Even after winning at Arrowhead Stadium for the first time in over a decade, the fine-margin nature of the Denver Broncos’ 20-13 over the Kansas City Chiefs is guaranteed to let the national naysayers feast some more.Â
Shutting out such noise is part of the art of coaching, but Broncos head coach Sean Payton isn’t going to apologize for getting a win over an opponent with the “heart of a champion,” even if it didn’t look too pretty to outsiders.Â
“Here’s the thing. It doesn’t have to be aesthetically pleasing to be effective,” Payton said after the road win. “I’ve said that before.”Â
The Broncos controlled the time of possession 39:28 to 20:32, marching down the field in painstaking fashion time and time again. The Broncos had a whopping four scoring drives of 14-plus plays vs. the Chiefs.
Factoring in the short week and the traditional pitfalls of facing the Chiefs, Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton was far more concerned with grinding the opponent down than putting up ‘Star Wars’ numbers for the critics and oddsmakers.
“I think, if you ask anybody that plays offense, they’ll tell you that whenever you can put a drive like that together, it shows you are able to impose your will on an opposing defense,” Sutton said 9NEWS’ via Scotty Gange post-game. “To be able to stay on the field, continuously convert third downs, continue to just move the ball down the field methodically, I think that it wears the defense down, and it kind of breaks their will a little bit because they’re like, ‘Darn, we can’t get these guys off the field.'”Â
Winning Ugly? It Was a Payton Picasso
Dec 25, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) gestures on the line of scrimmage during the first quarter at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images
Call it ‘winning ugly’ if you wish, but having four drives of 14-plus plays is like painting a Picasso as far as Payton is concerned. After all, he knows well that sustaining bruising possessions works wonders come the playoffs and in do-or-die divisional games.Â
Against the Los Angeles Chargers next week, when the AFC West title and the No. 1 playoff seed might be on the line, the same will apply. Perhaps the best way to defend Justin Herbert is to keep him on the sideline.
Having a quarterback who’s capable of extending plays on the run is also crucial, but playing smart when it mattered most at Arrowhead was a key element of Bo Nix’s performance vs. the Chiefs.
“I’ll tell you what he did,” Payton said post-game. “He made a comment. There were two plays where he’s finding a throw off-schedule. I said, ‘You got running room here.’ And I thought he came up with some really big plays. In that soft zone, even though it’s a zone, there were some eight-yard scampers that were really important, and I think obviously, you’re adjusting. It’s not a halftime adjustment. This is just what we’re seeing, and you’re knowing exactly why you’re seeing it.”Â
Kansas City Surprises Nix & Payton
From the get-go, Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo worked to keep a tight lid on the Broncos, so Nix had to take a different approach. That involved simply taking what the defense was giving him, which led to the dink-and-dunk affair on Christmas.
“Honestly, it is the exact opposite of what I thought we were going to get,” Nix said post-game. “I thought they were going to pressure us like crazy. We got a bunch of two high zone the whole game. They put a lid on top of it and made it hard to find explosive plays. We just had to inch our way down the field. Obviously, the plays we scored on were longer drives and a lot of plays. We just did what we had to do, but that was a good defense.”Â
As on-point and disciplined as the Nix and the offense were determined to be, it wouldn’t be a Broncos game if Payton didn’t deploy an element of deceit and trickery. That curveball was thrown when the Broncos ran what they’ve termed the “Harrisburg” formation, an exotic look that deployed rookie running back RJ Harvey operating the silent count lined up in shotgun.Â
Pro Bowl right guard Quinn Meinerz helped provide the smoke and mirrors that drew Chiefs superstar defender Chris Jones offside on a vital 4th-&-Short just before the Broncos’ go-ahead touchdown. It may have been an ode to Harvey’s past as a signal-caller in high school, but he was rewarded with a touchdown catch to cap off the drive.
“You can tell he has been in my shoes before throwing. He knows what it is like to find space,” Nix said of Harvey. “He is a really savvy football player. He does things a lot that are unteachable that he has in his toolbox.”Â
Doing the small things right has led to 13 wins for the Broncos, but every game suddenly feels like it’s for all the marbles. Harvey’s multi-faceted skill set helps the Broncos win these small-margin games.
Chargers: All or Nothing
Of course, Herbert will pose a significantly more difficult and complex challenge than Chiefs third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun did. That’s a burden for the Broncos’ defense to carry, but Nix has already shifted his focus to Week 18 and getting his first-ever win over the Chargers.
“They [Chargers] are going to be a good football team. Some other team could help us along the way, but at the end of the day, it is going to come down to us versus them,” Nix said. “We are excited to have them at home. It is going to be a really good environment and atmosphere. It is honestly playoff atmosphere. It’s going to be tough. I have not beaten them, but it is going to be a good nine days of preparation.”
On the 10th day, Nix vows to give the Chargers all he’s got. But he gets to rest up for a few days while he prepares for L.A.
The Broncos have emerged from Kansas City with another critical win, keeping them in control of their own destiny.
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