Sean Payton hasn’t shied away from conveying his beliefs that his Denver Broncos have Super Bowl potential.
With the Broncos' 19-3 win Sunday over the Los Angeles Chargers, Denver took a massive step forward in its quest for the Lombardi Trophy, clinching the AFC's No. 1 seed and the first-round bye that comes with it.
In a season that's seen the Broncos accomplish many a feat unseen since Denver's last Super Bowl win in 2015, another one was checked off Sunday.
It's the ninth time the franchise has been the AFC's No. 1 seed and the first since 2015.
The Broncos clinched the AFC West in Week 17 for the first time since 2015. With their second straight playoff berth, it's also the initial instance since 2015 that the club has been to the postseason in consecutive seasons.
For Payton, he last guided a team to a No. 1 seed in 2018 with the New Orleans Saints.
Having taken care of business against a Chargers squad sans Justin Herbert, Bo Nix and the Broncos (14-3), who tied a regular-season club record for wins, now have the luxury of seeing how the Wild Card Round plays out before they aim for the franchise's first playoff win since that aforementioned 2015 campaign.
For now, the AFC's path to Super Bowl LX goes through the Mile High City.
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