Privately, who knows. But publicly, Broncos head coach Sean Payton treated news of Justin Herbert’s Sunday absence with a waved hand and a shrug.
“Doesn’t — our focus is, this is a playoff game,” Payton told reporters Wednesday. “I just finished telling the team.”
Vegas certainly isn’t treating this Broncos-Chargers Week 18 matchup as a playoff game: Oddsmakers now favor Denver by 12.5 points Sunday, after Los Angeles head coach Jim Harbaugh announced Monday that the Chargers would rest star quarterback Herbert.
And the gap may widen even further in the coming days, as Los Angeles also rested wide receiver Keenan Allen, safety Derwin James and star outside linebackers Khalil Mack and Tuli Tuipulotu at the team’s practice Wednesday.
Payton, though, is clearly trying to push this Broncos roster away from any pitfalls of a trap game.
“We’re preparing for all of ‘em,” Payton said when asked about the Chargers’ potential absences. “This is more about us. And they’re a really good football team. I mean, tremendous football team. Jim’s done a great job.”
The focus for Denver now turns to Chargers backup Trey Lance, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, who has become a 25-year-old journeyman. Payton noted that Lance and Herbert were “different style of players” — Lance is a known scrambler — and Broncos star cornerback Pat Surtain II called Lance “very capable” on Wednesday.
“He’s a first-round pick, got all the intangibles, all the tools to succeed,” Surtain said. “So we definitely not taking this game lightly.”
Greenlaw’s absence lingers
The Broncos still were without Dre Greenlaw at practice Wednesday, as Greenlaw’s injury-plagued 2025 season continues. The starting inside linebacker missed last week’s Christmas night matchup with the Chiefs with a hamstring injury suffered late in Week 16 against the Jaguars, and now looks all but certain to sit for Sunday’s final regular-season game against the Chargers.
Related Articles
Should Sean Payton win coach of the year? (Broncos Mailbag) Broncos QB Bo Nix’s ‘Overdogs’ slogan has raised over $25,000 to combat homelessness in Denver Broncos 2025 NFL power rankings tracker: How national experts rank Denver entering Week 18 Chargers QB Justin Herbert, others won’t play vs. Broncos in Week 18 Renck vs. Gabriel: Will run game undermine Broncos without J.K. Dobbins?Sources told The Denver Post, however, that Greenlaw is expecting to be healthy come playoff time. A Week 18 win to secure the No. 1 seed in the AFC would help cement Greenlaw’s status for the stretch run, giving the linebacker another week of rehab before a divisional-round matchup.
Bryant, Adkins return
Wednesday also marked rookie receiver Pat Bryant’s first appearance in Broncos gear since a scary late-game hit in Week 16 against Jacksonville, resulting in Bryant being immobilized and sent to the hospital for a concussion. Bryant was ultimately a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice, and is still working through concussion protocol.
Tight end Nate Adkins was also back in action and limited at practice after missing Week 17 with a knee injury, the third injury-related absence of a stop-and-go year for Adkins. The key blocker sported a bulky brace on his knee in the portion of Broncos practice open to media Wednesday.
Payton denies any gamesmanship with former Charger signing
The Broncos raised eyebrows last week by signing reserve center Sam Mustipher off the Chargers’ practice squad, picking up the offensive lineman who was with Denver in training camp in 2024 — and also had spent a large chunk of this and last season working with Harbaugh’s group in Los Angeles.
Payton shot down the notion, though, that Denver signed Mustipher to gain any intel on the Chargers. The head coach pointed to the Broncos’ need for depth after placing starting center Luke Wattenberg on injured reserve last week.
“It’s not this, ‘Oh, we’re going to get all this information from it,'” Payton said. “This was about having, for this stretch run, another experienced center.”
Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.
Hence then, the article about broncos sean payton calls chargers matchup a playoff game despite absence of justin herbert was published today ( ) and is available on The Denver Post ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Broncos’ Sean Payton calls Chargers matchup a ‘playoff game’ despite absence of Justin Herbert )
Also on site :