Denver Broncos are sitting pretty as AFC's top seed thanks to a season's worth of ugly wins

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos are pretty good at winning ugly.

They tied a franchise record with 14 victories but didn't exactly roll over their opponents. Eleven of their victories required comebacks and the same number were by one score.

“It doesn’t have to be aesthetically pleasing to be effective,” coach Sean Payton said after Denver's 20-13 win at Kansas City on Christmas night against Chiefs third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun, who was elevated to starter last month when Patrick Mahomes and backup Gardner Minshew got hurt.

If their first win at Arrowhead Stadium since 2015 comes with an asterisk, so be it.

Payton's mantra all season was that style points mean nothing. After all, the Broncos won their first AFC West crown in a decade, ending the Chiefs' nine-year reign atop the division, and he didn't care how it looked.

The Los Angeles Chargers sat most of their best players for their Week 18 trip to Denver, and the Broncos never found the end zone offensively, settling for four field goals and watching defensive back Ja'Quan McMillian score their only touchdown on a pick-6 for a gritty 19-3 win.

That secured the No. 1 seed over the New England Patriots, who also finished 14-3 but lost the tiebreaker to Denver, going 5-1 against common opponents to Denver's 6-0. The difference was New England's 20-13 loss at home to the Las Vegas Raiders on opening weekend.

Although the Broncos went 0 for 3 in the red zone in their regular-season finale, Payton said winning the AFC's No. 1 seed was enough to mitigate concerns over Denver's offensive hiccups.

“Look, am I ever happy? No,” Payton said. “But we shouldn’t be as coaches. ... There are some things when we watch that film that we’ll be like, ‘Ah.’ When people ask, ‘What’s the benefit of the 1 seed?’ Many will say it’s the rest. I personally think it’s the elimination of a game that you don’t have to play.”

The Broncos will learn their divisional opponent this weekend, and next week they'll host their first playoff game in 10 years.

The Broncos went 8-9 in 2023, Payton's first year in Denver. Parting with quarterback Russell Wilson after that season saddled the Broncos with a record $53 million in dead cap charges last season and another $32 million in 2025.

Payton, general manager George Paton and the Penner-Walton ownership family deftly navigated that whopping $85 million charge as Denver ended an eight-year playoff drought last year and led the AFC this season.

“I think it’s just all the people upstairs finding the right people to be in the building,” linebacker Nik Bonitto said. “That’s why you’ve kind of seen that growth every year with our team and it’s all leading up to right now, us being the 1 seed and being one of the best teams in football. It’s just been a three-year span of continuously trying to grow and have the right people in the building.”

Long before anyone considered the Broncos contenders for the Super Bowl, Payton said back in training camp that this was a special group capable of winning it all, and free-agent acquisition Talanoa Hufanga said he shared that sentiment.

“The minute he said it (I looked) around the group of guys that we got, blue-collar workers,” Hufanga said. “We show up every day, and our job is to get things done. It may not look pretty.”

Like last week.

“I know a lot of people want it to be a 30-0 score, but a win is a win,” Hufanga said. “We have to go back to the drawing board, figure it out so we come back and get another win next time.”

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Denver Broncos running back Tyler Badie (28) runs against Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Tarheeb Still during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Eric Lutzens)

Denver Broncos cornerback Ja'quan McMillian (29) runs for a touchdown after intercepting the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Eric Lutzens)

Denver Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto (15) pressures Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Trey Lance (5) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton (14) runs against the Los Angeles Chargers during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Eric Lutzens)

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) passes against the Los Angeles Chargers during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Raegan Beers had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 4 seed Oklahoma overwhelmed No. 13 seed Idaho 89-59 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.

Beers, a senior center, also had four assists and four blocks. Sahara Williams had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Aaliyah Chavez scored 15 points and Payton Verhulst added 14 for the Sooners (25-7), who stopped Idaho's win streak at 18 games. The Vandals hadn’t lost since Jan. 10.

The Sooners pushed the tempo early and were intentional about being balanced. Eventually, they wore the Vandals down.

“I think we’re setting the tone for how we want to play going on into March,” Williams said.

Oklahoma will play No. 5 seed Michigan State in the second round on Sunday. The Spartans outlasted No. 12 Colorado State 65-62 in the early game on Friday.

Kyra Gardner scored 19 points and Hope Hassmann added 12 for Idaho (29-6). The Vandals shot 24.7% from the field and made just 10 of 46 3-pointers.

Oklahoma played one of its most efficient offensive halves of the season to go up 57-35 at the break. The Sooners shot 59.5% from the field and committed just four turnovers. Williams had 13 points and Verhulst had 12 at the break.

The Sooners opened the second half on an 8-1 run, including six points from Beers, to go up 65-36.

Williams drained a shot from beyond halfcourt at the end of the third quarter, but she released it just a bit too late to count. The Sooners took a 76-38 lead into the fourth.

The Sooners created positive energy and the home crowd added more.

“When we have fun, I wouldn’t say a win is guaranteed, but we play a lot better when we have fun and have a smile on our face and we rebound and we score and we assist the ball,” Williams said.

Idaho coach Arthur Moreira said there might be more smiling ahead for the Sooners.

“They’re just a complete team,” he said. “I think they’re equipped to make a big run here. As I was scouting them, it was fun to watch.”

Chavez had five assists and no turnovers, shot a solid 6 for 14 from the field and had six rebounds in her first taste of March Madness.

Strangely, she missed her first two free throws before making two later. She made 70 of 72 free throws during Southeastern Conference play and entered the night shooting 94% from the line overall this season.

Oklahoma made 15 of 21 layups while Idaho made 4 of 19.

Beers was a significant factor in both of those stats. She made five of her six layups and was a pest around the rim defensively. She was a key reason Idaho made just 10 of 35 shots inside the 3-point line.

The women's team made the 30-minute trip to Oklahoma City on Thursday to watch the Idaho men play Houston.

Many of the fans that watched that 78-47 loss showed up in Norman on Friday.

“Just to be in the Idaho section was so cool,” Hassmann said. “And then also to see those fans travel here today — kind of had our own Idaho section, which was super cool to hear them cheer for us and our band and cheerleaders.”

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Idaho guard Katlin Kangur (14) goes up to shoot beside Oklahoma guard Aaliyah Chavez (2) during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 20, 2026, Norman, Okla. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

Oklahoma center Raegan Beers (15) blocks a shot by Idaho guard Ana Pinheiro (37) during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 20, 2026, Norman, Okla. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)