Sunday looms as de facto title game for Broncos

ENGLEWOOD • Josh McDaniels said he knew what Sunday’s game between his Denver Broncos and San Diego doesn’t represent.

“This is not a championship game,” McDaniels said.

Sunday’s game might not be the AFC West championship game, but it’s pretty close.

The winner will be in some control of the division with six games to go. The teams have identical 6-3 records coming into the game. The winner will have a one-game lead, and today’s result will go a long way in determining who wins the tiebreaker.

The Broncos clinch the tiebreaker with a win. They’ll have a season sweep, which is the first tiebreaker.

The Broncos have three games left against Oakland and Kansas City, which have identical 2-7 records. If the Broncos win Sunday, sweep the Raiders and Chiefs and lose all their other games, the Chargers would have to go 5-1 to win the division.

If San Diego wins, the Chargers might be tough to catch. They would have five wins in a row and two winnable games right after playing Denver, against Kansas City and 1-8 Cleveland. The Chargers play only two teams with winning records in their final six games. They also would have a chance to take the tiebreaker.

The first three tiebreakers if the teams split the season series are record in division games, record against common opponents and record in conference games. Both teams would have one AFC West loss if San Diego wins Sunday, and the record in common games is tied (Denver is 3-3, San Diego is 2-2).

The remaining non-AFC West common opponents for the Broncos are the Giants and Eagles, two of the NFC’s most talented teams. The remaining common opponents for San Diego are Cleveland, Dallas, Cincinnati and Washington. Denver and San Diego would each have three losses in AFC games if the Chargers win.

So this game technically isn’t a title game, but the winner will have a huge edge.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a must win, but it’s definitely a game of high importance,” cornerback Champ Bailey said.

While the tangible reward for a win would be sole possession of first place and tiebreaker advantages, momentum can’t be ignored. Denver led by 3½ games only four weeks ago, after winning the first meeting at San Diego. The Chargers have turned it on while the Broncos have struggled for three straight weeks. The Broncos need to stop their slide, and slow down the Chargers.

“We know we’re playing a team that’s going to be very confident, and they should be based on the way that they’re playing,” McDaniels said.