Broncos faithful ready for playoff run

ENGLEWOOD - The players and coaches may be taking it one game at a time, but the Broncos ticket office is faithfully leaping forward a month. The Broncos are sending playoff ticket information to season- ticket holders this week.

The deadline for the requests is Dec. 9. Denver will have three games left on its schedule.

Hey, it's never too early to think about which teams might be where come the last weekend in December. If the playoffs started this weekend, the 8-4 Broncos would be headed to Baltimore for a wild- card game with the Ravens. AFC Central-leading Tennessee would host the Jets, the third and final wild-card team, while the other two division winners, Miami and Oakland, would get byes.

Denver coach Mike Shanahan will have none of it. Heck, he's not ready to concede the AFC West crown to the 10-2 Raiders, pointing out how things have changed in the NFL just over the past couple of weeks.

"Everybody had everybody penciled in, on who was going to be division winners, who was going to be in the top six," Shanahan said. "You start calling yourself division winners, or think you're going to be the third pick or fourth pick, I think you're making a mistake. A lot changes very quickly."

The Ravens (9-4) have a bye this weekend while the Broncos play at New Orleans. Should the teams end up with the same record at year's end, seeding will be determined by conference record. The Broncos are 7-3 in the AFC so far, the Ravens 8-3. Baltimore, because of a scheduling quirk, will play 13 conference games, the Broncos 12.

As it stands, six AFC teams - the same number that will make the playoffs - have four losses or fewer. Buffalo and Indianapolis are each 7-5, and Pittsburgh is 6-6.

It's possible that Mile High Stadium's final game is a playoff contest. The six playoff teams are given seeds. The three division winners get seeds 1-3. The three teams with the next-best records become Nos. 4-6. In the wild-card playoff round, team No. 3 hosts team No. 6, and team No. 4 hosts team No. 5. The top two seeds have a bye and host the winners the following week. If Denver, now the fifth seed, can make its way into the fourth spot or win the division, the Broncos will host a game.

That's why the Broncos sent out the request for playoff tickets. It's not a case of optimism run amuck; Baltimore and other teams began sending out information last week.

Those without season tickets hoping to buy a playoff ticket will have to wait. That information will come later - like when, or if, the Broncos actually make the playoffs.

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