Bo Nix tossed a 1-yard scoring pass to RJ Harvey with 1:45 remaining and the Denver Broncos played keepaway while notching a 20-13 victory over the host Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night.
Nix also rushed for a touchdown as Denver (13-3) won for the 12th time in 13 games. The Broncos possessed the ball for 39:28 during the Christmas night contest and limited the Chiefs (6-10) to 42 offensive plays and 139 total yards.
Denver (13-3) maintained possession of the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoff chase. The Broncos hold the tiebreaker over the New England Patriots (12-3), who visit the New York Jets on Sunday.
Also, Denver will clinch its first AFC West title since 2015 if the Los Angeles Chargers (11-4) lose to the Houston Texans on Saturday.
Nix completed 26 of 38 passes for 182 yards and one interception and rushed for 42 yards on nine carries.
Chris Oladokun struggled in his first NFL start with Patrick Mahomes (knee) and Gardner Minshew (lower leg) both done for the season.
Oladokun, 28, completed 13 of 22 passes for 66 yards and one touchdown. He managed just three completions of 10 or more yards.
Travis Kelce caught five passes for 36 yards in what might have been his final home game for the Chiefs. Kelce, 36, is considering retirement.
Brashard Smith scored his first NFL touchdown with a 5-yard reception in the second quarter for Kansas City, which lost for the seventh time in eight games.
Nick Bolton had his first interception of the season and racked up a game-best 12 tackles for the Chiefs.
Denver faced fourth-and-2 from the Chiefs’ 9-yard line in a tie game with two minutes remaining, but Kansas City’s Chris Jones jumped offside to give the Broncos the first down at the 4.
Three plays later, Nix rolled out and hit Harvey for the tiebreaking score to conclude a 14-play, 65-yard drive that took 6:18.
The Chiefs took over and gained 44 yards on their last-ditch attempt. Kelce caught three passes for 23 yards and Kansas City reached the Denver 21 before a delay of game penalty. Oladokun eventually threw a fourth-down pass over the head of Hollywood Brown in the end zone with 14 seconds left.
The Chiefs led 10-6 after Harrison Butker’s 53-yard field goal with 11:42 left in the third quarter.
Denver moved ahead on a 14-play, 72-yard drive that lasted 9:47. Nix capped it with a 9-yard keeper with 1:55 left in the third.
Butker knocked through a 47-yard field goal with 8:03 left in the game to make it 13-13.
Kansas City led 7-6 at halftime despite being outgained 151-79.
Denver’s first drive lasted 14 plays and 8:02 and ended with Lutz’s 27-yard field goal.
The Chiefs took a 7-3 lead in the second quarter when Oladokun threw a 5-yard scoring pass to Smith with 12:49 left.
The Broncos moved within 7-6 with 19 seconds left in the first half on Lutz’s 30-yard field goal to end another marathon drive — 16 plays, 79 yards over 8:04.
