At the two-minute warning in a 13-13 game, the Broncos faced fourth and two from the Chiefs’ nine yard line. Denver lined up to go for it. Before the ball was snapped, Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones flinched into the neutral zone, giving the visiting team a fresh set of downs from the four.
The Broncos scored, and the Chiefs couldn’t close the seven-point margin on their final drive.
After the 20-13 victory, Broncos coach Sean Payton said the offense was never going to snap the ball on the critical fourth-down play.
“It’s a no-brainer freeze,” Payton said, “but it is out of a different formation. One we had never shown. We were going to take the delay of game. We didn’t have a play. I don’t know why we called it Harrisburg. It looks like a play we have called Pittsburgh. No one moves in Harrisburg. I think that’s why we came up with that. It is a unique one because you are on the road, so it involves a heel and then [guard Quinn] Meinerz is barking the cadence out so, hats off to him. . . . That changed the complexity of the clock. That was a big play. . . .
“We were going to take the penalty and kick the field goal. That was the plan, and it was just an oddball formation to run a no-brainer freeze from. Especially on the road.”
The “set hut” call from Meinerz was timed to when quarterback Bo Nix’s foot came up, prior to the snap that was never going to happen. And it prompted to get Jones to move just enough to give the Broncos a first and goal.
But for that moment, the Chiefs would have gotten the ball back needing only a field goal to tie and a touchdown to win. Which may have resulted in something other than Denver’s 13th victory of the season.
Chiefs Clips
When the Chiefs tied the game on Harrison Butker’s 47-yard field goal with 8:03 remaining, the Broncos had the Chiefs right where they wanted them.
Denver improved its record in one-score games to 11-2 this season as Bo Nix engineered his seventh game-winning drive in the fourth quarter.
The Broncos held off the feisty Chiefs 20-13 on Thursday Night Football.
Denver improved to 13-3, while Kansas City fell to 6-10.
Denver had a fourth-and-2 at the Kansas City 9 at the 2-minute warning when Chris Jones jumped offsides. It was Kansas City’s first penalty of the night but was costly. Instead of settling for a field goal, the Broncos forced the Chiefs to use two timeouts before scoring a touchdown on Nix’s 1-yard touchdown pass to running back RJ Harvey with 1:45 remaining.
The Chiefs had only 95 yards when they got the ball back at their own 35 with 1:45 left. With Patrick Mahomes watching from a suite, third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun led them 44 yards to the Denver 21 before running out of steam. His fourth-down pass was too high for Hollywood Brown in the end zone with 14 seconds left.
The Broncos outgained the Chiefs 303 to 139, with Nix going 26-of-38 for 182 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also ran for 42 yards and a touchdown.
Courtland Sutton caught four passes for 40 yards, and Harvey had 14 carries for 43 yards and five catches for 33 yards and the game-winning score.
Oladokun was 13-of-22 for 66 yards and a touchdown, a 1-yard throw to Brashard Smith. Travis Kelce, in what might be his final home game, caught five passes for 36 yards. Kareem Hunt had seven carries for 38 yards.
The Broncos were 0-for-2 in the red zone in the first half. They are 1-for-1 in the second half.
Denver scored its first touchdown of the game on a 9-yard run by Bo Nix with 1:55 remaining in the third quarter. The Broncos lead 13-10.
The Broncos trailed 7-6 at halftime, and the Chiefs opened the second half with a six-play, 28-yard drive that led to Harrison Butker’s 53-yard field goal.
The Broncos answered with a 14-play, 72-yard touchdown drive, regaining the lead for the first time since early in the second quarter. The big play came on first-and-20 when Nix completed a 23-yard pass to Courtland Sutton to the Kansas City 30.
They also converted a second-and-15 and a fourth-and-inches on the drive.
Nix is now 19-of-28 for 146 yards and an interception, with Sutton catching four for 40.
The Chiefs are eliminated from playoff contention and are playing their third-string quarterback. That hasn’t stopped them from making things hard on the Broncos.
The Chiefs lead the Broncos 7-6 at halftime.
The Broncos are 0-for-2 in the red zone, settling for Wil Lutz field goals of 27 and 30 yards after stalling at the Kansas City 9 and the Kansas City 11. They nearly scored a touchdown with 22 seconds left in the half, but Courtland Sutton had the ball come loose in the end zone when he hit the turf.
Denver had two other possessions in the first half, punting on one and throwing an interception on the other.
Chiefs defensive back Kristian Fulton tipped a Bo Nix pass intended for Lil’Jordan Humphrey, and linebacker Nick Bolton made a diving interception before the ball hit the ground. The Chiefs went 35 yards in 10 plays, with Chris Oladokun throwing his first career touchdown pass on a 5-yard throw to Brashard Smith.
The Broncos have outgained the Chiefs 151 to 79, with Nix going 13-of-22 for 86 yards. He has completed passes to eight different receivers.
Oladokun is 5-for-9 for 27 yards, with Travis Kelce catching two for 13. Isiah Pacheco has eight carries for 29 yards.
Chris Oladokun threw his first career touchdown pass, connecting on a 5-yarder to Brashard Smith. It has the Chiefs leading the Broncos 7-3 with 12:49 remaining in the second quarter.
The Chiefs took advantage of a takeaway as Kristian Fulton tipped a Bo Nix pass intended for Lil’Jordan Humphrey, and linebacker Nick Bolton made a diving interception before the ball hit the ground.
The Chiefs needed 10 plays to go 35 yards.
Tight end Travis Kelce has two catches for 13 yards in what might be his final home game for the Chiefs.
Oladokun, the team’s third quarterback, is 4-of-7 for 20 yards and a touchdown.
The Broncos signed tight end Marcedes Lewis and offensive guard Calvin Throckmorton to the active roster ahead of Thursday Night Football. Both players are active for the game against the Chiefs.
Inside linebacker Levelle Bailey and wide receiver Michael Bandy, who were elevated for the game, are also active.
The Broncos had no surprises on their list of inactives, with inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw (hamstring), tight end Nate Adkins (knee), wide receiver Pat Bryant (concussion), outside linebacker Que Robinson, defensive lineman Jordan Jackson, defensive lineman Sai’Vion Jones and offensive lineman Geron Christian not dressed.
Bryant, Adkins and Greenlaw were previously ruled out.
The Chiefs’ inactives are running back Dameon Pierce, cornerback Melvin Smith, defensive end Ethan Downs, defensive end Tyreke Smith, offensive lineman C.J. Hanson, offensive lineman Jaylon Moore (knee) and defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi (illness).
They will have defensive end George Karlaftis and linebacker Nick Bolton. The Chiefs added them to the injury report Wednesday with an illness, and both were questionable to play.
The Broncos may have to play out the rest of their season without their starting center.
They announced that center Luke Wattenberg has been placed on injured reserve ahead of Thursday night’s game against the Chiefs. He will miss the final two games of the regular season because of his shoulder injury and would have to miss two playoff games before having any chance of returning.
Wattenberg has started every game this season and he recently signed a four-year contract extension.
Denver also waived running back Cody Schrader on Thursday. Guard Calvin Throckmorton and tight end Marcedes Lewis have been signed to the 53-man roster while linebacker Levelle Bailey and wide receiver Michael Bandy have been elevated from the practice squad to face the Chiefs.
Tonight, the Broncos will go for their 13th win of the season. It’s something coach Sean Payton has accomplished four times in his tenure with the Saints.
Barring what would be one of the biggest upsets of the year, the two-touchdown-favored Broncos will get there. And Payton will join former Browns and Patriots coach Bill Belichick as the only coaches with five 13-win seasons.
Payton has a bigger goal that would be unprecedented. No coach has won a Super Bowl with two different franchises. And the Broncos, if they win out, will be the No. 1 seed in the AFC, putting them a pair of home games from getting to Santa Clara, for the first Super Bowl played there since the last time the Broncos won it.
Payton previously did it in 2009, 2011, 2018, and 2019. Belichick did it seven times: 2003, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2016, and 2017.
Several coaches have taken two teams to a Super Bowl — Don Shula, Bill Parcells, Dan Reeves, Dick Vermeil, Mike Holmgren, John Fox, and Andy Reid. None has ever won it with two different teams.
And every coach who has won a Super Bowl with one team before moving on to another team is well aware of the fact that no one has won it with two franchises.
Others current coaches have a shot over the balance of their careers to win a Super Bowl with a second team include Nick Sirianni (if he ends up with another team), Reid (if he ends up with a third team), Sean McVay (if he coaches a different team at some point), Belichick (if he makes his way back to the NFL and it goes far differently than his year at UNC), Pete Carroll, and John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin (if either or both make a fresh start in the coming years).
Jon Gruden also has a shot, if he returns to coach a team other than the Buccaneers.
For now, Payton has the best opportunity to do it, sooner than later.
The Chiefs are massive underdogs like they haven’t been in over a decade for tonight’s game against the Broncos.
Denver is a 13.5-point favorite at Kansas City, the first time the Chiefs have been underdogs by more than 12 points since December 29, 2013, when they were 14.5-point underdogs at the Chargers.
When the Chiefs were 14.5-point underdogs, it wasn’t because they were a bad team, it was because they were resting their starters for the final game of the regular season after clinching their playoff position.
Tonight, the Chiefs are massive underdogs because they’re a 6-9 team, mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, starting third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun against a Broncos team that has the best record in the NFL.
When the NFL scheduled Broncos-Chiefs for Christmas night, the league couldn’t have imagined that the Chiefs would have fallen as far as they have. The Chiefs are as bad as they’ve been in a long, long time.
Last year’s Christmas games, at least on paper, were good. (The games themselves, not.)
This year, the NFL’s three-pack of December 25 offerings are roughly the equivalent of a bowling ball, a can of Simoniz, and mismatched dress socks.
Despite the relentless hype, the games have no inherent appeal. Cowboys-Commanders, which starts the day, includes two teams that have been eliminated from playoff contention. It also features a 39-year-old, third-string quarterback (Josh Johnson) for the home team. Yes, it’s the Cowboys. But who really cares?
The second game has the Lions, who are clinging to wafer thin playoff hopes, against a Vikings team led by a rookie free agent (Max Brosmer) whose only other start was a 26-0 disaster in Seattle.
Then comes the night game, starring the Chiefs — who suddenly look like anything but the Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes is out. His backup, Gardner Minshew, is out. The quarterbacks for the home team will be Chris Oladokun and Shane Buechele. The Broncos, at 12-3, are favored by 13.5 points in the first game to be played at Arrowhead Stadium since the team’s eventual move to Kansas was announced on Monday.
Whatever the audience numbers may be for the three games, the P.R. execs will try to find a way to paint the glass of eggnog as half full. Even with the new Nielsen metric that has pumped up numbers across the board, it’s hard to imagine anyone stopping what they’re doing to watch any of these games.
They’ll probably still beat the NBA games easily. But the NFL games may not win by the usual wide margin.
