FULL BOX SCORE
- Broncos controlled the clock, could clinch AFC West. It wasn’t easy, but the Broncos outlasted the Chiefs on Christmas night and now are a Los Angeles Chargers tie or loss on Saturday away from clinching the AFC West. The No. 1 seed might have to wait until Week 18, but Denver did just enough in a slugfest to survive. The Broncos had three drives of eight minutes or longer, but it wasn’t until the third one, late in the third quarter, where they finally found the end zone. Bo Nix scrambled 9 yards for the touchdown to give the Broncos the lead, as his legs were a key element in the victory. They’d had drives of 14 and 16 plays that ended in field goals before that, and Nix’s first-quarter interception set up a Chiefs TD that kept Denver in a trailing position well into the second half. After the Chiefs tied it at 13 apiece, Nix led the Broncos into the red zone, where they faced a critical decision on fourth-and-2 at the Kansas City 9-yard line at the two-minute warning. The Broncos lined up to go for it and were able to draw Chris Jones offsides, forcing Kansas City to burn two timeouts before Nix hit RJ Harvey for the go-ahead TD.
- Oladokun came up just short in first start for Chiefs. Chris Oladokun had to wait four years on the Chiefs’ practice squad for his opportunity to start his first NFL game, and he had a chance to lead a game-tying or winning drive in the final minutes, but it came up just short. Oladokun was held to 43 passing yards prior to the drive, but he hit Travis Kelce three times for 23 yards and had a 7-yard scramble to put the Chiefs in business, down, 20-13, in the waning moments. That’s when a delay of game penalty and two incomplete passes doomed the Chiefs in their third straight home loss. If this was Kelce’s final home game, he finished with five catches for 36 yards as the one consistent weapon in the passing game. His 11-yard catch in the first quarter drew a rousing ovation, but he was targeted only once more until the final drive. The 28-year-old Oladokun played mostly mistake-free ball and threw his first NFL TD pass to give the Chiefs a chance but couldn’t get much going until late.
- Denver must play better. The Broncos are well-positioned to win the AFC West and clinch the AFC’s No. 1 seed, but this one was a little too close for comfort. Coming off the disappointing two-TD loss at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Broncos were heavily favored against a Chiefs team down two QBs with a first-time starter and missing two of their top receivers. The Broncos’ defense held the Chiefs to 139 yards, but Kansas City was one or two more plays away from potentially tying or winning the game late. They had only one sack in the game and had some painful penalties in the second half, including a 27-yard defensive pass interference call against Patrick Surtain II to give the Chiefs some life. After two red-zone failures, the Broncos finally converted with two touchdowns down there, but it was a tighter game than it should have been considering the circumstances. There’s still a potentially significant game left against the Chargers, assuming Los Angeles beats the Houston Texans this weekend. The Broncos will need to sharpen up with so much at stake.
Next Gen Stats Insight for Broncos-Chiefs (via NFL Pro): Tight end Travis Kelce led the Chiefs with five receptions for 36 yards on six targets against the Broncos, accounting for 54.5% of Kansas City’s receiving yards, the highest share for the Chiefs this season. When matched up against cornerback Patrick Surtain II on seven occasions, Kelce was targeted twice, managing just one reception for 11 yards.
NFL Research: With Thursday’s win, Sean Payton (five) joined Bill Belichick (seven) as the only coaches in NFL history to win 13-plus games in at least five seasons.
