The Denver Broncos have officially lost their leverage heading into their pivotal matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs thanks to the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bengals defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 18, doing their part to earn a playoff berth.

At the same time, the Bengals also took away one of the avenues the Broncos had to back into the playoffs if Denver lost to the Chiefs in the season finale.

Now, the Broncos face a legitimate must-win situation.

“Bengals finish with 5-game win streak and 9-8. Their win tonight means Broncos truly have must win tomorrow,” 9News’ Mike Klis posted on X on January 4. “Beat the Chiefs and Broncos are in; lose to Chiefs and Broncos are out.”

GettyJoe Burrow #9 of the Cincinnati Bengals reacts after a victory against the Denver Broncos.

Even the official NFL.com Playoff Picture tracker lists the Broncos as “in the hunt” for a spot in the field.

However, if the Broncos fail to snap their playoff drought, they only have themselves to blame.

The Broncos had two chances to clinch a playoff berth, but they dropped back-to-back games, including in Week 17 to Joe Burrow and the Bengals. They lost to Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 16, allowing their AFC West rival to usurp them in the standings.

NFL.com’s tracker still gives the Broncos an 82% chance of making the playoffs, and for good reason.

The Chiefs are sitting several players, including starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

They have also listed several other key players as doubtful, some non-injury related, and could pull any usual starters who do play. That is the formula the Chiefs followed in their 2023 Week 18 showdown against the Chargers.

Sean Payton’s Comments a Warning for Broncos Before Facing Chiefs

GettyDenver Broncos head coach Sean Payton talks to Bo Nix #10 during a game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

There was a valuable lesson learned in that game, though. One Broncos head coach Sean Payton expressed during the week of practice leading up to the game versus KC.

Payton was clear the Broncos “can’t control” the Chiefs sitting their players.

“There’s a scheme offensively, there’s a scheme defensively, and, sure, there’ll be some different players in different positions,” Payton told reporters on January 3. “But look, they played this same game a year ago, beat the Chargers. So we’ve got to be ready to focus on the Denver Broncos.”

The Chiefs were a blocked field goal away from beating the Chiefs in Week 10. They also blew a 14-3 lead in that game. The Broncos are 1-17 against the Chiefs since 2015. Their chances of beating the Chiefs are undoubtedly greater in Week 18 with Carson Wentz in Mahomes’ place.

Wentz – who has not started a game since Week 18 of the 2023 season with the Los Angeles Rams – was clear about his intentions heading into this game, though.

A free agent after the season, he wants to win.

“Obviously, want to play well and have success out there. And ultimately more than anything, get a win. That’s the goal,” Wentz told reporters on January 1. “I still go out there and expect to win. I’m going to prepare to go out there and win and have a good performance with this offense.”