Following Sunday’s 34-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, the Denver Broncos have now clinched a last-place finish in the AFC West for the 2021 NFL season. This marks the second-straight year that Denver has finished fourth in the division.
With one week left to play, the Broncos don’t have enough time to catch up to the Chargers or Las Vegas Raiders for second place. The Kansas City Chiefs, who clinched the AFC West title last week, will be competing for the No. 1 seed in the AFC when they travel to Denver this week.
“We still have another game to play and we are going to get ready,” coach Vic Fangio said after the team was eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday. “Hopefully, [we’ll have] another normal week of practice and put our best foot forward next week to compete and try to win that game.”
Here is a look at the division standings going into Week 18 of the season.
| Team | Record | Div. | Conf. |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 11-5 | 4-1 | 6-5 |
| Los Angeles Chargers | 9-7 | 3-2 | 6-5 |
| Las Vegas Raiders | 9-7 | 2-3 | 7-4 |
| Denver Broncos | 7-9 | 1-4 | 3-8 |
The Chargers and Raiders will face off on “Sunday Night Football” this week to determine who will finish second in the AFC West and earn a Wild Card berth in the conference.
Since winning the division and Super Bowl 50 in 2015 (12-4), the Broncos have since finished third (2016; 9-7), fourth (2017; 5-11), third (2018; 6-10), second (2019; 7-9), fourth (2020; 5-11) and fourth (2021; TBD).
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