Broncos hold off depleted Chiefs to hold on to AFC’s No. 1 seed
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bo Nix ran for a score before throwing a go-ahead touchdown pass to R.J. Harvey with 1:45 left in the game, and the Denver Broncos held on in the closing seconds for a 20-13 victory over the banged-up Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night.
Nix finished with 182 yards passing as the Broncos (13-3) bounced back from last week’s disheartening loss to Jacksonville and took another big step toward the AFC West title and perhaps the No. 1 seed and first-round playoff bye.
The Broncos can clinch the division Saturday if the Chargers lose their game against Houston.
Third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun and tight end Travis Kelce gave Kansas City a chance, driving quickly down field after the Broncos had taken the lead. But a third-down pass at the Denver 26 was just out of Kelce’s reach, and Oladokun overthrew Marquise Brown in the end zone on fourth down in the final seconds.
The Chiefs (6-10) were missing Patrick Mahomes and backup quarterback Gardner Minshew, both of whom tore ligaments in their knees in back-to-back weeks, and were left to watch the game together from a suite. They also were missing Rashee Rice and several players on both sides of the ball that had been so crucial to their three straight Super Bowl trips.
Oladokun wound up with 66 yards passing. Kelce had five catches for 36 of those yards in what might have been the last game played by the Pro Bowl tight end at Arrowhead Stadium — he plans to announce soon after the season whether he is retiring.
The Broncos were nearly two-touchdown favorites, according to BetMGM, yet the Chiefs may have been inspired by hearing about the Vikings, who earlier in the day knocked off the favored Lions behind their defense and their own third-string quarterback.
After giving up a grinding, 14-play drive that soaked up more than half the first quarter and net the Broncos a field goal, Kansas City allowed little else through the first 30 minutes. And along the way, a defense put its top two cornerbacks on injured reserve this week managed to pick off Nix, setting up a short field that Oladokun converted into his first career touchdown throw.
It also happened to be Brashard Smith’s first career touchdown catch.
The Broncos tried to answer with another 8-plus minute drive late in the half, but Courtland Sutton dropped a would-be touchdown toss in the closing seconds, and Wil Lutz had to kick his second chip-shot field goal to make it 7-6 at the break.
Denver finally got one of its long, time-consuming drives into the end zone in the third quarter. The Chiefs had pushed the lead to 10-6 when the Broncos churned through 72 yards in nearly 10 minutes, and Nix finished by scrambling nine yards for the score.
But the inability of the Kansas City offense to do much of anything was its undoing.
The Chiefs managed just 16 yards on their first three possessions of the second half, and that gave the Broncos a chance. They drove 65 yards late in the fourth quarter, twice converting on third down and then getting a fourth-down gift when Chris Jones went early inside the 10-yard line, allowing Nix to find Harvey in the back of the end zone on third-and-goal for the eventual winning score.
Injuries
Broncos: C Luke Wattenberg (shoulder) was placed on injured reserve earlier in the day.
Chiefs: WR Nikko Remigio (knee) was placed on IR. OL Jaylon Moore (knee) and DT Derrick Nnadi (illness) were inactive.
Up next
Denver wraps up the regular season next week against the Chargers.
Kansas City finishes its season next week in Las Vegas.