The Denver Broncos improved to 13-3 with a 20-13 win over theKansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day. Here are five quick takeaways from the Thursday Night Football victory.
1. It doesn’t have to be pretty: Denver made that much closer than it should have been, but a win is all that matters in the end. The Broncos led the time of possession 39:28 to 20:32 and outgained the Chiefs in net yards 303 to 139, but a Bo Nix interception, stalled drives (Courtland Sutton’s drops didn’t help) and a special teams kick coverage kept KC in the game. In the end, the Broncos held on to win, and they remain in control for the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
2. The NFL’s sack record might be safe: Denver was 10 sacks away from the NFL’s single-season record going into Thursday, and they are now nine sacks away from the record going into their regular season finale. Vance Joseph’s unit wanted to keep Chris Oladokun in the pocket and not risk scrambles, and the result was a one-sack performance. The Broncos now have 64 on the year — a new franchise record — but it will be hard to break the NFL record of 72 sacks.
3. Yet another rough day for the officials: Denver was penalized five times for 57 yards while KC’s first penalty of the game didn’t happen until late in the fourth quarter (and it was a costly mistake from Chris Jones, who jumped offside to gift the Broncos a first on fourth down). Three of the penalties called on Denver were shocking. First, guard Ben Powers was called for a false start, but the replays showed he didn’t flinch. Later, cornerback Pat Surtain was penalized for pass interference on an uncatchable pass that was thrown out of bounds. And third, tight end Evan Engram was the victim of a highly questionable offensive pass interference call for a soft push-off. Those calls did not end up deciding the outcome of the game, but Thursday continued this season’s trend of questionable officiating.
4. Bo Nix was clutch once again: Nix had the interception early, but he bounced back with a touchdown run later, and he eventually led a 14-yard drive that ended with his game-winning touchdown pass to RJ Harvey. He was 13-of-16 passing in the second half, totaling 115 yards and two scores after the break to flip the game. He’s now one win away from tying Russell Wilson for the most wins through a QB’s first two seasons in NFL history (24).
5. Broncos can clinch the AFC West this weekend: If the Houston Texans (10-5) defeat (or tie) the Los Angeles Chargers (11-4) on Saturday, Denver will clinch the division. And regardless of the outcome of that Houston game, the Broncos can clinch the No. 1 seed in the conference if they defeat the Chargers next week. The NFL will announce in the coming days if the Denver-L.A. game will be played on Saturday (Jan. 3) or Sunday (Jan. 4).
Social: Follow Broncos Wire on Facebook and Twitter/X! Did you know: These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans.