The Denver Broncos pulled off yet another insane comeback win to wrest control of the AFC West from the Kansas City Chiefs. Down 24-13 in the fourth quarter, the Broncos scored 15-unanswered points and put down one of the craziest goal line stands in recent memory.
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Even now, on Monday morning, I’m still processing how it all went down. Two fourth down conversions for touchdowns. The missed Harrison Butker field goal. It’s wild. It’s the Bo Nix experience.
People keep expecting that ride to end, but it keeps rolling. Nix now has one fourth quarter comeback every 3.5 games started and one game-winning drive for every 2.8 games started. Second place on that Hall of Fame-filled list is a mile. It’s a long mile. No one has ever started their career with such “luck” in the fourth quarter.
Maybe its time we all just accept that the Bo Nix experience might be here to stay.
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Here’s who we’re giving our game balls to from the Broncos wild win over the Chiefs:
Bo Nix
The Broncos quarterback just makes magic happen in the fourth quarter. It may not be pretty the first three quarters, but he finds a way to deliver when it matters most. For the game, Nix finished 20-for-32 passing for 222 yards and two touchdowns. Perhaps the most important stat: no turnovers. With Nix at quarterback, the Broncos have now won 16 consecutive one-score games. It gets better: Nix improved to 12-12 in his career when trailing at any point in the fourth quarter (.500), the best record by any QB since 1970. That’s ahead of Patrick Mahomes (23-33) (minimum of 20 games). As Nix said to Tracy Wolfson on CBS after the game, “Something’s magical about this place. I don’t know. I can’t explain it.” Nix plays a big role in that Mile High Magic. – Ian St. Clair
Jonah Coleman
Jonah Coleman hit the ground running right off of injured reserve last year and took advantage of the bigger workload, getting all the running back work in the second half and turning it into 100+ yards from scrimmage, the first Broncos back over 100 yards this year.
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He made it count when it mattered most, ripping off a big play on a swing pass to setup the team in scoring position and then showed great vision at the goal line to punch in his second ever NFL touchdown.
He already leads the running backs in first downs, despite spending half the season so far on IR. Trade rumors may continue to swirl, but I think Denver has found their starting running back for this season and into the future. – Jeff Essary
Devon Key, Taylor Rapp, and JL Skinner
When both starters go down, it takes a village sometimes to keep the unit together. That village at the safety positions came from Devon Key, Taylor Rapp, and JL Skinner. The defense faltered at points yesterday, but I don’t remember a single time when I felt like it came from any one of these three dudes. When the game came down to a third down and goal from the one, it was JL Skinner too who put the hit stick on reigning Super Bowl MVP to save the game. Have a game ball, all three of you dudes! – Tim Lynch
Malcolm Roach
Malcolm Roach gets my game ball for sacking the whiniest baggy-eyed punk the NFL has to offer and helping seal the win for the Orange and Blue. Roach has been with this team for a few years now and tends to fly under the radar, but he’s a baller up front. He had 4 tackles including a tackle for loss in the game and a quarterback hit to his credit as well. The big thing we see from Roach consistently is his ability to attack gaps and peel off blocks to create pressure up front. Give this man some love, Broncos Country! – Sadaraine
Alex Singleton
Alex Singleton gets my game ball. While he was far from perfect, and still got gashed in the passing game, he played a great game. He had one of the Broncos two sacks, and he finished the game with 14 tackles (6 solo), 1 TFL, and 1 PD. His sack was the sack that pushed the Chiefs out of range for Butker. I may rag on him but he played terribly in the first game against KC, and he made up for that with one of his best games when the Bronco defense needed it the most. – Joe Mahoney
Wil Lutz
Will Lutz might not be an obvious choice for a gameball, but consider this; he did not miss. The Broncos kicker was 2/2 on FG attempts, and 2/2 on his extra points. Harrison Butker put the Chiefs in a tough spot when he missed his 54 yard attempt late in the 4th quarter. The Broncos went on to score, and Lutz hit the extra point to force the Chiefs into a tough spot, needing a TD to win, and no possibility of kicking a FG to extend the game. Big Nutz Lutz coming through big, helping to seal the win. – Adam Malnati
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Offensive Line
The Broncos’ O-line has gotten a lot of flak this season, and often deservingly so. But the difference in protection between the 1st & 2nd games against the Chiefs is staggering: from pressuring Nix on 48.5% of dropbacks in Week 1 to pressure on just 5.9% of dropbacks in Week 8. The O-line kept Nix clean enough to make the comeback possible. – Taylor Kothe
Sean Payton
A tip of the cap to Head Coach Sean Payton. It hasn’t always been pretty, but Broncos keep finding ways to win under his leadership. Yesterday’s impressive comeback victory over the Chiefs was the 200th of his storied career. It couldn’t have come at a better moment beating a rival to reclaim the top spot in the AFC West. Cheers to Payton on the milestone. – Chris Hart
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