The NFL just released all playoff-clinching scenarios for Week 13, and the Broncos have three ways of locking up the AFC West on Sunday.
A win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Sports Authority Field at Mile High would put the Broncos in the playoffs and cement a second consecutive AFC West title. A San Diego loss would do the same, as would a Denver tie plus a San Diego tie.
Currently, Denver holds a four-game lead in the division — plus the tiebreaker over San Diego, having swept the Chargers — with five games remaining in the regular season.
Regardless, the Broncos aren’t looking ahead.
“We don’t want to worry about all that as much as we want to worry about the Tampa Bay Bucs in all three phases,” Head Coach John Fox said Monday. “That’ll be the mantra when we gather the team back up on Wednesday.”
Below are the other playoff-clinching scenarios for the rest of the NFL this week:
HOUSTON TEXANS
Houston clinches a playoff spot with:
1) HOU win or tie OR
2) MIA loss or tie + PIT loss or tie OR
3) MIA loss or tie + CIN loss or tie OR
4) PIT loss + CIN loss
BALTIMORE RAVENS
Baltimore clinches AFC North division with:
1) BAL win + CIN loss
Baltimore clinches a playoff spot with:
1) BAL win OR
2) BAL tie + CIN loss + MIA loss or tie
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
New England clinches AFC East division with:
1) NE win
ATLANTA FALCONS
Atlanta clinches NFC South division with:
1) ATL win + TB loss or tie OR
2) ATL tie + TB loss
Atlanta clinches a playoff spot with:
1) ATL win + SEA loss or tie OR
2) ATL tie + SEA loss + MIN loss
Now were cooken!!
Playoffs?! Playoffs?!!!! HaHa!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So the Broncos are favored by 6 1/2
B-R-O-N-C-O-S BRONCOS BRONCOS BRONCOS!!!
ALRIGHT LESSGO..THIS TIME CLINCH IT WITH A WIN AND NOT LEAN ON A CHARGERS LOSS..GO BRONCOS..AND WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE HESTER SIGNING BRONCOS COUNTRY..I THINK IT WILL PAY OFF
Hester should have some tread on the tires and some fuel in the tank! He won’t help his hall of fame bid at this point, but he could help us win some games…
I can’t tell you how excited I am at the idea of winning more than half of our regular season games for the first time since 2005!!!
B-R-O-N-C-O-S BRONCOS BRONCOS BRONCOS!!!
Cat! You gotta help me understand where you are coming from with this one… New England may have only beaten 2 teams with winning records, but they beat us head to head, and how many games have we won against teams that are over .500?
You can only play who’s on your schedule, and we have pushed our stats up to the top 5 in both Offense and Defense playing against sub-par opponents… We all saw what happened when we went against above average teams, I will grant that that was early in the season but NE won’t be any less affect running the ball against us than they were last season or at the beginning of this season…
You can use stats when you like, but stats go both ways and until we take our game to Houston then NE after beating the steelers/colts/bengals in the first round, we can only assume that the past performance is somewhat indicative of future results and that has both HOU and NE with a decisive advantage over us… I’m not saying we can’t win these games, but I’m saying with some certainty that the two teams that beat us straight up and are ahead of us in the standings are better teams then and now… We will get to see how we stack up with BAL soon enough
The Broncos simply have to win to change my perception of their place in the NFL/AFC Hierarchy at this time…
In Peyton we Trust!!!
OH YEAH YOU GOT THAT RIGHT..WE COULD SEE OUR BRONCOS GO 13-3 THIS YEAR THE BEST RECORD OF WINNING THE AFC WEST IN A WHILE
I think the Hester move is a ‘just in case’ – fortifying our depth – type of move.
I would be surprised to see him other than testing the waters – just a play or two – unless he gets in for a test play and busts it out.
Surprise! Surprise! Moreno seems to have a lock on the #2 spot. This has to be based on skills and experience evaluation of the coaches with his recent residence in the ‘doghouse’ having to do more with character and personal issues.
I hope all this is not an indication that Hillman is being viewed as a ‘bust’, but rather that he is struggling with maturing into the role.
I’m kinda thinkin’ that the Broncs are gonna secure a playoff spot this week!!! Who’da thunk it!!! (‘sides Cat – haha)
GOOD TIMES IN BRONCO COUNTRY!!!
That should have said Moreno in the #1 spot.
HI DB!
I just emailed you a copy of the radio commercial from yesterday! Don’t laugh too hard because it sounds terrible to me!!!
Hester will get a chance to carry the ball in short yardage situations I think, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see a delayed Screen pass to him on a real short yardage second down play…
The rational evaluation is that NE tears apart defenses no matter how high they are ranked, and the NE defense is under ranked because they get to play lazy. It’s easy to play lazy and take plays off when your team always plays with a lead.
The Pats are the ‘team to beat’ and could be ranked #1 in the NFL.
(The Broncos could be that team someday if our coaching staff – ie. Elway, Fox, McCoy – was more creative and risk taking…but… I’m awful glad Belichik isn’t our coach…goes for McD as well.)
“It’s a legend, I guess,” Bowe said after the fact. “It’s Peyton Manning. Who wouldn’t want a picture with him? If you had an opportunity, would you take it?”
“Yeah, I’d like him to throw me passes, too,” the reporter said.
“That, too, but right now the best thing I have is a picture, so I’ll live with that,” Bowe said
THATS FROM AN ARTICLE ABOUT HIM AND JAMAAL CHARLES GETTING A PIC WITH MANNING AND AUTOGRAPH..BUT THE REASON WHY I SHOULD BOWE’S ONE WAS CAUSE HIM BEING A FREE AGENT AT THE END OF THE SEASON..LOOKS LIKE HE WANTS TO BE A BRONCO NEXT YEAR
Sorry Turtle – That didn’t come out too well. But….the road to success is paved with failures…NEVER GIVE UP!!! You go dude!
Agreed DB… that was a swing and a miss! but that was the final edit they sent to us and it’s going on the radio as is… Hope the listening audience has a sense of humor!!!
Smart move by the Broncos to sign FB/RB Jacob Hester, as he can be used to mimic what Tampa Bay’s RB Doug Martin can bring. Always a good idea to bring in talent better than what you have, and if Hester is that over FB Chris Gronkowski, I’m stoked for it. I just see it now, the Broncos need a yard or two for a first down, they bring in Gronk as the lead blocker and Hester as the back…Whew, what a hand full.
DB and Turtle the combined records of Denvers losses are 28-5 all back when our team was still getting it together. Patriots 19-14 and the defenses at the time of those three were top 10 and the offenses wernt top 15 except one at the time of the loss. (Ravens) Denvers losses were at the time #3 offense (Patriots now #1) Texans #6 offense Falcons #1 offense. However only one team had a top 10 D (Texans). The other was top 20 (Falcons) and the Patriots (#26)
Denver hasnt struggled vs bad teams (Besides KC) whereas Patriots have struggled vs a bad Bills team bad Jets team not to mention all three of their losses. The Patriots have not beat a good defense.
Denver has struggled vs good teams. Which to be the best you have to beat the best. Granted it was early in the season when getting things together. Thing is turnovers lost us two of those games. Which is part of the game and something we still struggle with.
Many NFL analysts say that Denver is the team to beat in the AFC IF they dont turn the ball over.
Take from that what you will. Not going to either side of the argument. (IMO 49ers are the best team in the NFL and AFC the Texans)
Now that was a good game Sunday. Glad to come out with a win in a hard arrow head stadium.
Oh and yesterday at 6:36 PM my fiancee and I welcomed our two beautiful babies into the world. Broncos Country now has two more Bronco fans.
Big IF AB… plus NE beat us heads up and we have a good defense, so the rest is semantics really cause they can only play who’s on the field with them…
Congrats on the Children AB!!! many long nights to come, but it’s all worth it!!!
I was hoping they would be born on Friday!!! How is your Fiance feeling?
BT I know its a big if. And at the time NE beat us our Defense was still struggling. But yes they did beat us head to head that much is obvious.
Thanks for the congrats. She is doing good. Shes tired. We went to the hospital at 5 PM Sunday after the game and was there for the whole time. She got annoyed by me so I was kicked out of the delivery room lol. But we both are very happy tired and enjoying it.
CONGRATS AB! That is a gift and I wish your family the best going forward.
…oh and as always your analysis and input is good to read.
Thanks SW. Now i get to deal with 18 years of them LOL oh well. Im anxious for it haha
Funny how stats can be used to tell a story like a person wants and in the immortal words of Homer Simpson ‘O Lisa, you can use facts to prove anything’…
At the time NE lost to ARI the cardinals were undefeated, and since winning their first four have gone 0-7… NE lost in Baltimore on the last drive, and that team is 9-2 and then lost in Seattle to a team that bosts the best Secondary in all of football… I think the fact that Arizona has lost so many games in a row really scews the overall line
Denver got beat up by Houston on both offense and Defense, and many feel they are the strongest team in the AFC, I would put my money on Tom Brady though if I had to pick because a team has yet to dominate the Pats… Minnesota Dominated the 49ers but it was early, so not a good indicator but it did happen
Just fun contemplation! all questions get answered on the field!!!
B-R-O-N-C-O-S BRONCOS BRONCOS BRONCOS!!!
AB! go buy her some flowers!!! and give her our best from Broncos Country
I’m excited for you!!!
BT already got her flowers lol a dozen roses. And I will give her yalls best. lol
Excellent man! Maybe you will be blessed with little ones and a Superbowl title all in the same season!!!
BT I sure hope so!!!!! That would be great! But even if it doesnt happen it will still be a season to remember for me.
anybody watching the ESPN special on Sean Taylor?!? What a BEAST!!! I hadn’t seen some of those hits before but D AM N he was like Steve Atwater!!!
What a Trajedy… so sad and senseless
AB, 40 yrs ago, I had to watch the end of a bronco game, while my wife waited, not so patiently, with her bag packed and her coat on… Just barely made the hospital… Man, was she PO’ed…
Congrats to you… Hope your next 39 are as good as mine have been…
BTW, my daughter agrees with me… She is a season ticket holder…
I have to say this cause DB gets on me for constantly disagreeing with him (respectfully of course). Anyway, I AGREE with DB. That’s right. I said it. I agree with DB.
I see Hester as insurance and he may not get activated on gameday. If he does, they sit Ball or they sit Gronk. Thing is, Hester is a ST ace so he fills that role well. He can block and he can catch but he doesn’t know the system yet. With a limited number of games left, I don’t see him getting into the lineup much.
Some have mentioned going big on third and short with a FB and Hester at tailback. I don’t see this at all. The Manning offense lines up almost exclusively with the same personnel on the field at all times. Rarely, and I mean rarely, does the offense sub in any kind of different personnel package. The point of the Manning offense is to give the same look at all times so the defense can’t decipher what is coming and if they do, Manning make an adjustment to the play to make it successful.
Anyway, Hester might not see the field much unless Knowshon gets injured.
Knowshon ran good on Sunday. He was patient and didn’t do the Fred Flinstone thing. Got good ypc. Good for him.
HEY BRONCOS COUNTRY WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT JASON BABIN..ON NFL.COM THEY SAYING HE COULD LAND IN DENVER
Congrats A.B. This calls for a party. Tell your new dependents, daily, how much you love them and treat that lady of yours with the kindest of words and acts.
i wouldnt mind having Jason Babin on our team. But its a give and take. hes currently on the waiver wire so that means if any team were to claim him, they would have to take on his big contract. Jason Babin is good in pass rushing situations but he struggles in the run game
Congrats alaska!! We just celebrated my sons (only child) first birthday on Thanksgiving. Enjoy those babies and welcome to Broncos Country little ones!!
A big Congrats to ya AB. And I gotta laugh, yesterday was my B-day. LOL
Happy b-lated strand
Thanks Melloo! Life is awesome! I want the #2 seed for Christmas! LOL
Melloo, congrats on your grandsons first birthday, thats so neat bro. I was born on Thanksgiving, and so it lands on the holiday every 7 years. LOL
new blog guys and gals. Its the blog contest results. HaHa!! I’m still tied for second. WHEW!!
AB: Congrats. Now the sleepless nights bewgin. Twins!! Double the trouble, double the unfortegablew moments!!! I wish mom a speedy recovery.
YEAH IF JASON BABIN LAST TILL HE TURNS IN TO A FREE AGENT I SAY SIGN EM..BUT I THINK DENVER MY CLAIM EM IF HE FALLS TO THEM