Sean Payton: Broncos-Chiefs isn’t a must-win, but ‘it would be easier to win the division if we won this game’

Sean Payton doesn't think Sunday's game against Kansas City will decide the AFC West, but he does know how much easier a win would make things

BY JOEY FREEBURG

Oct 28, 2026, 4:09 PM

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Sean Payton doesn’t think Sunday’s game against Kansas City will decide the AFC West, but he does know how much easier a win would make things.

The Broncos host the Chiefs at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday, Nov. 1, in their second meeting this season. It’s only the first day of November, but the game carries real weight in the division. Kansas City is 5-1, and Denver is 5-2 after winning three straight. A Broncos win would put them alone in first place in the AFC West.

After practice on Wednesday, Payton was asked whether Denver could still win the division if it loses Sunday.

“Yeah. I think yeah, because it’s another way of asking, ‘Is this a must-win game to win the division.’ And I would say it probably isn’t, because there’s so much season left,” Payton said.

“But, it would be easier to win the division if we won this game. It’s a division game.”

Payton said he gave his players the same message.

“And my message afterwards was just that. I said, ‘Look, don’t lose track of goal one, goal two, goal three.’ We’re gonna play in bigger games, but this is the next one and I’m sure they’re looking at it the same way.”

The first meeting went badly for Denver. Kansas City won 31-10 on Monday Night Football in Week 1 in Bo Nix’s first game back from the broken ankle that ended his 2025 season. Nix completed 17 of 28 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown, and he lost a fumble and threw an interception. The Broncos fell to 2-2 after a Week 4 loss in San Francisco and have won three in a row since, beating the Chargers, the defending champion Seahawks and the Cardinals.

The Broncos come in playing their best offense of the season. In last Sunday’s 30-16 win in Arizona, Nix totaled a season-high 296 yards from scrimmage, including a 62-yard touchdown run. Sean Payton is 3-0 since he took back play-calling duties from Davis Webb.

Kansas City, meanwhile, is coming off its worst game of the season. Seattle handed the Chiefs their first loss, 20-3 on Sunday Night Football, and held them without a touchdown. Before that night, Patrick Mahomes had played only one full career game without the Chiefs reaching the end zone: a 24-9 loss in Denver in 2023.

The division picture also favors the top two. Las Vegas has lost four straight to fall to 3-4, and the Chargers are 0-6 and ranked dead last in the NFL’s power rankings. For now, the AFC West looks like a two-team race, and the Broncos get this round at home.

A win would also even the season series. The two teams have a lot of season left to go, but if Denver and Kansas City finish tied in the standings, head-to-head record is the first tiebreaker.

Sean Payton and the Broncos and Chiefs kick off Sunday at 2:25 p.m. MT on CBS. With a win, Denver would move to 6-2 overall and 2-1 in the division. It would also give the Broncos sole possession of first place in the AFC West heading into November.