Christian McCaffrey's father Ed refuses to give up hope on Broncos' playoff chances 

Former Denver Broncos wide receiver and Christian McCaffrey's father, Ed McCaffrey, has confidence that the Broncos will still be playoff-bound. Denver could have clinched a playoff spot had they beaten the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday.

Early on, it looked like Denver would be on its way to winning the game and clinching a spot. The Broncos led 21-13 at the half and 24-19 after three quarters. However, the Chargers outscored Denver 15-3 in the fourth to rally to secure a 34-27 victory.

After the loss, Ed McCaffrey took to X to give Broncos fans some advice.

"Uuuggghh! Ok, I'm giving a big thumbs down to the Thursday Flex. Eight days til CIN seems like an eternity. But it ain't over til it's over. Don't give up the ship! #BroncosCountry," McCaffrey wrote on X.

It was a disappointing loss for the Broncos, who fell to 9-6. Denver will play the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17 and the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 18. The Broncos will need to win or tie one of those games to clinch a playoff spot.

The Broncos currently have an 87% chance of making the playoffs, according to ESPN.

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Broncos coach admits loss was disappointing

Denver had a chance to punch a ticket to the playoffs, but the Broncos came up short against the Los Angeles Chargers. After the game, Denver coach Sean Payton said the loss was disappointing with so much at stake.

“Look, a disappointing loss," Payton said, via DenverSports. "It was disappointing because there was a lot at stake and we know that. We had a fast start, I was encouraged by that, and then uncharacteristically this season we didn’t finish or play nearly well enough in the second half.”

Although Denver fell short, Payton says the focus now turns to Week 17 and getting that much-needed 10th win to punch their ticket to the playoffs.

“I’ll give you a message when we have a message, but right now, look, we’ve got to make the corrections in this game. We’ve got to find a way to get the 10th win, we know that. But I wasn’t worried about messages after that game in the locker room.”

The Broncos will return to the field against the Bengals on Saturday, December 28 at 4:30 p.m. ET.