Step one was in the bank when Terrance Knighton emphatically told The Denver Post that the Broncos were winning the Super Bowl this season.

Step one was winning the AFC West title, which the Broncos clinched Sunday by defeating the San Diego Chargers. Winning the division put the Broncos among the top four seeds in the AFC playoffs.

Step two to winning the Super Bowl would be more helpful than necessary: clinching a first-round playoff bye and a second-round home game.

That would happen if the Broncos defeat the Bengals in Cincinnati on Monday night. At 11-3, the Broncos essentially have a two-game lead on 10-4 Indianapolis with two games remaining because Denver holds their head-to-head tiebreaker.

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But there are a few more steps after that before the Broncos can get in position to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy on Feb. 1 in Glendale, Ariz.

“Some people call it a guarantee, some people call it whatever they want, but anything less than a Super Bowl victory is a disappointing season,” Knighton said. “So I stand by what I said. I don’t care who we play, where we have to play. We won’t be satisfied until we’re hoisting that trophy. If New England wins out and we win out, and we end up meeting them, we’ll have to go there and beat them. It’s that simple.”

If the Broncos lose at Cincinnati, they could still clinch the AFC’s No. 2 seed and a first-round bye with a win in their regular-season finale, against Oakland.