ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — As the playoff picture begins to take shape and teams around the NFL jockey for positioning, the Broncos' attention is turned inward.
Denver's focus isn't on New England, which holds the same 11-2 mark as the Broncos, or on the fact that a new team will be crowned AFC West champions after a nine-year run by the Chiefs.
The Broncos, instead, are honed in on the final stretch of the season to put themselves in the best possible position when the postseason arrives.
"Everything right now has that 'work in progress' sign," Payton said Monday. "I recognize the question, in that the Chiefs' loss last night eliminated them from winning the division, and yet we have a stretch here with some real good football teams coming in and focusing on what we can do to win the division. The Chargers are very much alive in that battle. Furthermore, what we can do to give ourselves the best seed possible?"
The Broncos' final stretch includes the NFC North-leading Packers, the AFC South-leading Jaguars and a pair of division foes in the Chiefs and Chargers.
"Really, we just focus on our team," cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian said. "… We're thinking about ourselves and our upcoming opponent and what we can do better from the past and just try to piggyback off that and keep winning games."
A victory against the Packers in Week 15 would be significant, and the Broncos could potentially earn a division championship as early as Sunday afternoon. As they aim to secure that win, their priority this week remains on their own work, rather than what's going on around the league.
"The focus gets so inwardly driven to our own team, that I recognize that a team that's won the division for however many straight years won't be able to win it this year," Payton said, "but it's more important to focus on, 'All right, how do we finish this next quarter pole of the season, starting with a real good team in Green Bay?'"
MIMS' IMPACT
When Marvin Mims Jr. scored the go-ahead touchdown against the Raiders, it was just the latest example of the All-Pro's impact in the return game. Again and again, Mims has swung games in his career with critical returns — even before he notched his first career punt-return touchdown on Sunday.
When Payton and General Manager George Paton drafted Mims with their first selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, that special teams production stood out as a path to help the Broncos improve. But at that moment, even Payton and Paton weren't fully aware of what Mims could bring to Denver.
"It's been embedded in me: the quickest way to improve a team is the kicking game and get the offensive line squared away," Payton said. "We didn't have a returner. I remember when we were watching his film, we knew he was a captain at Oklahoma. We knew he was an accomplished receiver, but he was also, we felt, one of the better returners, if not the best returner, in the draft. When you check those vision boxes, the way we were able to with him, then I would say he's exceeded our expectation as to what type of guy he is, how he works, what kind of teammate he is."
As the Broncos head into the final stretch, Payton also emphasized the importance of getting the ball in Mims' hands on offense. Mims posted a pair of 100-yard games in the final weeks of 2024, and Payton said the coaching staff has discussed how to get the third-year receiver more involved.
"Honestly, just coming out of a staff meeting, we have to continue to find more touches for him on the offensive side of the ball," Payton said, "and we'll do that."
