ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The Denver Broncos know they have a 10-game win streak, and they know they have a league-best 11 wins. And they also know, whether they stop biting their collective lip or not in the coming days, the oddsmakers have made them a home underdog to the Green Bay Packers Sunday.
"I don't really care, my mom thinks we'll win,'' Broncos quarterback Bo Nix said. "So that's all that matters."
The Broncos (11-2), who are locked in a chase with the New England Patriots for the AFC's No. 1 seed, will face the Packers (9-3-1) Sunday in Empower Field at Mile High. The Packers are, four days before the game, currently the betting favorite in the game at -2.5 points.
And while that isn't always strictly a football evaluation, it has created a bit of a stir outside the Broncos' south suburban Denver complex among the team's faithful. The Broncos players and coaches are clearly aware but were also set to take the high road publicly.
"You don't really pay attention to that until -- look, we know we're playing a good football team,'' Broncos coach Sean Payton said after Wednesday's practice. "That's something we have no control over ... we're counting on our crowd this week, not just at the line of scrimmage, but in the huddle ... But yeah, we're playing a good team."
Sunday's game is the first in a rugged stretch of the final four games of the regular season for the Broncos. The Broncos have three of the last four games at home, but all three of the home games, including Sunday's, are against teams that entered Week 15 with at least nine wins - the Packers, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Broncos' last remaining road game of the regular season is against the Kansas City Chiefs (6-7) Christmas night in Arrowhead.
"[Sunday] will be what seems to be a playoff game ... it's pretty much going to be like playoff football,'' Nix said.