The Denver Broncos are one win away from clinching the No. 1 seed in the AFC Conference. And as predicted, it looks like the Los Angeles Chargers are giftwrapping it to the Broncos by benching quarterback Justin Herbert in Week 18. That said, Broncos head coach Sean Payton chimed in on the situation on Monday, saying,”It’s extremely important” to win the No. 1 seed in the AFC. He continued.
Sean Payton on How Beneficial It Would Be To Clinch the No. 1 Seed in the AFC
Payton said, “Historically speaking, it’s extremely important. Every study would show you. … And there is a number of reasons for that. These games are three hours long. The first reason would be, you skip a game in which you’re at risk to not play well or an opponent all of a sudden has a great game. You skip the threat of potentially losing a game, if that makes any sense. You skip right to the next round. To be able to play in front of our fans with the crowd noise.”
So, with Herbert out in Week 18, it looks like the Broncos should be able to clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC. And a Chargers loss likely means Los Angeles will be the No. 7 seed. If everything breaks right — the New England Patriots play the Miami Dolphins in Week 18 — the Chargers will play the Patriots in the first round of the playoffs. Then the Jacksonville Jaguars, who play the Tennessee Titans in Week 18, would play the Buffalo Bills — who play the New York Jets in Week 18.
That means the Houston Texans, who play the Indianapolis Colts in Week 18, would play the winner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the playoffs. Again, this is if everything breaks right. And that’s not certain. Payton added, “It’s been a while since they’ve hosted a playoff game. Certainly it’s a fan base that deserves that opportunity. I get excited for them, and I get excited for our team. Man, all of it is important.”
Elsewhere, the Broncos’ defense got back on track in Week 17 — allowing just 13 points in a win vs. the Kansas City Chiefs.
