Quarterback Bo Nix threw a touchdown pass to running back RJ Harvey with 1:45 remaining Thursday night and the visiting Denver Broncos escaped a depleted Kansas City Chiefs team 20-13 to remain in the driver’s seat for the AFC West title and the conference’s No. 1 seed.
Nix passed for 182 yards and rushed for 43, including a third-quarter touchdown, to help the Broncos improve to 11-2 in one-possession games.
The Broncos (13-3) can win the division with a loss by the Los Angeles Chargers to the Houston Texans on Saturday or by beating the Chargers themselves next week. A win next week would also wrap up the top seed and first-round bye for Denver, regardless of what its challengers do over the final two weeks.
The Chiefs (6-10) were playing with third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun and a makeshift offensive line in what may have been tight end Travis Kelce’s final game at Arrowhead Stadium. The Broncos dominated in total yards, 303-139, and nearly doubled the Chiefs in time of possession, but Kansas City hung in there thanks to its defense.
Massive Week 18 matchup for Broncos
The Broncos could win the AFC West from the couch on Saturday. If the Los Angeles Chargers lose to the Houston Texans that afternoon, Denver will secure its first division title in a decade. If the Chargers win, though, everything will come down to the Week 18 matchup between those two teams in Denver. The Broncos would win the division and earn the No. 1 seed with a victory in that scenario. With a loss, they would drop all the way to the No. 5 or No. 6 seed, and the Chargers would be West champs.
It would be fitting for these Broncos to overcome one more hurdle on the way to achieving their goal of the No. 1 seed and, possibly, their first division title in a decade. They have not defeated the Chargers since Jim Harbaugh became the team’s head coach in 2024. All three losses since have come in one-possession games, including a 23-20 defeat on the road in September that ended on Cameron Dicker’s walk-off field goal. Payton is 1-6 overall against Harbaugh, including the playoffs, dating to when the former coached the Saints, and the latter coached the 49ers.
Even if the Chargers lose to the Texans on Saturday, giving the Broncos their AFC West title since Peyton Manning’s final season in 2015, the Week 18 matchup would still come with major playoff seeding implications for both teams.
Buckle up for what will likely be a nationally televised game on the final Saturday or Sunday night of the regular season. — Nick Kosmider, Broncos beat writer
Methodical Denver offense closes late
Style points mean nothing in December.
That was the case Nix made this week as Denver prepared for the penultimate game of the regular season. With the Broncos only two games away from earning the No. 1 seed, that was the team’s mindset, according to its quarterback.
“Whatever it takes to win the game,” Nix said. “It doesn’t really, at this point, matter what it looks like. All the cool, flashy stuff can have already happened, but now it’s just who has more points.”
There was little flashy about how the Broncos snapped a nine-game Arrowhead Stadium losing streak. Denver trudged through four drives of at least 14 plays. Three of those possessions took more than eight minutes off the clock. It was reminiscent of a win a few weeks ago against the Las Vegas Raiders, when the Broncos patiently poked and prodded against a defense that was intent on closing off the field for explosive pass plays.
Still, Denver needed an offsides call on a fourth-and-2 play coming out of the two-minute warning. That set up a 1-yard touchdown pass from Nix to Harvey on third-and-goal, the rookie’s 12th touchdown of the season.
The Broncos produced two drives in the first half that were 14 and 16 plays in length, respectively. Both swallowed more than eight minutes off the clock. Denver converted third downs consistently and dominated the time of possession, methodically pushing the ball down the field, but those two drives ended in field goals and left the Broncos trailing at the half.
Nix finally got the Broncos into the end zone in the third quarter when he scrambled for a 9-yard touchdown run. His scoring pass to Harvey came at the end of another 14-play drive that gave Denver a lead with 1:45 left.
It wasn’t pretty, but on a short week, in a game that kept the Broncos’ quest for the No. 1 seed alive, it was enough. — Kosmider
End of an era?
Kelce hasn’t announced whether he’ll retire at the end of this season. If he does, though, Thursday will be remembered as his final home game at Arrowhead Stadium.
There were times — including during pregame introductions — when Kelce seemed to take an extra second or two to soak up the atmosphere, just in case this was his home curtain call.
Kelce was mostly quiet until the final drive Thursday; he finished with five catches for 36 yards. His 11-yard catch in the first quarter was one of the most memorable as he contributed to a third-and-6 conversion before waving to the crowd in celebration afterward.
Kelce, 36, is expected to decide on his future in the next few months. He’s played 13 seasons in the NFL — all with the Chiefs — while earning a Pro Bowl nod in each of his last 11 campaigns. — Jesse Newell, Chiefs beat writer
Broncos too charitable on Christmas night
The Chiefs’ lone touchdown drive came on a possession that started on Denver’s 35-yard line after Nix’s tipped pass was intercepted by a diving Nick Bolton. They scored on a long Wil Lutz field goal after cornerback Pat Surtain II was charged with a 27-yard pass-interference penalty. They put together another field goal drive after Denver’s punt coverage unit gave up a 44-yard return to Brashard Smith.
Oladokun was making his first career start after several years on the team’s practice squad. The game plan for the Broncos should have been clear: Don’t make life any easier on him with short fields. However, those three Broncos’ mistakes directly contributed to 13 points.
Give Oladokun credit for making some impressive plays out of the pocket, including one in which he dropped the ball while moving to his left, picked it up and still fired up the middle for a first-down completion. Oladokun also made it interesting on the final drive, moving the Chiefs to the Denver 21-yard line before turning the ball over on downs.
The Broncos made it too hard on themselves Thursday night against an inexperienced quarterback. The Broncos gave up only 95 yards of offense before the Chiefs’ final drive. Kansas City was never going to move the ball up and down the field on its own accord. Denver can’t give Justin Herbert the same gifts next week. — Kosmider
Chiefs look a bit more like 2024 edition
During a season in which Kansas City’s production (and wins) never seemed to line up with more-impressive underlying numbers, the Chiefs reversed that trend for a night.
K.C., through its first seven possessions, had 95 total yards of offense. It averaged 2.8 yards per play and also mustered just eight first downs.
Yet, midway through the fourth quarter, the Chiefs remained tied at 13 with the conference-leading Broncos. Why was that? For one of the first times all season, the Chiefs made winning-type plays in the margins.
One significant snap was on defense, as Bolton pulled down a deflected-ball interception following a Kristian Fulton pass breakup.
The Chiefs also easily had their best game on special teams. Kicker Harrison Butker knocked through 53- and 47-yard field goals, while Smith provided the Chiefs’ best punt return of the year with a 44-yarder in the fourth quarter.
That kind of complementary football — at least until the Broncos’ final drive — was much more reminiscent of the Chiefs’ 2024 season when they went 15-2, rather than this one, when they’ve struggled to a 6-10 record. — Newell
K.C.’s critical mistake
The Chiefs, who have struggled with penalties often this year, had no infractions in the first 57 minutes Thursday. Their first flag, though, ended up being an absolute back-breaker.
The Broncos lined up to go for a fourth-and-2 at the Chiefs’ 9-yard line during a tie game in the fourth quarter, though it appeared they were only attempting to draw the defense offsides.
K.C. defensive tackle Chris Jones flinched early, picking up a defensive penalty and giving Denver a free first down. The Broncos scored the go-ahead touchdown three plays later.
It was the second time in three weeks that Jones cost the Chiefs with this infraction. Against the Chargers at home on Dec. 14, Jones negated a fourth-and-1 stop when he was flagged for lining up in the neutral zone, which brought back a potential momentum-changing play. — Newell
