Sean Payton Explains Curious Way Broncos Celebrated AFC West Crown

The Broncos worked long and hard for this achievement.

DENVER, CO - NOVEMBER 16: Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton has a word with quarterback Bo Nix (10) before a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High on November 16, 2025 in Denver, Colorado. | Dustin Brandford / IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

In between their Christmas Night game vs. the Kansas City Chiefs and Monday morning, the Denver Broncos won the AFC West crown. The Los Angeles Chargers had a chance to keep it on the table, but couldn't beat the Houston Texans on Saturday, falling to 11-5 and clinching the divisional title for the Broncos.

“I was watching it probably like everyone else, and it ended up being a close game, hard-fought game," Broncos head coach Sean Payton said on Monday via conference call. "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."

Over the weekend, the Broncos players were off, enjoying the benefits of the mini-bye. When the players returned on Monday as AFC West champions, Payton opted not to celebrate the accomplishment in the team meeting, although he had the division champs gear placed in each player's locker by Broncos equipment manager Chris 'Flip' Valenti.

“‘Flip’ 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," Payton said on Monday via conference call. "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."

Adam Trautman said he didn't get the "Been there, won that" slogan that's also on the gear available in the #Broncos team store.

So, "pretty ugly" as Sean Payton says? pic.twitter.com/1PVPXAUJxX

— Parker Gabriel (@ParkerJGabriel) December 29, 2025

So why didn't Payton want to take a moment to celebrate the Broncos' first division title since 2015? After all, Payton has been working his tail off for three years to supplant the Chiefs at the top of the division, and now that the Broncos have done just that, it's as if it didn't happen.

As with all things Payton, there's a method to his madness.

"We just didn’t really talk about it," Payton said. "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."

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Areas for Improvement

CINCINNATI, OH - DECEMBER 28: Denver Broncos Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph and Denver Broncos Head Coach Sean Payton look on during the NFL, American Football Herren, USA football game between the Denver Broncos and the Cincinnati Bengals on December 28, 2024, at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. | Michael Allio / Imago / Icon Sportswire

When it comes to areas for improvement, the Broncos' defense is coming off a dominant performance vs. the depleted Chiefs, but in each game between Weeks 13 and 16, Vance Joseph's unit relinquished more yards and points, while recording fewer sacks and pressures.

And the takeaways still aren't coming for Denver. Suffice it to say, there's a reason why Payton is emphasizing the turnover differential entering the playoffs. It's a key to Super Bowl success.

"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," Payton said. "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.”

Importance of the No. 1 Seed

Instead of celebrating over what the Broncos have already accomplished, Payton kept the focus on the next thing at stake, which is the No. 1 playoff seed in the AFC. The Broncos remain in control of the No. 1 seed, and it's theirs, so long as they defeat the Chargers on Sunday.

“Historically speaking, it’s extremely important. Every study would show you," Payton said of the No. 1 seed. "And there is a number of reasons for that. These games are three hours long. The first reason would be, you skip a game in which you’re at risk to not play well or an opponent all of a sudden has a great game. You skip the threat of potentially losing a game, if that makes any sense. You skip right to the next round."

Rest vs. Rust

Broncos Country is fully aware of the risks of the team waking up on the wrong side of the bed on a single-elimination playoff day, or the opponent somehow getting its hands on some Kryptonian Wheaties the morning of, and shocking the world with an unexpected performance.

Most fans are also old enough to remember those two crushing Divisional-Round defeats the Broncos suffered in 2012 and 2014 during the Peyton Manning era, not to mention the 1996 one-seeded team that let the upstart Jacksonville Jaguars prevail. The Broncos came off the first-round bye in all three of those let-downs, but failed to meet, let alone exceed, the opponent's intensity and will to win, losing in one-and-done fashion.

The pros and cons of the 'Rest vs. Rust' argument are plentiful, but Payton is confident he can have the Broncos prepared to maximize a first-round bye. Eliminating the risk of losing a Wildcard game is one of the benefits of the No. 1 seed, in Payton's estimation, but so is the blessing of securing home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, with the road to the Super Bowl running through Denver.

"To be able to play in front of our fans with the crowd noise, the atmosphere. I don’t know, it’s been a while since they’ve hosted a playoff game," Payton said. "Certainly, it’s a fan base that deserves that opportunity. I get excited for them, and I get excited for our team."

Payton's Perspective

Payton has been through this before. His 16 years with the New Orleans Saints afforded him an experience from all the different playoff perspectives, which is why he's keeping a myopic team focus on winning the No. 1 seed.

"Man, all of it is important," Payton said. "Having been through this like nine, 10 other times, you’ve seen it all and you recognize how important it is: The challenge of winning playoff games on the road and how much more difficult that it is as opposed to trying to win them at home.”

The only Broncos team to successfully navigate all three rounds of the playoff gauntlet, including on the road, was the 1997 squad. The '97 Broncos hosted one playoff game in the Wildcard Round, before having to go on the road in back-to-back weeks to advance to Super Bowl XXXIII.

By that point, the Broncos were so battle-tested that not even the juggernaut defending World Champion Green Bay Packers could stand in their way of Super Bowl triumph. The Broncos won their first Lombardi Trophy that day, marking the first Wildcard team to win it all in many, many years.

Since then, several Wildcard teams have gone all the way, including the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers, who shocked the Broncos at home in the AFC Championship Game, and the 2012 Baltimore Ravens, who upset the Manning-led squad in the Divisional Round.

My point? The NFL has seen many more Wildcard teams advance through the playoffs since 1997, so we know that if the Broncos had to start in the first round, they could do it. However, it also means that if the Broncos vanquish the Chargers and win that No. 1 seed, they'll need to have their ducks in a row to hold down the fort and shut down the road team riding high off a Wildcard win.

Broncos-Chargers: Like a Playoff Game

First things first, though: the Broncos need to beat the Chargers. Payton swept the Chargers in his first year with the Broncos, but since Bo Nix has arrived, they're 0-3 against their division rival. That winless streak coincides with the arrival of Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Let's hope the Broncos have their dander up for this season finale.

"This game’s very much like a playoff game," Payton said.