ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos are on the cusp of their first playoff berth since winning Super Bowl 50 following the 2015 season.
That's the longest playoff drought following a Super Bowl win, but one they can finally snap with a victory over the Los Angeles Chargers (8-6) on Thursday night.
A win would also give the Broncos (9-5) their first five-game winning streak since they beat the Carolina Panthers 24-10 in that Super Bowl for the franchise's third title.
Punching their ticket to the playoffs “would be absolutely amazing, especially my first year here, too,” said safety Brandon Jones, who joined the team in free agency in March. “I am just super happy and super grateful for this opportunity to be here. I truly just love every guy in here, and I think we deserve it. We have put the work in. We have a bond that goes beyond the field and I am just happy that is finally able to be shown off.”
While Jones and other players openly pondered that elusive playoff berth, seventh-year pro Courtland Sutton doesn't want to get ahead of himself.
“Naw, not at all. I mean, shoot, we've got a big game Thursday, another opportunity to step in the direction of where we ultimately want to go, but man, there's so much more ahead of us,” Sutton said Tuesday.
One thing Sutton is relishing, however, is that the Broncos, with a better than 90% chance of making the playoffs, hold their hopes in their own hands.
“It is a good feeling to be in a space of if we take care of what we need to take care of, it's (not) like a ‘we need six teams to lose and do this and do that,'” Sutton said. “So, it's nice to almost be able to control our own destiny. But with that being said, we do have some big games to finish the season.”
After the Chargers game, the Broncos travel to Cincinnati for another prime-time matchup against the Bengals (6-8) on Dec. 28, followed by a season finale at home against the Kansas City Chiefs (13-1), who have won the AFC West nine years running.
The Broncos ended one long skid Sunday with their 31-13 win over the Indianapolis Colts. They have their first winning season since 2016, when they went 9-7 in Gary Kubiak's final year.
“I didn’t even know about that,” said right tackle Mike McGlinchey, who joined the Broncos last year as a free agent from the 49ers. “I guess mathematically, we can’t go under .500 now, which is cool. It’s not really about that. That’s a consolation prize to me. What it’s really about is getting into the dance, and we have a chance to do that in these next few weeks.”
“It's been tough here for a while,” pass rusher Jonathon Cooper said. “So, the fact that we're getting this thing turned around, I'm sure it's great for the fans and shout-out to Broncos Country.”
Tight end Nate Adkins, who scored a touchdown last week, considered the Broncos' win a double dose of goodness because it gave them a two-game lead over the Colts, plus the tiebreaker against them, in the AFC wild-card chase.
“This was the team that was running on our heels,” Adkins said. “But we’re more so looking to catch teams. Getting up to the five (seed), get the best seed possible. So obviously, just turn our focus to the Chargers.”
The Broncos and Chargers flip-flopped playoff position last weekend with Denver moving up to sixth and the Chargers, who lost to Tampa Bay, falling to the seventh and final spot. Baltimore (9-5), which walloped Denver on Nov. 3, is in fifth place.
While Sutton isn't allowing himself to think ahead too much, eighth-year left tackle Garett Bolles, the longest-tenured Bronco, imagines just what it'll be like to finally reach the playoffs.
“It means the world to me, you know, I haven’t done it since I’ve been here so to get back to where we belong and to bring our amazing fans the opportunity to cheer for us deep in the playoffs, it’s awesome, it’s an awesome feeling,” Bolles said. “We just got to focus on one game at a time. We got a big game coming up this week.”
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