Earlier this month, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a season-ending torn ACL in his left knee during a loss to the Chargers, a defeat that also knocked Kansas City out of the playoff picture. And that snapped an incredible run.
Advertisement
The Chiefs had reached the postseason every year since 2015 and won the AFC West every season since 2016, nine straight years of dominance with three Super Bowl titles won. With that streak finally over, it’s the Denver Broncos who rose up and claimed the AFC West, ending a 10-year division drought. Denver’s last title came back in 2015, so this one means a lot inside and outside the locker room.
And that emotion spilled over pretty quickly. After the clincher in the form of a 20-13 Week 16 win against none other than the Chiefs, feelings were running a little too high for Broncos outside linebacker Jonathan Cooper. He fired off a very curse-filled celebratory tweet to mark the moment.
“F**k the chiefs,” Cooper wrote in a now-deleted tweet. And he was not done there. He followed it up with another shot shortly after:
“Bi**h made a** pansies”
#Broncos DE Jonathon Cooper after officially clinching the AFC West last night 👀 pic.twitter.com/z0iixKfvgk
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 28, 2025
The celebration naturally sparked a lot of reaction online. Chiefs haters piled on with “one of us” comments, while KC faithfuls fired back, insisting the Broncos “won’t win a damn thing” this season.
“You can tell when [expletive] ain’t use to winning shit,” another penned.
“Worried about the 3rd place divisional team with playoffs around the corner… most obvious first round exit in a while,” another piled on.
“Chiefs had him in hell,” a third said.
So what does the playoff path actually look like for Denver? With one game left at home against the Chargers, a win would lock up the No. 1 seed, a first-round bye, and home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. That alone puts them in a strong position to make a deep run, at least to the AFC title game.
No one is saying the Super Bowl is out of reach, but it will not be smooth sailing. Jacksonville already proved they can beat Denver late in the year, which could loom large. The Chargers are another problem altogether. If Denver slips up in Week 18 against them, that could turn into a matchup they would rather avoid entirely.
Perhaps that is why Cooper deleted the tweet. The job is far from finished, and the Broncos still have work to do. With both the offense and defense clicking, a first-round exit would be a major letdown. Anything short of a deep run would feel disappointing.
