Broncos defensive end Elvis Dumervil (92) gets to Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer (3) the 4th quarter at the Coliseum in Oakland, CA. The Broncos
Broncos defensive end Elvis Dumervil (92) gets to Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer (3) the 4th quarter at the Coliseum in Oakland, CA. The Broncos won 38-24. (Joe Amon, The Denver Post)

Today's question comes from William S. in Ohio:

Q: I have read all kinds of things since the Broncos' win over the Raiders. Can the Broncos honestly be talking about the playoffs?

A: William, in the days that have followed the Broncos' win in Oakland, the AFC West race has certainly been part of the public discussion. That may simply be the result of folks desperately wanting a team that has one playoff win since the end of the 1998 season, and hasn't been to the playoffs since 2005, to play some meaningful games in January.

But if the Broncos resided in any other division, there would be no discussion about how they entered the week just "a game out" of the division lead.

The Raiders won Thursday night in San Diego, moving to 5-4. The Chiefs are 4-4, the Chargers 4-5 and the Broncos are 3-5.

Not a cast of title contenders considering the AFC West is the only division in which all four teams have been outscored this season. The Raiders have been outscored by 25 points, the Chiefs by 70 points, the Chargers by 12 points and the Broncos by 53 points.

That is never the résumé of a playoff hopeful over the long haul in a season. But all of that says the only guaranteed route into the postseason is to win your division.

Which is why the Seattle Seahawks, at 7-9 with a win in the regular-season's final week in 2010, were the ugliest of ducklings in last year's playoff field, having been outscored by 97 points. The chorus of criticism did quiet when the Seahawks won their wild-card game, 41-36, over the New Orleans Saints.

Most personnel people in the league still considered the Chargers the best team in the division when this season started, but San Diego's offensive line is a mess of injuries and Philip Rivers has all of the earmarks of a quarterback pressing to do too much.

Rivers was sacked six times Thursday night and has thrown eight interceptions in the last four games, and the Chargers' defense surrendered 489 yards to the Raiders. That's a long list of problems for a team that appears to be both aging and on the wrong side of the championship window.

The Broncos do have a game remaining with the Chargers, Nov. 27 in San Diego.

So, the Broncos' comparison shopping at the moment in a mediocre division can be done with the Chiefs and the Raiders. The Broncos split games with the Raiders already and still have two games left with the Chiefs, including Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.

But any talk of division titles and playoff appearances is woefully premature. The Broncos haven't won two games in a row since the 2009 season and haven't finished a season with a winning record on the road since 2006.

And the vast differences between them and the two best teams they have faced to this point have been crystal clear. The Packers disassembled the Broncos' game plan on both sides of the ball in a 49-23 win in Green Bay, and the Lions stomped their way to a 45-10 win in Denver last month in a game Detroit led 24-3 at halftime and 45-3 early in the fourth quarter.

When the Broncos are to the point they win those kinds of games, then they are a legitimate playoff team, no matter what happens in their division.

Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or