Before they kick off their final regular-season game Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, the Broncos will know the outcome of the Kansas City Chiefs’ game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Broncos will know not from the television sets in their Invesco Field at Mile High locker room, because those will be turned off an hour before the game, per team custom.
They will know because Broncos coach Mike Shanahan will tell them.
Shanahan will tell his players either Kansas City has won, which will mean the Broncos will have to beat the 49ers to make the AFC playoffs, or he will tell them the Chiefs have lost, which means the Broncos are postseason-bound even if they don’t beat the 49ers.
“Regardless of what happens with Kansas City and Jacksonville, you still want to win and play well,” Shanahan said. “Because your goal is not to get to the playoffs. Your goal is to do something once you get to the playoffs. If you don’t play well, chances are you won’t play well as the season goes on.”
For better or worse, Shana- han believes in informing his players. He proved that prior to Denver’s 2002 finale against the Arizona Cardinals, when before the team prayer, he notified the Broncos they had been ousted from the postseason. The Cleveland Browns, featuring Gerard Warren and Courtney Brown, defeated Atlanta in an early game. That knocked the Broncos out of the playoffs.
Even after they received the disappointing news, the Broncos went out and smoked the Jake Plummer-led Cardinals, beating them 37-7.
“These guys are too smart,” Shanahan said. “And I don’t think our guys care. They play to win; they want to play well. Whether you’re the fifth seed or sixth seed in the playoffs, it doesn’t really matter. You want to play good football.”
Overconfidence check
With help from Broncos media relations assistant Patrick Smyth, Shanahan notified his players Wednesday of five regular-season finales in the past four years when the team already eliminated from the playoffs defeated the team that needed a win to make the playoffs, or clinch home-field advantage.
Some of these final-game upsets included 3-12 Arizona defeating 9-6 Minnesota in 2003 and 4-11 Detroit surprising 12-3 St. Louis. Such examples apply this week because the Broncos may need to win to reach the playoffs and the 49ers were eliminated from contention last week.
“Why does this happen?” Shanahan said. “Because players are fighting for jobs for next year.”
Snap decision
Veteran long-snapper Mike Leach received some love Wednesday. He was named the Broncos’ special-teams player of the week after a bad snap by his counterpart cost the Cincinnati Bengals an extra point with 41 seconds remaining, the difference in the Broncos’ 24-23 win.
“The only reason why he got the award was the other guy messed up,” Broncos wide receiver Rod Smith said. “No, I’ve always appreciated the job Mike does. He’s the only snapper I’ve ever seen who actually tries to tackle. I just wish I could do it so I could take his job. You could play 40 years being a snapper.”
Wilson questionable
Pro Bowl linebacker Al Wilson missed practice Wednesday because of a sore lower back. Wilson is listed as questionable for the game Sunday, although Shanahan expressed confidence his defensive captain would be ready to play.
Tatum’s milestone
There’s a decent chance the Broncos will have greater priorities Sunday than running back Tatum Bell gaining the 23 yards needed for a 1,000-yard season – such as a win and playoff berth.
But Shanahan would like to think one goal can help achieve the other.
“I know Tatum is not far from 1,000 yards, so I don’t look at it as a huge mark for him,” Shanahan said. “But I’d sure like to see him achieve 1,000 yards.”
Mike and Mike
In 1987, and again from 1990-91, Shanahan was a Broncos offensive assistant coach for Dan Reeves while Mike Nolan was a defensive assistant. Nolan is now in his second season as the 49ers’ head coach.
Nolan described his relationship with Shanahan as professional.
“Outside of that, we really haven’t had a personal relationship,” Nolan said during a conference call Wednesday. “We used to work out together quite a bit, but there wasn’t a lot of conversation going on.
“I think we both respected each other during the workout to challenge each other. Very competitive guy. I think that’s one of Mike’s biggest strengths. I’ve always looked forward to competing against him because he’s good.”
Mike Klis can be reached at 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com.
