DENVER (AP) — Ja'Quan McMillian goofed up the play in practice, got an earful from Denver defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and then made good when given another chance Sunday when it mattered most.

The Denver Broncos secured the AFC's top playoff seed with a 19-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers' bevy of backups, a victory fueled by McMillian's 45-yard interception return for a touchdown.

“We actually ran that play in practice against that same exact (formation) and I messed it up, so we had to redo it. And VJ gave me the coaching point on it," McMillian recounted. "Then it so happened they we ran the exact same play. I was coming down on the ball to make a tackle, it was a tip, he dropped it, got a pick and just ran it in for the touchdown.”

Los Angeles had two turnovers and had two drives end with a turnover on downs, as Denver stopped the Chargers on 11 of their 12 drives.

Wil Lutz was 4-for-4 on field goals and the Broncos (14-3) tied their franchise record for most victories in a season and earned their first No. 1 playoff seed since 2015, which they parlayed into a third Super Bowl title.

“And now the season truly starts, right?" Denver cornerback Riley Moss said. "You win or you go home, and so the stakes are high and we’re going to be ready to roll in two weeks.”

That's when they host their first playoff game in a decade, which could be against these same Chargers (11-6) if L.A. beats the Patriots (14-3) at New England in the wild-card round next weekend.

“Yeah, New England. Focus on New England," Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said. "That’s where our focus will be.”

Broncos quarterback Bo Nix had one of his worst games of the season, throwing for just 38 yards in the first half and 141 overall, but he tied Russell Wilson's record of 24 wins in his first two NFL seasons by helping Denver grind out yet another tough win.

“We've been fortunate this year to play a lot of close games and we've won a lot of close games," Nix said. “It hasn't been the pretty ones that you want, the flashy, big-time wins, the ones you get to go there and rest a little bit in the fourth. But ... it's put us in a position to see what winning football is like."

With no chance to win the division, the Chargers treated this game much like a bye week as they prepared to hit the road for the playoffs in the wild-card round. Harbaugh sat several of his starters, most notably quarterback Justin Herbert, safety Derwin James and OLB Tuli Tuipulotu.

QB Trey Lance made his sixth career start and first with the Bolts. His fourth pass went off the hands of KeAndre Lambert-Smith and into the arms of McMillian, who raced down the Broncos' sideline for a 45-yard touchdown and a 10-0 first-quarter lead. Lambert-Smith later left the game with a hamstring injury.

After five fruitless drives, Cameron Dicker's 30-yard field goal with 3 seconds left in the second quarter pulled the Chargers to 10-3 at halftime.

The Broncos had four sacks, none bigger than Nik Bonitto's strip-sack at the Los Angeles 20-yard line early in the fourth quarter. Denver finished the season with a franchise-record and NFL-best 68 sacks, four shy of the 1984 Chicago Bears' NFL-record.

The Broncos again earned no style points, not that it mattered.

“A win is a win,” Courtland Sutton said after catching just one pass for 5 yards. "I don't care if it's 3-2. It doesn't have to be exciting. At the end of the day you have to have more points than the other team and you get the dub. I know all the fantasy people and all the gamblers they probably get upset with us ...

“Our defense was incredible. Wil will probably ice his leg later today because we wore him out. But man, a win is a win and it was exciting to share that moment with this team,” Sutton added. "There's a lot of guys on this team who have seen some darker days ... so to be able to come away with this victory was a lot of fun.”

Incentives

The game was profitable for at least one Chargers player — wide receiver Keenan Allen, whose seven catches for 36 yards allowed him to reach contract incentives worth $1 million in bonuses Sunday. Allen may be buying Lance dinner — maybe even a car — for helping him reach those incentives.

“We’ll talk about it,” Allen said with a laugh.

Allen credited offensive coordinator Greg Roman, too, for calling several early screen plays to help him reach the mark. Allen needed six catches to reach 80 receptions for an extra $750,000 and 9 yards to achieve 750 yards for another bonus of $250,000. He had the yards before halftime and the catches in the third quarter.

“We set the incentives knowing we could get to them,” Allen said.

Injuries

Chargers: CB Donte Jackson (ankle), Lambert-Smith (hamstring) and S Kendall Williamson (ankle) got hurt.

Broncos: S P.J. Locke (leg) was injured in the second quarter. He has been starting in place of injured S Brandon Jones.

Up next

Chargers: visit the No. 2 seed Patriots in the wild-card round.

Broncos: get next weekend off before hosting their first playoff game in 10 years.

Florida holds off Colorado 2-1, hands Avs just 3rd regulation loss of season

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad scored unassisted goals, Daniil Tarasov made 27 saves and the Florida Panthers snapped Colorado's second 10-game winning streak of the season by topping the Avalanche 2-1 on Sunday night.

Colorado fell to 31-3-7, its 69 points still the second-most in NHL history through 41 games and the most in nearly a century. Boston had 73 points through 41 games in 1929-30. The NHL added regular-season overtime along the way and changed the points structure in 1999-2000 to add a point for losses past regulation.

But the Panthers never trailed Sunday. Bennett scored 6:27 into the game, and Ekblad made it 2-1 with 1:48 left in the second period.

Artturi Lehkonen scored midway through the second period for Colorado, which lost captain Gabriel Landeskog early in that period with what the team said was an upper-body injury.

The three regulation losses for Colorado tie the 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers for the fewest through 41 games of any season. The Avalanche had gotten at least one standings point in 30 of their last 31 games coming into Sunday, going 26-1-4 in that stretch.

It was the third time this season Colorado was held to one goal. The Avs won both of the previous games.

Scott Wedgewood stopped 23 shots for Colorado, his record falling to 18-2-4 on the season.

The Panthers were further short-handed than usual. U.S. Olympic team defenseman Seth Jones (upper body) was out for Florida, and the Panthers expect word Monday on how much time he'll miss. He was hurt in the first period of Friday's Winter Classic.

Florida leaves for a six-game trip Monday and Matthew Tkachuk — who has yet to play this season following August surgery to repair a torn adductor and sports hernia — will be on the plane. It's unclear yet if Tkachuk will play during the trip.

That trip is the start of a second half where Florida plays 26 of its final 41 games on the road.

Up next

Avalanche: At Tampa Bay on Tuesday night.

Panthers: At Toronto on Tuesday night.

Gabriel Landeskog injured in Avalanche's game against Florida. He'll miss some time, the team says

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog will miss some time, the Avalanche said, after he was injured and needed to be helped off the ice early in the second period of what became a 2-1 loss in Florida on Sunday night.

The good news, such as it is, for the Avs might be this: “It's not his knee,” forward Nathan MacKinnon said.

Landeskog, who was out for nearly three full years with chronic right knee problems before returning during last season's playoffs, is dealing now with an upper body injury, Avs coach Jared Bednar said. The severity of the issue was not immediately released by the team, and Landeskog was still being evaluated postgame. It wasn't even clear after the game if Landeskog would be able to accompany the Avalanche to Tampa for a game there against the Lightning on Tuesday night.

“He’s still getting looked at and diagnosed, but it did not look comfortable," Bednar said. “He's going to miss some time for sure."

Landeskog crashed into a goalpost, sliding headfirst along the ice, after his left knee appeared to buckle and he lost his footing. He was down behind the goal for several minutes and was unable to skate off under his own power.

"Bones heal. They just heal normally," MacKinnon said. “Tendons, ligaments are kind of scary injuries in sports. I think after the process he had, obviously, it looked horrible and it's definitely scary, devastating to see a guy like that hurt like that because he's so tough. But the one bright side, maybe, is it's not his knee.”

MacKinnon said several members of the Panthers asked Avalanche players throughout the rest of the game how Landeskog was doing, which he felt was a classy gesture. The Panthers are currently without several of their top players because of injury, including captain Aleksander Barkov.

“It's a sensitive subject for us," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. "If you love the game, you follow what he’s had to go through to get back. You’re also very aware of how important he is to that team. ... I’m just hopeful that it’s short term. He’s been through enough. He’s too important. Just the game of hockey, we need him on the ice.”

Landeskog helped the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in 2022, then missed nearly three full years with a chronically injured right knee — one that required several procedures before he could play again. He returned for five games in last season's playoffs, ending more than 1,000 days of waiting between games.

Landeskog has appeared in all 41 of Colorado's games this season, a key part of the team's historic start, and has seven goals and 15 assists. The Avalanche, even after Sunday's loss, are 31-3-7 — by far the best record in the league and their 69 standings points are the second-most through 41 games in NHL history.

Landeskog was also named to represent Sweden in next month's Milan Cortina Olympics.

“No player wants to see another player, regardless of what team they’re on or who they’re playing for, get seriously hurt," Bednar said. “Hopefully, it’s nothing too serious.”

Michael Porter Jr. scores 27 points against his old team as the Nets beat the Nuggets 127-115

NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Porter Jr. had 27 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in his first game against his former team, and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Denver Nuggets 127-115 on Sunday to snap a three-game losing streak.

The Nuggets got Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun back from lengthy injury absences and a huge game from Jamal Murray, but fell to 1-2 since Nikola Jokic was lost for perhaps a month with a hyperextended left knee.

Murray finished with 27 points, a career-high 16 assists and six rebounds. Gordon had 20 points off the bench after missing 19 games with a strained right hamstring, while Braun started and scored four points after he sat out 23 games with a sprained left ankle.

Noah Clowney added 22 points for the Nets, while Cam Thomas and Day'Ron Sharpe each had 17. Sharpe started at center with Nic Claxton out for personal reasons.

Porter played six seasons for the Nuggets after being taken with the No. 14 pick in the 2018 draft and was a starter on their 2023 NBA championship team. He was traded to Brooklyn in the offseason for Cam Johnson and came in averaging a career-high 25.8 points.

He scored nine points in the second quarter and Brooklyn led 59-52 at halftime after Murray's jumper with 0.2 seconds to play.

The Nets quickly opened it up again in the third quarter. Brooklyn was 7 for 9 from 3-point range in the period, scoring 41 points and taking a 100-84 advantage to the fourth.

Tim Hardaway Jr. had two 3-pointers to open the fourth and cut it to 10, but Thomas had the last seven points of a 12-0 spurt that blew it open at 112-90.

Hardaway scored 26 but Denver fell to 1-4 on its seven-game Eastern trip. Johnson sat out with a knee injury.

Up next

Nuggets: Visit Philadelphia on Monday.

Nets: Host Orlando on Tuesday.

Colorado adds elite receiver

Quarterback Colton Joseph is heading to Wisconsin after throwing for more than 2,500 yards and eclipsing 1,000 yards rushing at Old Dominion this season.

Joseph announced his decision Sunday with an X post that included the message, “On Wisconsin.”

It was a big weekend for Colorado coach Deion Sanders, too.

The Buffaloes received several commitments from an array of players including San Jose State receiver Danny Scudero, who was named to The Associated Press All-America second team. Scudero's intention to join the Buffaloes was confirmed by a person familiar with the situation who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because Colorado hasn't announced its new arrivals.

Colorado also had pledges from receiver Kam Perry of Miami (Ohio), along with defensive linemen Lamont Lester Jr. and Yamil Talib, the nephew of longtime NFL cornerback Aqib Talib. In addition, running back Damian Henderson II is set to join Colorado.

Joseph and the Badgers

Joseph completed 59.7% of his passes this season for 2,624 yards with 21 touchdowns and 10 interceptions for Old Dominion, which went 10-3. He also rushed for 1,007 yards and 13 touchdowns on 158 carries.

He didn’t play in Old Dominion’s 24-10 Cure Bowl victory over South Florida after deciding to enter the transfer portal.

Joseph completed 59.9% of his passes for 1,627 yards with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions while making eight starts in 2024. He rushed for 647 yards and 11 touchdowns that season.

Wisconsin has gone to the transfer portal for quarterbacks every year since coach Luke Fickell arrived, though injuries have limited their production.

Tanner Mordecai came over from SMU in 2023 but missed 3 1/2 games with a broken hand that season. Tyler Van Dyke arrived from Miami the following year but tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the third game of the season. Former Mississippi State quarterback Braedyn Locke started when Mordecai and Van Dyke were injured.

Billy Edwards Jr. transferred from Maryland and opened the 2025 season as Wisconsin’s starter, but he sprained his knee in the second quarter of the Badgers’ season-opening victory over Miami (Ohio).

Edwards returned to start Wisconsin’s Sept. 20 loss to Maryland but got hurt again and didn't play the rest of the season. San Diego State transfer Danny O’Neil, Southern Illinois transfer Hunter Simmons and freshman Carter Smith each started multiple games after Edwards’ injury.

Colorado's additions

The Buffaloes added some offensive weapons for highly touted quarterback Julian Lewis.

Scudero had 88 catches for 1,291 yards and 10 TDs last season for San Jose State. He had a program-best four touchdown catches against Wyoming.

The Buffaloes will be the third school for Perry, who started at Indiana before transferring to Miami (Ohio). He finished with 43 catches for 976 yards and six touchdowns for the RedHawks in 2025.

Henderson follows his coach at Sacramento State to Colorado. Brennan Marion was hired by Sanders as offensive coordinator to implement Marion's high-tempo, run-oriented “Go-Go” system. Henderson rushed for 565 yards last season after starting his career at Colorado State.

Talib comes to Boulder from Charlotte, where he had 28 tackles and an interception last season for the 49ers. He was at Oklahoma State in 2024.

Lester had 9 1/2 sacks and two forced fumbles last season for Monmouth

Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun return to a Nuggets team needing healthy bodies after Jokic's loss

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun are returning from lengthy injury absences Sunday in Brooklyn, bringing good news to a Denver team desperate for healthy bodies after the loss of Nikola Jokic.

Coach David Adelman said both players showed improvements in recent days and would test themselves during warmups. The Nuggets then said both players were available.

“We’ve had a good 48 hours, those two guys. Thank God,” Adelman said. “So we could use the bodies.”

Gordon has missed the last 19 games with a strained right hamstring. The starting forward hasn't played since a brief appearance on Nov. 21.

Braun started the first 11 games of the season before spraining his left ankle. He hasn't played since Nov. 12.

Adelman said both players likely would have their minutes limited.

But Denver would take them for however long they could play after a nightmarish injury stretch that included losing Jokic, the three-time NBA MVP, and Jonas Valanciunas, his backup.

Jokic hyperextended his left knee Monday in Miami and will miss at least four weeks before he is evaluated again. Valanciunas strained his right calf in his first start after that and also could miss a month.

The Nuggets won in Toronto in their first game without Jokic, and Adelman was encouraged by their effort in a loss in Cleveland on Friday.

“But we were right there and that’s the whole point of this, is just try to get through this month, win enough games that you wake up in February and go, ‘Hey, we’re still in the top six or whatever it may be,’” Adelman said.

“So it’s just survival mode and this group as a bunch of veteran guys understand that. They understand what it means to just find a way to win a few games a week and just go from there.”

For the Nets, Michael Porter Jr. returned from a two-game illness absence to start against the team he helped lead to the 2023 NBA championship before he was traded to Brooklyn for Cam Johnson last summer. Johnson is still sidelined with a right knee injury.