Broncos now in position to realistically aim for postseason

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — And there it is.

After seven consecutive losing seasons, after not participating in the playoffs since Barack Obama was President, after all the Russ drama and NFL-most dead-cap charge, the Broncos have won five of their last six and not afraid to proclaim their lofty intentions.

“The goal for this team and what we’re capable of is definitely a postseason,’’ Broncos’ right tackle Mike McGlinchey said during a media conference call Monday.

Previously a first-round draft pick and starter for the San Francisco 49ers, McGlinchey knows what it’s like to not only reach the postseason, but make a deep run. He’s been part of four postseason wins, reaching the Super Bowl to cap the 2019 season. He’s now in his second season with the Broncos and he believes its time. Time for his current team to bring on the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs in back-to-back road games and see where the Broncos stand.

“Certainly those two teams have been atop of the AFC for a while and there’s no exception this year,’’ McGlinchey said. “We’ve been building to games like this. We want to play in big games, we want to play in games that matter. We want to play in games that have a great effect on the big picture of how the postseason works out. I think it’s a great opportunity for us to show what we’re capable of on a big stage against a great opponent and we’re going to try and keep improving week to week and take it a week at a time.

“I wouldn’t call it a measuring stick per se but it’s an opportunity to get out there and compete against two great football teams, starting with Baltimore.”

McGlinchey likes the feel of his team as it gathers to meet, practice and play each week. Head coach Sean Payton was successful in New Orleans. And now he’s establishing a winning method in Denver that is hyper focused on the details of winning.

“A winning culture is more than just winning football games,’’ McGlinchey said. “It’s showing up and preparing the right way, taking care of your body the right way. Asking the right questions. Studying what you need to study on film. It’s an obsession with doing the right things that will translate to winning football games and I think we’re doing a pretty good job of that.”

Payton’s postgame talk to his players and his question-and-answer session with the media showed a head coach who was more miffed his team didn’t properly finish off a 35-7 victory against the weak Carolina Panthers, setting for a 28-14 win instead. It was suggested to McGlinchey there have been more smiles and goofing around in losing locker rooms than there was in the Broncos’ winning locker room Sunday evening.

“That’s a part of the winning culture we’ve been talking about,’’ McGlinchey said. “You have to identify that if you don’t play your best you should never be satisfied. And I don’t think we did yesterday. We had really dumb turnovers, a couple things that shouldn’t have happened, a couple missed assignments and you know there’s more out there.

“And I think from a players’ perspective if we don’t hold ourselves to that standard of we need to be better and you have to be honest with yourself with what you see on tape and how you can improve, then there’s not much of a point to keep going forward.

“We have an opportunity here with the success we’ve had over the last five or six weeks to where we’re in position to play in some bigger games. And we’re going to need to be better than we were yesterday, where it’s going to matter a little bit more. Each turnover is going to matter a little bit more, or each missed assignment is going to matter a little bit more. We have to take that next step in order to be one of the teams that’s playing in the postseason like I mentioned before.”