Much was made of the 2024 Denver Broncos and their inability to bring home one-score games, and rightfully so. Denver's only win of that kind was against a Jets team that was eliminated from the playoffs fairly early. Denver's six other one-score games all resulted in losses, making up six of their seven losses overall.
This trend continued into 2025, with the Broncos starting the season 1-2 in one-score games, with their only victory being over a brutal Titans team. At 1-2, it was incredibly clear to anyone following the Broncos that if they were going to survive in the 2025 AFC, they were going to need to win close games and win them early.