Shanahan wants more than division title

A win Saturday against the Oakland Raiders (4-10) will give Denver (11-3) its first AFC West title in seven years and guarantee the Broncos their first home playoff game since 1998, the year they last won in the postseason.

To Shanahan, though, division titles aren't what it's all about.

"It absolutely means nothing unless you do something with it, and I think that is the focus of our football team," Shanahan said.

To essentially dismiss a title that has been so long missing might seem unreasonably arrogant, especially for a team that hasn't won a playoff game in seven years.

But give Shanahan credit. He was the one who, last year, elicited snickers when he said the Broncos were very close to being a Super Bowl-caliber team, the day after they lost 49-24 to Indianapolis in the playoffs.

And he's the one who has assembled and coached this year's team to a record well beyond most people's expectations.

In his 11 seasons as coach, he has gone 112-62 and established Denver as one of the top franchises in the league. He has won two Super Bowls, and though New England and, now, Indianapolis have surpassed the Broncos as the NFL's elite, he no longer pens in anything other than a Super Bowl title as an acceptable goal.

Part of that is because of history. In 1996, when the Broncos won the division and were considered the Super Bowl favorite, they lost to Jacksonville in one of the biggest postseason upsets in NFL history. The next year, they went in as a wild-card and won twice on the road en route to their first Super Bowl title.

In other words, there are many paths to a championship.

"Our football team is well aware that we're in position to control our own destiny," Shanahan said. "But to win the division is not our goal. It's a nice first step."

While Indy has already wrapped up the AFC's top seed, the second seed, and the crucial first-round bye that goes with it, is still up for grabs. The Broncos are tied with Cincinnati for the conference's second-best record and own the tiebreaker advantage.

Of course, that conversation could become moot if the Broncos can't get past the Raiders, who are bad this year but are still the Raiders, Denver's biggest rival.

Last year, Denver was 7-3 when Oakland came to town struggling and remembering a bad loss at home to the Broncos earlier in the season. In other words, sort of like this season. In a driving snowstorm, the Raiders overcame a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter and won 25-24. It dealt a big blow to Denver's quest for a division title and the Broncos wound up sneaking into the playoffs as the conference's last wild-card, setting up the debacle in Indy.

At this point, ruining Denver's season is the key motivator for Oakland.

"They hate us, we hate them," Raiders safety Stuart Schweigert said. "Last time we played them, they could have downed the ball and they were trying to run a reverse ... Stuff like that we remember and it puts a bad taste in our mouth. We want to go out there and upset them on their home field like we did last season."

While the Raiders remember Denver's 31-17 victory in Oakland last month, Shanahan only needs to point to last year's game in Denver to keep the focus sharp.

"You always bring it up one time," he said. "You don't dwell on it. We talked about them coming into our backyard and beating us at home after we dominated the game the first time. If you're not completely in tune to what you're doing, then you're going to get beat."

While the coach looks at the division title as no more than a stopping-off point, the players realize it's an accomplishment.

Only six Broncos remain from the 1998 team. A majority in the Denver locker room have not played for a division winner. In fact, for all their success under Shanahan, the Broncos have only won the AFC West twice.

"I thought coming into the season, this division was much improved," said safety John Lynch, one of four Broncos chosen to the AFC Pro Bowl team this week. "I think it's the case of being the strongest division in football. The sense of accomplishment in winning it is great."

Great, but only one step.

"We know what's at stake," Jake Plummer said. "We know that we can go out there and put ourselves in a really nice position. If we get this 'W,' it puts us one step closer to having a really nice playoff scenario."