DENVER -- With their playoff fate hanging in the balance, the Denver Broncos face make-or-break games in the last three weeks of the regular season, starting Sunday against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS).
The defending Super Bowl champions, the Broncos (8-5) enter the game as the sixth (and final) seed in the AFC, but the Miami Dolphins are also 8-5 and could overtake the Broncos if tiebreakers shift in their favor. Three more AFC teams have seven wins apiece.
"We're going to have to play exceptional from here on, especially this week," said Broncos coach Gary Kubiak, who added that he viewed New England as "the best team in football.