Christmas Eve's task: Just win
By Mike Klis
Denver Post Staff Writer
With their entire season likely condensed to Christmas Eve, the Broncos will take their chances on a kid from Santa Claus.
Sorry about that, Jay Cutler. Ho, ho. Hey, what's a quarterback from the gimmicky town of Santa Claus, Ind., expect this time of year?
Bring on the holidays, not to mention the Cincinnati Bengals, as the Broncos are in a festive spirit now that they are coming off a win in Arizona and not a four-game losing streak.
"Nothing has changed about the guys in this locker room," fullback Kyle Johnson said. "Win or lose, this is still a good bunch of guys. But winning does bring levity."
You should have heard the whoops and hollers in the University of Phoenix Stadium visiting locker room after the Broncos defeated the Arizona Cardinals 37-20 on Sunday. But quicker than Cutler can heave a 54-yard touchdown to Javon Walker, the Broncos need to get serious about the AFC playoff scenarios.
Because of the tiebreaker situation, the Broncos-Bengals game Christmas Eve (2:15 p.m., KCNC-4) at Invesco Field at Mile High will in essence count twice. The winner will have a one-game lead over the other, plus the head-to-head tiebreaker in the event that one game is made up in the final week.
"We put ourselves in position where we know our euphoria will be short-lived," Broncos safety John Lynch said.
Just a few days ago, the Broncos appeared to be stricken by a Grinched state of doom. They were losing, losing often, and on the outside of the AFC playoff picture, needing some reassurance and some help to get back in.
Confidence came from Cutler, a rookie from everybody- knows-where who showed the Cardinals' defense how a powerful arm can open up an entire field to an offense. Cutler passed for 261 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
"One thing about the quarterback position, you're always looking for perfection," coach Mike Shanahan said Monday at his media briefing. "And it never quite works out that way. I think he's got to feel good about himself, the way he played. But he'll come back and be hard on himself, critical, and keep on working to get better and better. If he keeps on doing that, he's going to be very special."
Aid came when three of the Broncos' top four AFC wild-card opponents - Kansas City Jacksonville and Cincinnati - lost their week 15 games.
It was a fortunate series of outcomes that put the 8-6 Broncos ahead of 7-7 Kansas City and tied with Jacksonville, Cincinnati and the New York Jets for the final two AFC playoff spots.
So long as division rival Kansas City stays out of the way, all tiebreakers will go to the Broncos, provided they win their final two games.
Provided. For no matter how the playoff scenarios are dissected, computed and T.O.'d back out, it most likely will come down to Christmas Eve.
Beat the Bengals and the Broncos are most likely in the postseason, needing only a win against 6-8 San Francisco in the season finale to clinch it. Lose to the Bengals and the Broncos might well be finished, regardless of whether they take care of the 49ers.
While it's possible the Broncos could grab the AFC's final playoff spot with a 9-7 record, it would become a more involved proposition that risks the addition of Kansas City and Buffalo to their unwanted tiebreaker formulas.
The Broncos don't want risks. They would prefer a clean, uncomplicated playoff berth.
"There's a lot of work to be done," Shanahan said. "We have an excellent football team coming into our backyard, but if we want to accomplish what we set out to do at the beginning of the season, we have to win."
Come Christmas morning, everyone should know who's been naughty and nice, and whether the kid from Santa Claus has delivered the goods.
Drive for No. 5 seed
After Cincinnati's loss Monday night, the Broncos took over the top wild-card spot in the AFC, the fifth seed overall. The chase, with two weeks remaining in the regular season, and the combined record of remaining opponents:
W-L Opp. rec.
5. Denver 8-6 14-14
6. Cincinnati 8-6 15-13
7. Jacksonville 8-6 17-11
8. N.Y. Jets 8-6 8-20
9. Buffalo 7-7 18-10
10. Pittsburgh 7-7 19-9
11. Tennessee 7-7 17-11
12. Kansas City 7-7 10-18
* Note: Denver can clinch a playoff spot with a win over Cincinnati and a Kansas City loss or tie, and a loss by the New York Jets or Jacksonville.
