Did the Denver Broncos just break a decade-long drought? From the looks of it, they just might have! It was 2014 when the team earned the AFC West title, and now, a decade later, they have cleared the path to clinch the divisional title to their name. Of course, it’s not official yet, but what is official is their playoff berth. With a splashy 34-26 victory, the Broncos earned themselves a postseason seat—twice in a row. Speaking of the victory, what a thrill it was! Those who missed Sean Payton’s honest words will tell you all about it. 

The Green Bay Packers may not be commanding their division, but they sure gave a hell of a fight to the Broncos. Till halftime, the Packers were in the lead at 16-14, and the third quarter further raised their lead to 23-14. If it wasn’t for the interception by Pat Surtain II, Denver wouldn’t have been able to orchestrate their comeback. This close, back-and-forth battle made Payton do something unprecedented. 

“This is the first time I’ve coached a game where maybe twice I had to look up the scoreboard to see who was up,” said the Denver head coach. “I knew someone was up 2 or 3, and I can’t recall having to ever do that. Hoping like you looked up, it was us.”

Surtain II certainly deserves credit for turning around the game; it was his head coach, Payton’s, words that fired up the entire offensive line. While talking to the reporters, Payton shared a crucial message he gave to his offensive line in the final moments of the game. 

“I called the whole offense over,” he said. “I said ‘You watching these guys right here?’ and we all turned and looked. I said, ‘They’re gassed,’ and I said, ‘Keep the pedal down… We wanted tonight to get into a lot of tempo with the altitude and with this team.’”

Payton’s strategy for victory involved more than just play-calling. Using the home-game advantage, he used the cheering Denver crowd and the team’s attitude to secure the crucial win. With a secured playoff berth, the Broncos have three goals now, based on priority order: winning the division, getting the No. 1 AFC seed, and winning the Super Bowl. That will be a story worth telling. 

Bo Nix steals the spotlight 

Though head coach Sean Payton designed the comeback victory of Week 15, the true MVP of the game was Bo Nix. Early in the fourth quarter, the second-year quarterback brought the Broncos’ lead to 34-26. He finished the game by going 23 out of 34 passes for 302 yards, along with four touchdowns and not a single interception. 

“This was our first goal. We wanted to get to the playoffs,” Nix said about clinching the playoff berth. “I feel like every week is the most important game. It’s the next best game. This is the next most important game, so this is a big week for us. We have to continue to find ways to execute, win games no matter what it looks like. I thought tonight overall it was an effective game for us.”

Of course, the young signal-caller didn’t brag about his performance, and like a true leader, he appreciated the collective effort by the team. However, those watching from the booth made Nix a nominee for the Week 15 FedEx Air and Ground Player of the Week honor. After all, not only did he tie a career high in TD passes, but he also posted a 300-yard game for the third time this season. 

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