By Nick Kosmider, Nate Taylor and Chris Licata
The Denver Broncos (10-7) galloped past the Kansas City Chiefs (15-2) on Sunday, securing a decisive 38-0 home win and punching their ticket to the playoffs for the first time in nine seasons. It was only Denver’s third victory over Kansas City in their last 20 matchups dating back to 2015.
With Kansas City resting most of its starters, including Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Chris Jones, Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix carved up the Chiefs’ defense for a career-high 321 passing yards and four touchdowns. Overall, Denver outgained Kansas City 479 to 98 in total yardage in a divisional contest that appeared one-sided within its first few minutes.
The Broncos clinched the No. 7 seed and will travel to Buffalo next weekend for a wild-card game against the No. 2 seeded Bills. The Chiefs will use their first-round bye to further rest their starters.
BRONCOS vs. BILLS.
Wild Card Weekend.#NFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/0jwrbKQdfD
— NFL (@NFL) January 6, 2025
What it will take for Broncos to hang with Bills
The Broncos went to Buffalo in November last season and pulled off a stunning upset of the Bills on “Monday Night Football.” They did it with a flurry of takeaways — including a forced fumble and recovery on the game’s first play — some timely fourth-quarter playmaking from Russell Wilson, and a game-winning field goal by Wil Lutz that came on a second chance provided by a Bills penalty.
But this Bills team is much more well-rounded than that one, becoming the first team in NFL history to pass and rush for at least 30 touchdowns apiece. James Cook’s efficiency on the ground has helped put MVP candidate Josh Allen into advantageous situations to punish defenses, and he’s produced an MVP-worthy campaign as a result.
The Broncos’ strength is up front. They finished the regular season with a franchise-record 62 sacks, the most in the NFL. That group must get into situations where it can get after Allen and force him into the kind of mistakes he hasn’t made frequently this season.
Nix on Sunday produced his seventh game this season of at least 200 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, an NFL rookie record. The Broncos won six of those. That’s the efficient balance he’ll need to strike for Denver’s offense to do its part. — Nick Kosmider, Broncos staff writer
Chiefs’ LT uncertainty likely to linger into playoffs
In terms of the big picture, very few players in a Chiefs uniform who played the majority of snaps Sunday helped themselves from an individual standpoint. Backup quarterback Carson Wentz, making his first start this season, struggled because the Chiefs offense, featuring all backups, was never able to get in rhythm against the Broncos’ starting defense.
The most negative outcome for the offense is that the player who had the most to gain ahead of the team’s postseason run was left tackle D.J. Humphries. A nine-year player who joined the Chiefs in late November after recovering from a torn ACL, Humphries played in just his second game this season Sunday and struggled at moments in pass protection, especially after halftime. Late in the third quarter, Humphries whiffed when he tried to block outside linebacker Nik Bonitto on a fourth-and-7 snap. Bonitto immediately sacked Wentz with ease.
Before Sunday, Humphries had missed the previous three games with a strained left hamstring. Following Humphries’ inconsistent performance, one has to wonder if coach Andy Reid will not have him in the starting lineup when the Chiefs play in two weeks in the divisional round.
Joe Thuney, the All-Pro left guard, switched to left tackle at the start of the Chiefs’ truncated stretch of three games in 11 days. Thuney faced one-on-one matchups against pass rushers such as Myles Garrett (Cleveland Browns), Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter (Houston Texans) and T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith (Pittsburgh Steelers). Thuney didn’t surrender a sack in any of the three games. In fact, Mahomes was sacked just once since Thuney switched to left tackle and Mike Caliendo became the left guard. — Nate Taylor, Chiefs staff writer
Nix’s efficient performance emblematic of encouraging rookie season
Nix on Sunday quickly erased whatever doubt may have existed about how he would respond in what amounted to the first elimination game of his pro career. Two drives into the game, he had completed all eight of his pass attempts — including a 47-yard bomb to Courtland Sutton — for 125 yards and two touchdowns. His first incompletion didn’t come until the final offensive play of the first half — and after a team-record 18 straight completions to start the game.
Of course, there were no concerns within the walls of the Broncos’ facility about how the rookie quarterback would approach Sunday’s game. His refusal to be rattled, no matter the situation, is a quality that popped with teammates from the time training camp began. “He doesn’t flinch,” veteran offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey said.
Nix will become just the second player in franchise history to start a playoff game as a rookie. The first: John Elway. Elway didn’t win that start in 1983, which means Nix could author more team history in Buffalo. Time will tell whether the Broncos can pull off an upset against the second-seeded Bills, but they know Nix won’t shrink at the challenge. — Kosmider
Bo Nix was trying to go to Adam Trautman…
The ball gets tipped THREE times…
Then Devaughn Vele comes up with the @Broncos TD!📺: #KCvsDEN on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/Df7tchDooL— NFL (@NFL) January 5, 2025
Broncos shed nearly a decade of painful history
Nix had just completed his freshman season at Scottsboro High School in Alabama when the Broncos clinched their last playoff berth in 2015. Bonitto, the team sacks leader, was finishing up his last semester of high school in Florida before heading to the University of Oklahoma. Rookie pass rusher Jonah Elliss was 12 years old and “was probably playing Pokemon” somewhere. Not even offensive tackle Garett Bolles, the team’s longest-tenured player, had played a snap in the NFL the last time Denver was in the postseason.
They and many others all played pivotal roles in the Broncos getting back to the postseason for the first time in 3,296 days. The NFL’s second-longest postseason drought is over.
The Broncos were well aware of that tortuous history entering Sunday’s game against the Chiefs and played like it. Three drives into the game — a pair of Broncos touchdowns and a Kansas City three-and-out — it was clear Denver wouldn’t squander its third chance in as many weeks to earn their 10th win and reach the postseason for the first time since Peyton Manning and Von Miller led the Broncos to a victory in Super Bowl 50.
Sean Payton is the fifth head coach since the Broncos lifted that Lombardi Trophy. Nix is the 14th different starting quarterback in that span. The Year 1 success of their partnership is a major reason the Broncos have reached the playoffs in a season that entered with little in the way of external expectations.
The Broncos won’t apologize for earning their clinching win against Chiefs reserves. Their 9-5 start gave them a leg up on the Bengals and Dolphins during the season’s final weekend. The Broncos earned their upcoming trip to face Buffalo in the opening round of the playoffs.
Facing Allen in frigid weather will be a tall order. But preparation can wait for a night. Sunday was a moment a decade in the making, and as high-fives and hugs were being passed around on Denver’s sideline in the second half, it was clear the party was already underway. — Kosmider
Required reading
(Photo: Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)
