The Denver Broncos wrapped up their final guaranteed practice of the regular season on Friday as they prepare for Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs. It all boils down to how they come out on Sunday afternoon.

Denver Broncos focused ahead of final regular season game vs. Chiefs

Friday’s practice in Dove Valley was the only remaining guaranteed practice of the regular season ahead of Sunday’s game against the Chiefs. If the team wants to receive another week of practice, they’ll have to take care of business against Kansas City.

After having two chances to lock up a post-season berth in the last handful of weeks, the Denver Broncos missed out on chances to secure a spot earlier. Players this week acknowledged that they were disappointed they weren’t able to capitalize against the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers, but panic never set in.

They understand that the stakes for Sunday’s game are high. The overall vibe and energy at practice this week has been focused. Let there be no mistake — there’s some pressure associated with Sunday’s looming game, but the locker room and players have been loose in their approach, which reminded me a lot of how they approached the week after their heartbreaking loss to Kansas City on the blocked field goal.

You never want to go into a week where you’re preparing, and things are too tight, and that’s been a credit to the players and the coaching staff.

“Our approach this week has been to recognize what’s in front of us, and the coaches have done a great job of driving that home” one Broncos player told me. “Sunday’s game is important, and everybody understands the standard we’ve set for ourselves. It’s about getting back to that.”

Regardless of who plays or who doesn’t play for Kansas City, Denver is heading into Sunday’s matchup fully healthy, with everybody being a full participant in practice this week besides undrafted rookie free agent offensive tackle Frank Crum, who has been ruled out after battling an illness all week.

Denver Broncos HC Sean Payton highlights Patrick Surtain II’s DPOY case

Patrick Surtain II’s highlight reel from this season will be one to look back on, and when you see how he’s played against some of the NFL’s best wide receivers this year, his case for Defensive Player of the Year becomes even more valid.

Whether that’s DK Metcalf, George Pickens, Mike Evans, Garrett Wilson, Brock Bowers, DeAndre Hopkins, Jerry Jeudy, Ja’Marr Chase and a handful of others, those names didn’t see much success when being shadowed by No. 2.

Broncos head coach Sean Payton highlighted the All-Pro and Pro Bowl cornerback’s case for DPOY, which he’s currently the odds-on favorite amongst various betting sites.

“It’s always difficult because there are so many great candidates,” Payton said. “No. 1, I was a voter for these awards once. Somebody reached out—I don’t know if you had to be—I don’t know how it worked, but the year I was out [of coaching] and I spent a lot of time… When it’s close, it’s a little shinier for the team that’s winning. When you look at the receivers he’s defended and the impact he’s had for us, and how we’ve played defensively and all those other things, it’s an easy case to make. Sometimes it’s a more difficult case to make, but certainly he’s deserving of that type of award. He’s that good.”

Marvin Mims expanded role growing to be important development for Denver’s second half stretch

Last year, the Broncos tried to find a way to incorporate Marvin Mims into the offense, but that was a difficult task, with Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton seeing a primary share of the targets. The role Jeudy had is one of the many roles Mims’ now embraces.

Not only does he line up at receiver on the inside and outside, but he also lines up in the backfield as a running back from time to time and has become one of the most dangerous punt returners in the NFL. Payton shed light on his thought process on how the second-year receiver has turned things on for the offense and the team.

“I think it’s that thing that always drives you as a coach,” Payton said. “I just spoke to him three days ago. Keep looking for things these guys do well, and then do those things. I think certainly his confidence, just on the field, whether he’s returning punts [or] running routes, taking… In Year 2, it’s been great to see the growth that you hope you see in a player in his second year. We saw it right away as a returner a year ago, and we saw spurts. So it always just takes me back to, ‘Are we doing things? Can we find a role?’ There are some challenges that present defenses when the receiver is in the backfield.”

Learning all of the complexities of the receiver position inside of Payton’s offense can be tough because there are a lot of rules that receivers face when they’re going against certain coverages. When you have a multifaceted role the way Mims does, it can be a challenge to memorize everything, but he’s done a tremendous job embracing his role during the second half stretch of Denver’s season.

“It’s kind of a tough thing to do,” Mims said on Thursday. “At first they kind of started me off little by little with the running back stuff and then now it’s growing as the season goes along. Honestly, it’s just memorization for the most part. We go out here on the practice field and they see things they like [as well as] they see things they don’t like. Things change overtime, but at the end of the day, it’s just memorization [with ] receiver, running back and return stuff. It’s really just being a play maker and making plays [in] a certain situation. It’s never just picture perfect. At the end of the day, you just have to take what’s there.”

Coming off of an impressive two touchdown performance against the Bengals, things are starting to unlock for him and for Denver’s offense, which will be key for them going forward.

Sunday’s game against the Chiefs kicks off at 2:25 p.m. MT on CBS. A win sends them to the playoffs for the first time since 2015.