Yes, the Denver Broncos are the current No. 1 seed in the AFC.
That’s a remarkable sentence to type on Nov. 19.
Denver is 9-2, riding an eight-game winning streak and currently tied with New England also at 9-2. However, because the Broncos have the better record in conference games over the Patriots, they would earn the coveted first-round bye. Denver is 6-2 in AFC games while New England is 5-2.
And while all of this is amazing, the Broncos better keep a foot on the gas coming off their regular season bye this weekend.
First of all, the Indianapolis Colts are 8-2 because they just had their bye. If they beat the Chiefs on Sunday to get to 9-2, they’ll jump Denver in the standings. The pesky leverage penalty that gave them the win over the Broncos back in Week 2 could turn out to be huge. Obviously that gives the Colts the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Also, if the Patriots keep winning, they’ll eventually play as many conference games as Denver. Then the tiebreakers get really in the weeds, but it’s not something to dissect just yet with a lot of football still to go.
It’s a pickle this weekend for Broncos fans. Do they root for the Colts to push the Chiefs further down and to 5-6, looking more and more like a non-playoff team? Or does Denver have enough of a cushion to cheer for Kansas City and hand Indy a third loss? That’s up for each person to decide, as there are pros and cons to both situations.
Meanwhile, the 7-4 Chargers still lurk in the AFC West. Los Angeles has its bye as well this weekend, so no need to scoreboard watch on Sunday. A very good outcome for the Broncos would be the Bengals (who might get QB Joe Burrow back) beating New England. That’s an easy one.
But the best news? If the Broncos keep winning and get to (gasp) 15-2, they’ll be in unbelievable shape. 14-3 and 13-4 would also be incredibly formidable marks.
At the end of the day, Denver can more or less control its own destiny. It’ll be fun to watch the rest of the NFL this weekend, knowing that the Broncos are in an enviable spot.