In a game that could live for months in Denver sports memory, the Broncos outlasted the Chiefs 22-19 at Empower Field on Sunday to take pole position of the AFC West.
OFFENSE — B
It’s been a season of stop-and-go for Bo Nix and the offense. In a notable development Sunday, the problem was often not Nix — who’s been heavily criticized for his play the last two weeks — or head coach Sean Payton, who’s been heavily criticized for his play-calling the last two weeks. Wide receiver Troy Franklin had a couple of killer drops in the first half, and Nix was sacked twice on the opening drive.
Nix was in rhythm all game, though, in an encouraging sign for the second-year quarterback’s progress. He connected on two monster deep shots to Franklin and Pat Bryant in the second half, and Nix looked poised both hanging in the pocket and on the move en route to a 295-yard day. And in a final tour de force, Nix orchestrated his fifth game-winning drive of the season with a clutch 32-yard bomb to Franklin, the deep connection finally clicking as Payton’s unit made enough plays to close a monumental win.
DEFENSE — A-
Payton had so much deserved trust in defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s unit on Sunday that he declined one fourth-quarter holding penalty on the Chiefs to get to a third-and-9 — even though accepting the penalty would’ve set Kansas City back to second-and-19.
That said, playing Patrick Mahomes comes with several degrees of peril. And after a banner first half, Denver’s defense started to sag in the second half. Mahomes aired out a 61-yard bomb for Tyquan Thornton in the third quarter for the longest passing play of the year against Joseph’s unit, and leveraged a rough third-and-20 defensive pass-interference call on Riley Moss for an eventual score to take the lead. But Joseph hung tough, and the Broncos came up with a massive three-and-out stop on a late Chiefs drive to hand the ball back to Payton.
SPECIAL TEAMS — A+
A Darren Rizzi tour de force. Having Marvin Mims Jr. back after a two-game absence for a concussion certainly helped. The Broncos’ All-Pro returner whizzed for a 70-yard punt return in the first quarter to set up a field goal, and Denver’s kickoff and punt units soundly outplayed Kansas City in a key divisional matchup.
Kicker Wil Lutz went 5 of 5 on field goals and made the game-winner in another monumental day, and rookie punter Jeremy Crawshaw got his mighty leg back underneath him with two punts. And in a coaching tour de force, offensive tackle Frank Crum came up with a monumental blocked extra point in the fourth quarter to hold the Chiefs’ lead to 19-16.
COACHING — A-
In a familiar script, Payton couldn’t get out of Payton’s own way early on, orchestrating a fantastic opening drive only to kill momentum with a flea-flicker call from RJ Harvey to Nix that nearly got picked off. And the Broncos’ offensive operation struggled enough that CBS Sports’ Tracy Wolfson reported on the game broadcast that Nix was begging Payton to get play-calls in quicker.
Interesting note here from Tracy Wolfson, who said Bo Nix was “begging” Sean Payton to get a third-down call in faster.
“The offensive line came off and said ‘We need to change the tempo.’”
Not the first time that’s happened this year. pic.twitter.com/nV8Iq1wNa5
— Parker Gabriel (@ParkerJGabriel) November 16, 2025
Evidently, Payton was listening. Or something clicked. Because the Broncos started to play with tempo in the second half, as Nix started dealing on a third-quarter touchdown drive. The ultimate hat-tip here, of course, goes to Joseph, who continued to establish himself as one of the hottest head-coaching names in the business. Mahomes has now accounted for a grand total of three touchdowns in four matchups against Joseph in his second tenure in Denver, and Joseph dialed up one of the gutsiest calls of the Broncos’ season — a third-and-10 nickel blitz from Ja’Quan McMillian to sack Mahomes and stuff the Chiefs on their final offensive drive.
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