ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Broncos are looking to put their suitcases away for the month of January.
With a win in Sunday's regular-season finale against the Chargers, Denver would clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC — and solidify a path to Super Bowl LX that runs through the Mile High City.
A victory against the Chargers would ensure Denver receives a first-round bye and opens its playoff slate with a home game at Empower Field at Mile High. Add in a win in the Divisional Round, and the Broncos would host the AFC Championship Game for the first time since January of 2016.
Two games at Empower Field at Mile High. That's all that would stand between the Broncos and their ninth Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.
"It's two home games to get to where you want to go," Head Coach Sean Payton said Wednesday.
And the Broncos' opportunity to earn that potential path comes at home, as well. Denver will host the Chargers on Sunday looking to solidify their best home record since posting an undefeated mark in 2014, and the Broncos will count on a crowd that has been deafening in Denver's last several matchups.
"Our crowd has been one of the best in the world right now," tackle Mike McGlinchey said.
Payton pointed to the Broncos' matchup with Green Bay as a turning point from a noise perspective, and he urged Denver's crowd to bring that same intensity in Sunday's division game.
"Let's get this [stadium], when they're getting in the huddle, deafening," Payton said.
Payton said he believes there are about four stadiums in the NFL that can reach that volume, and he heard the potential at Empower Field at Mile High in the win over the Packers. That advantage, he said, can be critical — and it allows fans to have a direct impact on the outcome.
"That is what is so exciting about this game and then what a win in this game can do for the next couple games," Payton said. "… [The fans are] an active part if they want two more home games."
Several Broncos players said Wednesday they can tell it isn't easy for opposing players to come play in Denver, and wide receiver Courtland Sutton said getting a win against the Chargers to secure home-field advantage is critical.
"The importance of that is not to be overlooked," Sutton said.
On Sunday — as Denver looks to snap a three-game skid to Los Angeles — the Empower Field at Mile High crowd will have a chance to make yet another impact.
"The volume that we're operating with … is just absolutely out of control," McGlinchey said, "and hopefully we can keep it that way as we move forward throughout the playoffs — and hopefully give them a reason to not have to leave Denver."
