The Broncos have put themselves in a position where the AFC playoff race is starting to look a lot more interesting than it did a few weeks ago.
At 6-2, Denver is pacing toward a 13-4 finish and has already stacked up 30 regular-season wins since the start of the 2024 campaign. The team is riding a four-game winning streak, and after beating the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8, the Broncos remain in the AFC West hunt while also extending their home success against Kansas City to four straight years in the Sean Payton era.
Eight games into 2026, Denver is also on track to reach the playoffs for the third straight season. There are still nine games left, so plenty can shift, but the current AFC picture would hand the Broncos a shot at something they’d probably love.
Right now, Buffalo is the only one-loss team in the conference and would own the first-round bye along with home-field advantage. Denver, though, is sitting right behind the Bills in the No. 2 seed. That would not bring a bye, but it would mean the Broncos would host the lowest-seeded playoff team in the Wild Card Round.
That would set up a home game against New England, and Broncos fans don’t need much reminding why that would carry extra weight. It would come two full playoff rounds earlier than any possible meeting in 2025, but it would still give Denver a major opportunity to show it is the better team.
The Broncos “almost” beat the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game last year with Jarrett Stidham at quarterback, and if not for the snowstorm that hit in the second half, Denver might have won that game and reached the Super Bowl.
This year’s Broncos also have a familiar feel to them. They’ve already been through their toughest stretch, they’re on a four-game roll, and it’s not hard to imagine this team pushing toward an 11-game winning streak.
The schedule still includes Carolina, Las Vegas twice, Miami, the New York Jets, and the Los Angeles Chargers again. Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and New England are still on the slate too, but the source material makes the case that Denver could very well be better than all three.
It’s early to get too far ahead of the standings, but the Broncos are in a strong spot. They look like a team with a real chance to make the playoffs again, and they’re also hanging around the top of the AFC race.
In Other News...
Chiefs Meltdown Added Even More To Denvers First-Place Win
The Broncos Week 8 win over Kansas City already carried plenty of weight, but the ripple effects made it feel even bigger in Denver. A 28-24 victory pushed the Broncos to 6-2 and dropped the Chiefs to 5-2, flipping the AFC West standings and giving Denver a first-place spot it had been chasing.
Kansas Citys frustration spilled well beyond the field after the game, with Brittany Mahomes taking to Instagram Stories to criticize a late penalty that wiped out a potential turning point. For the Broncos, it was the kind of divisional win that does more than add a mark in the standings, because it also leaves the rival most likely to challenge them dealing with the fallout. [Read more 🡒]
Mahomes Postgame Drama Briefly Took Attention From Denvers Biggest Win
The Broncos biggest win of the season came with some extra postgame noise after Kansas Citys second straight loss turned into a heated finish. The Chiefs fell to 5-2 after a late false start penalty wiped out their chance to win, and Patrick Mahomes spent much of his postgame availability venting about the officiating after throwing for 321 yards and three touchdowns on 30 completions.
A viral clip then briefly shifted attention to a supposed handshake snub involving Mahomes and Bo Nix, but the moment did not match what actually happened on the field. CBS Sports reporter Tracy Wolfson clarified that the quarterbacks had a long conversation after the game and showed each other respect, a small but telling detail after a night that had already delivered plenty of drama for Denver to enjoy. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos Win Over Chiefs Raised A Bigger J.K. Dobbins Question
The Broncos Week 8 win over the Chiefs gave the offense a jolt, and Jonah Coleman was a big part of it with 104 scrimmage yards and a touchdown. It was the kind of performance that can change the tone around a backfield, especially in a game with that much weight attached to it, because Denver found production when it mattered most and showed it has more than one option to lean on.
J.K. Dobbins, meanwhile, was left with a much smaller footprint in the game plan, which only sharpened the questions about how the Broncos want to divide the work going forward. With the backfield hierarchy already worth watching, the possibility of Denver exploring another move at the position adds another layer to a situation that suddenly feels less settled than it did before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]