As season hits final stretch, Broncos ‘know what’s at stake’ vs. Colts

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — A few weeks ago, the playoff speculation and chatter surrounding the Broncos may have been a bit premature.

With just four weeks to play in the regular season, the postseason race is in full swing — and the 8-5 Broncos are well aware of the stakes that come with a Week 15 visit from the Colts.

“Six weeks ago, I’d always kind of roll my eyes,” Head Coach Sean Payton said Wednesday, “but now you get into four weeks left for all these teams, and each team knows exactly where they’re at and what they need to do, ourselves included.”

Payton said “at the right time” he discusses playoff scenarios with his team, and guard Quinn Meinerz said the impact of Sunday’s game was part of the messaging from Wednesday’s team meeting.

“We definitely have awareness of that,” Meinerz said. “… I think it’s good to talk about and to understand what’s at stake here and what everything means, especially [since] a vast majority of this team hasn’t been to the playoffs and is looking for that first moment of that. We know what’s at stake, and we know what kind of week we have to have in preparation for this game.”

With a win over the Colts, Denver would earn a head-to-head tiebreak advantage over Indianapolis and boost its playoff odds to 91 percent, according to Next Gen Stats. A loss would drop the Broncos’ playoff odds to 51 percent and allow Indianapolis to climb within a game in the wild-card race.

“We’re not acting like it’s not a big deal,” tight end Adam Trautman said. “It is a big deal. Obviously there’s percentages when you win or lose this game or whatever the case is, and we understand that. So we know how important this is.”

As tackle Mike McGlinchey explained, there’s also no desire in the Broncos’ locker room to take a step backward or relinquish the hold the team has on the final wild-card spot.

“Right now we’re in the driver’s seat, and we want…