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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

Continue reading →