AFC Notes: Patrick Mahomes, Sean Payton, Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs

Broncos

Broncos HC Sean Payton has much higher aspirations than just having a winning record at the end of the season.

“I don’t know that one person downstairs, myself included, has thought about this team just having a winning season,’’ Payton said, via 9News. “I understand the question, and I appreciate it, but I think our aspirations are a little higher.”

Payton acknowledged that the team’s penalty numbers are an issue and that they need to get cleaned up in order for them to reach the next level.

“Our penalty numbers are still problematic,’’ he said. “I don’t like our penalties relative to the offensive line, we’re near the bottom of the league in that category. We’re near the bottom of the league relative to the secondary, those have to get cleaned up or they’ll end up costing you.”

• Payton said it “became a numbers game” when they released WR Josh Reynolds with the young guys playing well. (Chris Tomasson)
• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports the Broncos hosted CB Jerry Jacobs for a workout on Monday. 

Chargers

The Chargers suffered another heartbreaking loss to their divisional rival Chiefs in Week 14, as Kansas City won the game on a last-second field goal. Los Angeles S Derwin James Jr. is fed up with losing games at the end and knows they had plenty of chances to change the outcome of this one.

“Losing on the last drive is frustrating,” James said, via Daniel Popper of The Athletic. “I’m tired of doing it. Looking at the tape, we’re going to be sick to our stomach.”

Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh admitted this loss will hurt more than normal but refocused on the remaining games. 

“This one hurts,” Harbaugh said. “We’ll lay down and bleed for a little while. Not long. And then we’ll rise and fight again.”

Chiefs

Kansas City clinched the AFC West title in Week 14 with a game-winning field goal against the Chargers. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes said their first goal is to win the division before anything else, and they wrapped that up with four games to go. 

“It’s our first goal every single year to win the AFC West,” Mahomes said, via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. “It’s a great division. We’re in a lot of rivalries where everybody’s played each other tough and three teams are going to probably make the playoffs, that speaks to the division that we play in. To be able to win this division, to gain another game in the playoff picture — it was an important game for us against a really good football team. We found a way to get a win, but now we got to keep building if we want to get to our ultimate goal.”

• Chiefs HC Andy Reid said LT D.J. Humphries was feeling better on Monday but they will know more after he has an MRI on his hamstring. (Matt Derrick)