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Here’s How Denver Broncos Can Clinch a Playoff Spot in NFL Week 15

Here’s How Denver Broncos Can Clinch a Playoff Spot in NFL Week 15

Denver Broncos NFL

Published:

By: Sam Connon

The Denver Broncos snapped an eight-year postseason drought last season, only to get booted in the Wild Card round by the Bills. Sean Payton and Bo Nix are gearing up to take another step forward in 2025, however, hoping to become the first team other than the Chiefs to win the AFC West in a decade. Denver is on a 10-game winning streak entering Week 15, giving them a chance to clinch a playoff spot at home against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

There are several different paths towards the Broncos locking up a playoff berth with four weeks left in the regular season. Here are all the clinching scenarios for Denver in Week 15:

Denver Broncos Clinch Playoff Spot With…

There are seven different outcomes that would result in the Broncos punching their ticket to the postseason in the coming days. The cleanest, obviously, is Denver simply beating Green Bay on Sunday. There are four alternative paths that include a Broncos-Packers tie, though, plus two that are independent of the Broncos-Packers result. Here are the different combinations of Week 15 results that Denver fans should root for:

  1. Broncos win
  2. Broncos tie AND Chargers loss
  3. Broncos tie AND Jaguars loss
  4. Broncos tie AND Texans loss/tie
  5. Broncos tie AND Colts loss/tie
  6. Texans loss AND Colts loss/tie
  7. Colts loss AND Texans loss/tie

Can the Denver Broncos clinch the AFC West in Week 15?

While the Broncos adding another win would go a long way in improving their division title chances, they can’t lock up the AFC West crown just yet. The Los Angeles Chargers are only 2.0 games back with four weeks to go, as they already beat the Broncos in their first matchup back in Week 3.

Even if the Broncos beat the Packers, the Chargers can stay 2.0 games back with a win of their own at the Chiefs. Los Angeles can claim the head-to-head tiebreaker over Denver by beating them in Week 18, so the Broncos would have to finish Week 17 with a 2.0-game lead to have the division title secured before then.

Denver Broncos Playoff Odds

DraftKings Sportsbook is no longer offering bets on the Broncos to simply make the playoffs. If you want to bet against them reaching the postseason, however, that scenario carries +15000 odds.

The Broncos are +115 to enter the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the AFC, which ties them for the best odds alongside the Patriots. When it comes to the AFC West title, Denver is -650 compared to Los Angeles’ +475 odds, per DraftKings Sportsbook.

Sam Connon
Sam joined DraftKings in 2025 following five years with Sports Illustrated’s “On SI” network. He has covered the UCLA Bruins, New England Patriots, Tampa Bay Rays, MLB, MiLB and NBA, on top of earning awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and College Media Association during his time as a student at UCLA.
Disclaimer

I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.