Broncos HC Sean Payton Derides 'Ugly' AFC West Champion Gear

Much has been made about the freshly released AFC West champion merchandise — and none of it good.

Denver Broncos fans across social media have skewered the hats and T-shirts commemorating the club's first division crown since 2015. Particularly the caps, which oddly resemble the Las Vegas Raiders' colors, save for the tiniest pop of orange on their front.

To say Broncos head coach Sean Payton agrees with the critique would be an understatement. And that's even before laying eyes on the championship apparel.

"Equipment got… ‘Flip’ (Equipment Manager Chris Valenti) says, he texted me, ‘What do you want me to do?’ And I said, ‘Just put them in the lockers.’ We actually didn’t even talk about it," Paytn told reporters Monday. "I don’t know if that’s something I should have or omitted. I haven’t seen the hats or the shirts. My understanding is they’re pretty ugly. We just didn’t really talk about it. The focus was on this week’s game, and the Chargers and the seeding ramifications, really trying to educate them relative to what’s going to be important here down the stretch and then improving. The one area that has to improve is the turnover margin, and that can happen. We did a collective of the last 25 years of Super Bowl winners. It’s something like 114 in the plus. There’s been one Super Bowl winner in the last 25 years… I’m just talking about when the playoffs begin, if that makes sense. When the playoffs begin, the Rams recently were the only minus-two turnover team. The rest added up to some crazy number, and so that’s something we have to improve on.”

No lies told. https://t.co/P4lWe9u2KM pic.twitter.com/H2MT2Daha9
— Zack Kelberman (@KelbermanNFL) December 29, 2025

What happens next for the Broncos? Don't miss out on any news and analysis! Take a second, sign up for our free newsletter, and get breaking Broncos news delivered to your inbox daily!

Sitting at 13-3, the Broncos can officially secure the No. 1 seed in the AFC by defeating the Los Angeles Chargers at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday in the 2025 regular-season finale. Ironically, it was the rival Chargers who helped Denver to its West title by falling to the Texans last Saturday.

The league opted against flexing the Week 18 matchup into primetime, instead scheduling kickoff for 2:25 p.m. MT with the contest broadcast on CBS.

“I mean I was watching it probably like everyone else, and it ended up being a close game, hard-fought game," Payton said of Chargers-Texans. "Then I think the immediate focus shifts towards Monday’s meeting, which we just had, relative to our approach this week. Normal schedule, Sunday 2:25 start time. This game’s very much like a playoff game.”

Payton 'Not Worried' About Slumping Sackers

The Broncos' road to the top conference seed got a bit easier Monday when Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh announced Pro Bowl quarterback Justin Herbert, battling a variety of minor injuries, won't play against Denver, along with several other banged-up players.

Starting in Herbert's place will be former first-round backup QB Trey Lance, presenting the Broncos with an opportunity to add to their league-leading sack total (64) — a number that has waned off in recent weeks.

But Payton is more than happy to abide by the "pressure is production" mantra. So long as the passer is affected, the pass-rushers are doing their job.

“[I’m] not worried about the sacks, not worried about the sacks," Payton said Monday. "[I’m] worried about caging the quarterback, rushing him properly. So we’re not focused on the sack numbers. Those can actually be numbers that help a quarterback climb up in the pocket. A lot of it maybe has to do with who we’ve been playing relative to the quarterback position, but I’m not interested in the sack numbers.”