After nine long years of superiority from the Kansas City Chiefs, the Denver Broncos appear to have finally exorcised their demons and are well on their way towards claiming their first AFC West championship since 2015. Thanks to the fourth quarter heroics of Bo Nix, the Broncos were able to survive a late surge from Patrick Mahomes to improve to 9-2 on the season, putting them firmly in control of the division for the first time since Peyton Manning was their quarterback.
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The sophomore sensation finished the day with 295 passing yards and a 64.9% completion percentage, and according to Kay Adams, it was the “most complete game” that we have seen from Nix so far this season. Suffice to say, from a personal standpoint to a franchise perspective, there can be no underselling of how huge of a day this was for Nix and the city of Denver.
“This was really one of Denver’s biggest games of the decade. This is what I mean when I say I trust Bo in the AFC. He is a fourth quarter guy. This is a game that really meant something. He had a bit of a rough patch in the middle [of the season] but I don’t care. This was a complete, great performance by him and this is why I do trust him… He got better and better as the game went, 215 in the second half. He led the Broncos to points on four of their five drives.”
The Broncos are now 9-2 for the first time in 10 years, but they still have just a bit more work that they need to tend to before they can begin to celebrate. The Los Angeles Chargers, though hobbled, are only two games behind them at 7-4, and they still have one last date with each other scheduled for Week 18.
Simply put, the Broncos aren’t out of the woods just yet, but they certainly have more optimism now than they have at any point in the last several years, and that’s largely a result of Nix’s historic string of fourth quarter performances.
“He is one game-winning drive from tying Jon Elway’s franchise record for a single season,” Adams highlighted. “If this is what they are getting from Bo and this passing game moving forward, the sky is the limit. A Super Bowl is on the menu.”
Heading into Week 12, the Broncos are being given the ninth shortest odds to win the Super Bowl. Ironically enough, however, the Chiefs are still being booked ahead of them.
Kansas City’s odds of +1000 are currently the fourth best in the field, suggesting that, even though they’ve dominated their divisional standings, the Broncos have yet to convince the big wigs out in Las Vegas that they are worthy challengers. Thankfully, they still have six games left to convince them otherwise, and in the meantime, they should offer some decent value for any willing bettors out there.
