The Denver Broncos have one last regular-season box to check before embarking on a playoff run. The Los Angeles Chargers are coming to town, though they plan on resting quarterback Justin Herbert and other players; we’re not yet sure which.
If the Broncos take care of business, they’ll win the No. 1 seed in the AFC for the first time since 2015. That would give Denver a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, so expect to see this team ready to rock and roll.
Several Broncos have individual milestones or records at stake on Sunday vs. the Chargers. There’s a real chance to make some real history.
Let’s examine what’s on the table, including one team mark.
At 13-3, the Broncos are one win away from tying the 1998 squad’s record of 14. If the 2025 Broncos get it done, it will be a major accomplishment, but not quite on the level of the ’98 team, since they got it done in 16 games, not 17.
Nix needs 210 passing yards to become the fifth quarterback in team history to pass for 4,000 yards in a season. With a win, Nix also will tie Russell Wilson for the most victories by a quarterback through his first two seasons ever (24).
John Elway, Peyton Manning, Jake Plummer, and Jay Cutler are the only four Broncos quarterbacks to pass for 4,000 yards in a season. The Sheriff did it three times, though.
Sutton needs 100 receiving yards to tie his career high set during the 2019 season. He just notched the first back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns of his career, and if he scores a touchdown on Sunday, he’ll become the third player in franchise history to record eight receiving scores in three straight years.
Harvey needs one touchdown to tie running back Mike Bell for the fifth-most rushing touchdowns by a rookie running back in team history. Harvey leads all rookies with 12 total touchdowns this season.
Bolles needs to start on Sunday to tie Matt Lepsis for the second most starts by a Broncos tackle in team history. Bolles has been very reliable since arriving as the team’s first-round pick in 2017, with only one exception: the 2022 season, where he suffered a broken leg.
Bonitto needs one sack to become the second player in team history to reach 13.5 sacks in back-to-back seasons, joining Simon Fletcher (1991-93). Not even Von Miller ever accomplished this as a Bronco, but this has been on the table for Bonitto for the past three weeks.
Here’s to hoping four times is the charm.
Cooper needs two sacks to become the third seventh-round pick since 1994 to record double-digit quarterback takedowns in back-to-back years. Like Bonitto, Cooper has been in a bit of a sack slump of late, but with Trey Lance on the docket, these two could feast.
