The Denver Broncos were truly playing with house money in the 2024 NFL Season. After a shaky 0-2 start, Denver finished the year 10-5 and squeaked into the playoffs as the seventh and final playoff seed. Given the circumstances with a rookie QB and that massive learning curve, and the overall inexperience in playoff pushes from the rest of the roster, the Broncos were truly maxed out.
Denver actually kept the game close for more than half in the Wild Card Round, so while the final score might indicate that the game was never close, that simply was not true.