Broncos can clinch No. 1 seed in AFC on Sunday with a win and some help

The Denver Broncos can clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs and earn a first-round bye as soon as this Sunday.

That’s an amazing possibility as we head into Week 16 of the NFL season.

Now, the Broncos must win and need a lot of help, but there’s a scenario where it happens.

#Broncos can clinch the AFC West and even the No. 1 seed this weekend — though they need some dominoes to fall in order to land the top seed in Week 16. pic.twitter.com/JTqrvbTllF

— Parker Gabriel (@ParkerJGabriel) December 16, 2025

Denver beating Jacksonville at Empower Field at Mile High is the first step. That’s no easy task, as the Jaguars have won five games in a row and are now 10-4 on the season. They’ve scored at least 25 points in all five victories and hung 48 on the Jets last weekend.

Meanwhile, to get the No. 1 seed, the Broncos will also need the Chargers to lose (or tie) the Cowboys, the Bills to lose (or tie) at the Browns and the Patriots to fall to the Ravens on Sunday Night Football.

Could Dallas beat Los Angeles? Sure. The Cowboys offense has shown flashes while the defense has been up and down, but they’re not a pushover, particularly at home.

Baltimore could definitely top New England as well — the Ravens need every win possible to stay in the AFC North race.

The trickiest one is Buffalo losing to Cleveland. Colorado loves Shedeur Sanders, but that feels like a monumental task to pull off.

Even if the Broncos don’t earn the No. 1 seed this weekend, they could still take the AFC West title for the first time since 2015. That requires a victory and the Chargers losing or tying the Cowboys.

However, if Denver sees it’s 11-game winning streak snapped and L.A. beat Dallas, they’ll only be one game up in the division. With the Chargers holding the tiebreaker, that could make Week 18 loom large, so fans are hoping that isn’t the case.

Regardless, we’re scoreboard watching in the best kind of way. Come late Sunday night, there’s a shot the Broncos are locked into the No. 1 seed, meaning two home playoff wins would send them to the Super Bowl.

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