for Denver in two weeks.

Win two home games, advance to the Super Bowl. That's the next goal that Payton and the Broncos have their eye on achieving.