AFC Notes: Ameer Abdullah, Raiders, Broncos, Chargers

Broncos

With a chance to defeat the Bengals, Broncos HC Sean Payton opted to kick the extra point and head into overtime in what could have been a playoff-clinching win for Denver. After the game, he defended his decision to continue the game after regulation.

“We discussed it all,” Payton said in his postgame press conference. “Plenty of time, plenty of time, plenty of time and the decision we made is the right one. . . . A lot of it is your gut relative to how the toss goes. We were moving a little bit on offense, and then weighing the percentages of the two-point conversion. I think that had a lot do with it.”

• Broncos LB Jonathon Cooper was fined $12,668 for unnecessary roughness (horse-collar tackle), DL Malcolm Roach was fined $11,255 for unsportsmanlike conduct (taunting), and RB Blake Watson was fined $4,463 for unnecessary roughness (use of the helmet) in Week 16.

Chargers

• Chargers S Tony Jefferson was fined $6,722 for unnecessary roughness (use of the helmet), and DL Tuli Tuipulotu was fined $8,297 for the same offense in Week 16.

Raiders

The Raiders won their second-straight game in Week 17 behind 140 total yards from veteran RB Ameer Abdullah. Las Vegas HC Antonio Pierce talked about how amazing it is to see Abdullah step in and succeed in a bigger role at this point in his career.

“He found the fountain of youth,” Pierce said, via Vic Tafur of The Athletic. “It’s kind of amazing … the dude is 31 years old and we threw him in the fire late in the season. Hats off to him. He is really resilient and a true pro. Great special teams player and returner who gets a chance to start today, and he made the most of it.”

Abdullah isn’t shocked by his career-best outputs at this point in his journey because of the consistent work he puts in every year.

“To have my career-high in Year 10, I am not surprised,” Abdullah said. “I put a lot of work in, I am very consistent and that’s why I have been able to do it so long and do it at a high level.”

Despite not having any postseason goals to play for, Abdullah loves the group’s ability to go out there and perform for one another at this late point in the season.

“It just speaks to how much we care about each other. We’re not playing for anything, other than for each other. That’s enough for guys to put it on the line and execute at the highest level. I couldn’t be more proud of how these guys came out today.”

“This is probably one of the closest teams that I have been on, from a relationship standpoint. We really care about each other. We’ve been through some lowwwwws and we have seen each other at very vulnerable moments. We know how hard each one of us works.”