Broncos Take Control of AFC West as Chiefs’ Reign Comes to a Stunning End
For the first time since 2016, the Kansas City Chiefs won’t be crowned AFC West champions. That streak - nine straight division titles - officially came to an end Sunday night, and the Denver Broncos were watching.
Well, sort of.
Sean Payton, fresh off a convincing win over the Raiders in Las Vegas, caught part of the Chiefs-Texans game on the team’s flight home. The signal cut out midair - it was 10-0 Houston when the wheels left the tarmac.
By the time the Broncos landed, it was tied 10-10. They watched the rest unfold from there.
And what they saw was something that’s been nearly a decade in the making: the Chiefs being mathematically eliminated from AFC West contention. Their 20-10 loss to Houston sealed it. At 6-7, there’s no catching the 11-2 Broncos.
Let that sink in - the Broncos, a team that was once defined by inconsistency and quarterback turnover, now sit atop the division with a three-game lead and just four weeks to go. It’s not just a turnaround. It’s a statement.
Still, Payton isn’t celebrating just yet.
“Everything right now has that work in progress sign,” he said Monday, roughly 14 hours after Kansas City’s loss. “I recognize the question in that the Chiefs’ loss last night eliminated them from winning the division, and yet we have a stretch here with some real good football teams coming in and focusing on what we can do to win the division. The Chargers are very much alive in that battle.”
He’s not wrong. The 8-4 Chargers are still hanging around, and with a Monday Night Football matchup against the Eagles looming, Denver will be keeping an eye on that scoreboard.
Los Angeles owns the tiebreaker and still has a Week 18 showdown with the Broncos on deck. So while the Chiefs are officially out, the race isn’t over just yet.
But if you’re looking for scoreboard-watching drama in Denver, you won’t find much of it - at least not publicly. Payton continues to keep the focus inward, a theme he’s hammered home since the Broncos began their midseason surge.
“The focus gets so inwardly driven to our own team,” he said. “I recognize that a team that’s won the division for however many straight years won’t be able to win it this year, but it’s more important to focus on, alright, how do we finish this next quarter poll of the season, starting with a real good team in Green Bay.”
That’s the next challenge - the Packers come to town Sunday. And while the Chiefs are no longer in the picture, Denver still has business to handle.
A division title is within reach, but it’s not in the bag. Not yet.
Still, there’s no denying the significance of what’s already happened. The Chiefs’ grip on the AFC West is broken - and it’s not mid-January. It’s early December.
That’s the new reality in the AFC West. And for the Broncos, it’s a pretty sweet one.