For the first time since the 2016 season, the Broncos are legitimately in the playoff hunt.
At 7-6 they’re presently tied for the AFC’s No. 6 and No. 7 seed, though after performing so poorly against a handful of teams also in the AFC playoff hunt, they lose most of the tiebreakers.
This is a new sensation for many of the Broncos, including Vic Fangio, who has never found himself in the playoff chase as a head coach.
“It’s definitely [feeling] good,” Fangio remarked when asked how it felt to be in the playoff race in December. “There’s no denying that. I think it’s good for obviously us—the team and players. I think it’s good for our fans. I think it’s good for you guys to cover something with a little more pop to it. We’ve got to be one game at a time. We said after the Kansas City game we’ve got five games left, and that was going to determine what happened. We passed the first test, and we’ve got to go after the second one.”
Fangio also understands the importance of this matchup with the Bengals, who also find themselves at 7-6 and tied for an AFC playoff spot as Week 15 approaches.
“We’re at the tail end of the season and our goal is to win this next game,” Fangio said on Monday. “It’s a big game—there’s no denying that—for them and for us. Our whole focus will be to win this game.”
In order to beat the Bengals, they’ll have to keep up their recent success in the redzone. Over the last three weeks, the Broncos have scored nine touchdowns in 11 redzone possessions, which would rank fourth in the NFL this season.
“We’ve been able [to have] a good mix of run and pass,” Fangio said to explain the team’s recent success. “When you have that, and you avoid the third-and-goal from the eight [yard line] or the third-and-goal from the 10 or deeper—that helps. I think that’s what we’ve been able to avoid.”
The Broncos are willing to do whatever they have to, to ensure victory in this pivotal spot. So much so, that it led to Fangio echoing the calling card of an old rival.
“Just win baby,” Fangio said during his presser. This might mark the first time in which Broncos Country finds themselves aligned with that mantra.