Denver's AFC No. 1 seed hopes falter after a critical loss. A brutal remaining schedule and tiebreaker woes threaten their top spot.
The Denver Broncos could not find enough juice to get past Trevor Lawrence and the red-hot Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 16.
The Jaguars won, 34-20, in Denver to move to 11-4 and drop the Broncos to 12-3, but still in a race for the top seed in the AFC.
Going into Week 17, the New England Patriots are also 12-3 and the Los Angeles Chargers, Buffalo Bills and Jaguars are all at 11-4.
Dan Graziano of ESPN had some overreactions after Week 16. One of them was that the Broncos won't be the AFC No. 1 seed, and Graziano said that is NOT an overreaction, and here's why:
"The Bills, Jags and Chargers are all 11-4 and right behind Denver. The Broncos' remaining games are at beleaguered Kansas City on Thursday and at home against the Chargers in a Week 18 game that could decide the AFC West title," Graziano wrote.
"This result opened up so many things at the top of the AFC playoff race. It creates the always fun situation in which both teams in the AFC West race control their own destiny. Because the Chargers beat the Broncos in Week 3 and because these teams will play again in the finale, the Chargers will win the division (and possibly secure the No. 1 seed) if they win their final two games. The Jaguars could still get the 1-seed, and they now have the head-to-head tiebreaker over Denver in case of a tie in the standings. The Patriots can obviously still get No. 1 spot, as can the Bills if they catch New England for the AFC East title," Graziano added.
Right there, it allows for many more scenarios to open up, and a Broncos win over the Jaguars would've shrunk the window quite a bit. But, Trevor Lawrence had other plans it seems.
The Broncos face the Chiefs on Christmas Day, a game that Graziano says Denver should win, but after that, it is a Week 18 showdown against the Chargers, who have defeated the Broncos already once this season.
"But if the Chargers get by the Texans on Saturday, Week 18's Los Angeles-Denver game sets up as one that could relegate the Broncos to wild-card status. See? Week 16 is huge. Not an overreaction."
So, if the Broncos end up losing the top seed to somebody else, this Week 16 loss to the Jaguars is one they will look back on and kick themselves for.