The Denver Broncos began their 2025 preseason schedule with a trip to play the San Francisco 49ers, a nondescript game on Aug. 9 that they won 30-9 with little contribution from their starters.
Head coach Sean Payton, however, has turned it into much more.
One of the NFL’s premier culture builders, Payton has used the rallying cry, “Head West,” to galvanize his team to bringing its season full circle, according to those familiar with his message. From Santa Clara, Calif., (the home of Levi's Stadium, which will host Super Bowl LX) for a meaningless game in 2025 to Santa Clara for the absolutely biggest game on Feb. 8, 2026.
How fitting it would be to take the season on a full lap, he told the team in training camp.
Denver, which clinched a second straight playoff berth last week, heads into Sunday’s showdown with the Jaguars with chance to clinch the No. 1 seed or, at the least, clinch the AFC West title (with a win and a Chargers loss or tie). They’ve won 11 games in a row, a dominant run that has become one of the biggest stories of the NFL season.
The Broncos have done it despite overcoming nearly $130 million in dead salary cap over the last two years, a large portion of which can be attributed to the extension Russell Wilson signed with Denver back in 2022.
After becoming one of only a handful of teams in the free agency era to lead the league in dead cap and make the playoffs in 2024, Denver, helmed by Payton, has embraced the highest of expectations rather than shying away from them.
During the preseason, Payton publicly shared that he’s had three to four teams capable of winning a Super Bowl (as his Saints did during the 2009 season) and this year's group was one of them.
And when the Broncos started 1-2, people wondered if he’d put too much pressure on them. Instead, they just started winning.
Second-year quarterback Bo Nix has come into his own. Vance Joseph’s defense is among the NFL’s best. The Broncos also are winning close games, with a 10-2 record in one-score contests.
Now, their goal of taking a full lap to Santa Clara is theirs for the taking.
"We have this term, 'This is a big game, of course this is an important game, and there are going to be bigger ones,'" Payton told reporters this week.