The Denver Broncos made the playoffs last year for the first time since 2015.
Now the goal is to win in the postseason, and the best way to do that is by playing at home.
Head coach Sean Payton said as much at his end of the season press conference.
And the path for that is winning the AFC West. It’s something the Kansas City Chiefs have done a stunning nine times in a row.
However, Henry McKenna of Fox Sports has the Broncos taking the division from the Chiefs and earning the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoffs. In a twist of fate, he has Kansas City snagging a wild card spot and the No. 6 seed, matching the two teams up in the first-round. McKenna has Denver winning that game 13-10 to move on the divisional round.
Now that the full 2025 NFL schedule has been released, @henrycmckenna is giving you his way-too-early playoff prediction 🔮👇
Read more: https://t.co/NFDIgJdF2M pic.twitter.com/oEHiYseNKR
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) May 17, 2025
McKenna doesn’t write much about the Broncos in his story, but he does include this nugget:
The Chiefs just put their heart and soul into the three-peat and failed brutally on the biggest stage. And while I think there’s a big-brother complex where Andy Reid lords over both Sean McDermott and John Harbaugh, I don’t think that’s true of Sean Payton, who will bump a fatigued Reid, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce out of the offseason.
That would obviously be special for the Broncos, if Payton could get them over the Kansas City hump. Not only winning the AFC West for the first time in a decade, but also booting the Chiefs out of the playoffs.
It’s one writer’s opinion, but McKenna has a large platform. It’s proving that it’s not crazy to think Bo Nix, Payton and a loaded Denver defense could make yet another big leap this season. They went 10-7 last year, while the Chiefs went 15-2.
Of course, the Broncos should’ve won in Arrowhead, but had a 35-yard field goal inexplicably blocked at the buzzer. Those kind of mistakes can’t happen this year.
To see the full prediction from Fox Sports, including who Denver eventually loses to, click here.