Bo Nix, Broncos escape Chiefs with 20-13 win on Christmas: Live updates and reaction
SOURCE:The Athletic|BY:The Athletic Live Team and more
Nix's fourth-quarter touchdown pass helped Denver survive a gritty Chiefs performance in Travis Kelce's potential final home game
Nix's fourth-quarter touchdown pass helped Denver survive a gritty Chiefs performance in Travis Kelce's potential final home game
The Athletic Live Team and more
December 26, 2025 at 12:41 AM EST
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Broncos outlast Chiefs on Christmas
The Denver Broncos have beaten the Kansas City Chiefs 20-13 on “Thursday Night Football” in a thrilling finale to the NFL’s Christmas Day tripleheader.
Bo Nix’s touchdown pass to RJ Harvey with 1:45 remaining in the fourth quarter gave Denver the lead, and the Broncos held off a late Chiefs drive led by Chris Oladokun to secure the victory.
The Broncos improved to 13-3 and can clinch an AFC West title if the Chargers lose to the Texans on Saturday. The Chiefs dropped to 6-10 in what may have been the final home game of Travis Kelce's career.
The Broncos could win the AFC West from the couch on Saturday. If the Los Angeles Chargers lose to the Houston Texans that afternoon, Denver will secure its first division title in a decade. If the Chargers win, though, everything will come down to the Week 18 matchup between those two teams in Denver. The Broncos would win the division and earn the No. 1 seed with a victory in that scenario. With a loss, they would drop all the way to the No. 5 or No. 6 seed, and the Chargers would be West champs.
It would be fitting for these Broncos to overcome one more hurdle on the way to achieving their goal of the No. 1 seed and, possibly, their first division title in a decade. They have not defeated the Chargers since Jim Harbaugh became the team’s head coach in 2024. All three losses since have come in one-possession games, including a 23-20 defeat on the road in September that ended on Cameron Dicker’s walk-off field goal. Payton is 1-6 overall against Harbaugh, including the playoffs, dating to when the former coached the Saints, and the latter coached the 49ers.
Even if the Chargers lose to the Texans on Saturday, giving the Broncos their AFC West title since Peyton Manning’s final season in 2015, the Week 18 matchup would still come with major playoff seeding implications for both teams.
Buckle up for what will likely be a nationally televised game on the final Saturday or Sunday night of the regular season.
KC's critical mistake
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The Chiefs, who have struggled with penalties often this year, had no infractions in the first 57 minutes Thursday. Their first flag, though, ended up being an absolute back-breaker.
The Broncos lined up to go for a fourth-and-2 at the Chiefs’ 9-yard line during a tie game in the fourth quarter, though it appeared they were only attempting to draw the defense offsides.
K.C. defensive tackle Chris Jones flinched early, picking up a defensive penalty and giving Denver a free first down. The Broncos scored the go-ahead touchdown three plays later.
It was the second time in three weeks that Jones cost the Chiefs with this infraction. Against the Chargers at home on Dec. 14, Jones negated a fourth-and-1 stop when he was flagged for lining up in the neutral zone, which brought back a potential momentum-changing play.
Chiefs look a bit more like 2024 edition
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During a season in which Kansas City’s production (and wins) never seemed to line up with more-impressive underlying numbers, the Chiefs reversed that trend for a night.
K.C., through its first seven possessions, had 95 total yards of offense. It averaged 2.8 yards per play and also mustered just eight first downs.
Yet, midway through the fourth quarter, the Chiefs remained tied at 13 with the conference-leading Broncos. Why was that? For one of the first times all season, the Chiefs made winning-type plays in the margins.
One significant snap was on defense, as Bolton pulled down a deflected-ball interception following a Kristian Fulton pass breakup.
The Chiefs also easily had their best game on special teams. Kicker Harrison Butker knocked through 53- and 47-yard field goals, while Smith provided the Chiefs’ best punt return of the year with a 44-yarder in the fourth quarter.
That kind of complementary football — at least until the Broncos’ final drive — was much more reminiscent of the Chiefs’ 2024 season when they went 15-2, rather than this one, when they’ve struggled to a 6-10 record.
Broncos too charitable on Christmas night
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The Chiefs’ lone touchdown drive came on a possession that started on Denver’s 35-yard line after Nix’s tipped pass was intercepted by a diving Nick Bolton. They scored on a long Brandon McManus field goal after cornerback Pat Surtain II was charged with a 27-yard pass-interference penalty. They put together another field goal drive after Denver’s punt coverage unit gave up a 44-yard return to Brashard Smith.
Chris Oladokun was making his first career start after several years on the team’s practice squad. The game plan for the Broncos should have been clear: Don’t make life any easier on him with short fields. However, those three Broncos’ mistakes directly contributed to 13 points.
Give Oladokun credit for making some impressive plays out of the pocket, including one in which he dropped the ball while moving to his left, picked it up and still fired up the middle for a first-down completion. Oladokun also made it interesting on the final drive, moving the Chiefs to the Denver 21-yard line before turning the ball over on downs.
The Broncos made it too hard on themselves Thursday night against an inexperienced quarterback. The Broncos gave up only 95 yards of offense before the Chiefs’ final drive. Kansas City was never going to move the ball up and down the field on its own accord. Denver can’t give Justin Herbert the same gifts next week.
End of an era?
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Travis Kelce hasn’t announced whether he’ll retire at the end of this season. If he does, though, Thursday will be remembered as his final home game at Arrowhead Stadium.
There were times — including during pregame introductions — when Kelce seemed to take an extra second or two to soak up the atmosphere, just in case this was his home curtain call.
Kelce was mostly quiet until the final drive Thursday; he finished with five catches for 36 yards. His 11-yard catch in the first quarter was one of the most memorable as he contributed to a third-and-6 conversion before waving to the crowd in celebration afterward.
Kelce, 36, is expected to decide on his future in the next few months. He’s played 13 seasons in the NFL — all with the Chiefs — while earning a Pro Bowl nod in each of his last 11 campaigns.
Methodical Denver offense closes late
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Style points mean nothing in December.
That was the case Bo Nix made this week as Denver prepared for the penultimate game of the regular season. With the Broncos only two games away from earning the No. 1 seed, that was the team’s mindset, according to its quarterback.
“Whatever it takes to win the game,” Nix said. “It doesn’t really, at this point, matter what it looks like. All the cool, flashy stuff can have already happened, but now it’s just who has more points.”
There was little flashy about how the Broncos snapped a nine-game Arrowhead Stadium losing streak. Denver trudged through four drives of at least 14 plays. Three of those possessions took more than eight minutes off the clock. It was reminiscent of a win a few weeks ago against the Las Vegas Raiders, when the Broncos patiently poked and prodded against a defense that was intent on closing off the field for explosive pass plays.
Still, Denver needed an offsides call on a fourth-and-2 play coming out of the two-minute warning. That set up a 1-yard touchdown pass from Nix to Harvey on third-and-goal, the rookie’s 12th touchdown of the season.
The Broncos produced two drives in the first half that were 14 and 16 plays in length, respectively. Both swallowed more than eight minutes off the clock. Denver converted third downs consistently and dominated the time of possession, methodically pushing the ball down the field, but those two drives ended in field goals and left the Broncos trailing at the half.
It wasn’t pretty, but on a short week, in a game that kept the Broncos’ quest for the No. 1 seed alive, it was enough.
Nix finally got the Broncos into the end zone in the third quarter when he scrambled for a 9-yard touchdown run. His scoring pass to Harvey came at the end of another 14-play drive that gave Denver a lead with 1:45 left.
Some rough QB play today
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QB stat lines today:
19/37, 307 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 6 sacks
15/23, 198 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 1 sack
18/29, 197 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, 5 sacks
9/16, 51 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 7 sacks
26/38, 182 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 sack
13/22, 66 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 1 sack
Merry Christmas.
Sean Payton said center Alex Forsyth got a game ball after stepping into a starting role for Luke Wattenberg, in the same stadium where he was beat for a blocked field goal.
"It's a life lesson," he said.
Broncos helped Chiefs' offense
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The Chiefs produced only 95 yards of total offense before the final drive. Ended with 139.
The Broncos were too charitable: interception to set them up at the Denver 35, a big pass interference and a big punt return.
Latest on Broncos and the playoffs
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What's the latest on Denver and the AFC playoffs? The Athletic'splayoff simulator breaks it all down for the Broncos with one game left in the regular season.
Broncos' plan at the end
Sean Payton says the Broncos were going to take a delay of game and kick the field goal if they hadn't drawn the penalty on fourth-and-2.
More from Payton
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Sean Payton on the quick game tonight:
💬 "That game went fast, didn't it? I looked up and said, 'What happened to the first quarter? What happened to the third quarter?'"
Payton on the Chiefs
Broncos coach Sean Payton on the win:
💬 "You always have to remember this: You're playing the heart of a champion, Andy and this team. I don't care who comes out of the locker room. ... There's a ton of respect we have for what they've accomplished."
What’s next for Broncos?
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Denver will host the Los Angeles Chargers on Jan. 4. The game will be for the AFC West title and No. 1 seed if the Chargers beat the Texans on Saturday.
What’s next for Chiefs?
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Kansas City will wrap up its season on Jan. 4 in Las Vegas against the Raiders. The Chiefs will carry a 6-10 record into that game and will have lost seven of their past eight games, including five straight.
Hats off to Oladokun
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This Chiefs team could have folded, given the season-ending injuries to Patrick Mahomes and then Gardner Minshew in each of the past two weeks. Instead, Kansas City gave Denver all it could handle in front of an electric holiday crowd at Arrowhead Stadium — an effort led by No. 3 quarterback Chris Oladokun in his first career NFL start.
Oladokun showed his limitations but acquitted himself well, turning potential sacks into big gains at multiple key points. He finished 13-for-22 with 66 passing yards, one touchdown pass and no interceptions. He also ran for 11 yards on two carries.
Readers’ views on tonight’s game
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Christopher B.: Hats off to the Chiefs for keeping this close with nothing to play for. The stats are massively lopsided in favor of the Broncos.
Edy S.: Darn. First time I can ever remember wanting KC to win....Their backup (backup backup?) QB seemed like a really great guy.
Michael P.: How do you explain Chris Jones forgetting how to play football for a year?
Kenneth B.: As we in Philly are only too painfully reminded, only an Andy Reid coached team can get called for a delay of game penalty coming out of a timeout! Something’s never change!
Christopher B.: Unbelievable that this game was largely decided by a Chris Jones neutral zone infraction on 4th down and a delay of game after clocking the ball. The Broncos are like the Chiefs of 2019-2024. The number of clutch plays they make are roughly equivalent to the number of choke jobs by their opponents.
Broncos snap Arrowhead skid
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The Broncos snapped a nine-game losing streak at Arrowhead Stadium that began in 2016. Last win here before tonight was the Bradley Roby scoop-and-score game.
Looked for a bit like the KC voodoo was going to bring the Broncos down. But they finished the long drives in the 2nd half.
Kelce provides a spark in possible farewell performance
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It took until the Chiefs’ final drive, but Travis Kelce finally provided some crowd-pleasing moments with three late catches. The 36-year-old legend, playing in perhaps his final home game before retirement, finished as his team’s leading receiver — albeit with just 36 yards on five catches.
