Sunday was a celebration for the Denver Broncos and their fans. For the first time in nearly a decade, the Broncos are going to the playoffs. But while the game was CBS’ featured late-afternoon game of the day, most of America didn’t see the celebration.
CBS had only a pair of games in the late-afternoon window. One was the game in Denver between the Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs. The other was the other AFC West matchup, pitting the Los Angeles Chargers against the Las Vegas Raiders. While the Chiefs were sitting all of their key players, the game in Denver had much bigger stakes. With that, CBS made that the game most of the country saw.
Admittedly, there wasn’t a lot of drama. The Broncos opened up a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, led 24-0 at halftime and continued to build on that lead in the third quarter. With under a minute left in the third quarter, the Broncos leading 31-0 and Jim Nantz and Tony Romo praising the job done in Denver throughout the season, CBS abruptly cut away from the game in Denver.
“So with the Denver Broncos with a commanding 31-0 lead, and both Tony and Jim talking about the commendable game of one Sean Payton, we’re gonna take you to a more competitive matchup,” Brown said. “The Chargers and the Raiders.”
With more than a quarter to go, CBS moved away from its national broadcast of KC/DEN to the “more competitive” LAC/LV game.
The game in Denver was not close. But NFL fans (outside of KC/DEN) missed seeing the Broncos clinch their first playoff spot since 2015. pic.twitter.com/8AQExbbY6A
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 6, 2025
Certainly, the game in Las Vegas was more competitive. At the time the game switched over, the Raiders were kicking off to the Chargers after making a field goal to cut the score to 20-13. And the game did have some stakes. Thanks to the Steelers losing on Saturday, the Chargers had a chance to earn the AFC’s No. 5 seed. And while the stakes were definitely higher in Denver, with the Broncos needing to win to clinch a playoff spot. But by the time the switch was made, that was no longer in doubt.
So, in that respect, the switch made sense. Still, there was some second-guessing to be done.
First, while the game in Vegas was a one-possession game, it wouldn’t be for much longer. The Chargers scored touchdowns on both of their next two drives to open up a 34-13 lead. Closer than 31-0 (and eventually 38-0)? Sure. Suspenseful. Not really. Second, if this was nearly any other NFL team clinching a playoff spot, it’s not a big deal. But the Broncos haven’t been to the playoffs since the 2015 season. As that regular season came to an end, there was a genuine question about who Denver would start at quarterback in the playoffs — Peyton Manning or Brock Osweiler.
Obviously, Broncos fans care about that more than anyone else and yes, fans in Denver (and Kansas City) stayed with the Chiefs-Broncos game. Still, there’s something to be said about seeing a team clinch its first playoff spot in nine years — especially when the other option is a limited-stakes game that itself soon became lopsided.
And to be fair, tension was not exactly in the air during any of Week 18’s late afternoon games. While only the San Francisco 49ers versus Arizona Cardinals game had no playoff ramifications, though once the Broncos opened up a big lead, it became apparent that the Miami Dolphins game against the New York Jets would also be just for pride. The game in Vegas between the Chargers and Raiders, as well as the NFC West clash between the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams — had only seeding implications for one of the two teams involved. Of the five, the Seahawks’ 30-25 win over the Rams was the only late-afternoon game decided by one possession.
The larger issue here may just be that — across Fox and CBS — Week 18’s late-afternoon slate was a dud.