Last year, the Denver Broncos knocked on the door. But the Kansas City Chiefs bullied their way to a blocked, walk-off field goal, one of their twelve one-score victories en route to the Super Bowl. This time, from the same distance, it was the Denver Broncos who got the 35-yard, walk-off field goal, one of their nine close decisions, in what could be their Super Bowl season. For nine years, the Chiefs took the Broncos’ lunch money, winning the division every season since Peyton Manning left as a Super Bowl champion.

Sunday signified the changing of the guard in the AFC West, if not the entire NFL. The walk-off, game-winning field goal at the buzzer again gave the Broncos a 22-19 win at Empower Field. Sinking the once mighty Chiefs to 5-5, the Broncos soared to a league-best 9-2, with an eight-game winning streak, also an NFL best. Due to the conference tiebreaker over the 9-2 New England Patriots, the Broncos hold the number one seed in the division, the conference, and the entire NFL as they enter their BYE week.

If not for two last-second field goals in their two losses—one to the Chargers (27-24) and one to the Raiders (34-31)—the Denver Broncos would be undefeated. With six games left, Sunday’s win over the Chiefs stood out as a signature achievement.

“That was significant—just the intensity,” Head Coach Sean Payton said. “We approached the game with nothing to lose and wanted to be aggressive. Our guys responded well, and the pressure was on them.”

Disrespect, or lack of recognition, has permeated the league for the Broncos. While Denver has been stacking up the wins in mass, style points are at a premium in the process. Beating the Chiefs was not an achievement in itself, but how they did it was the noteworthy point. The Broncos won without three of their top players in the lineup, all out with injuries or medical issues. Leading running back J.K. Dobbins was lost for the season with a foot injury; Alex Singleton, leading tackler on defense, underwent cancer surgery, and the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Patrick Surtain, was out with a pectoral injury for the third game.

The defense did not miss a beat in their meteoric rise in the record books, allowing only one touchdown to the Chiefs and recording three sacks of Patrick Mahomes. Cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian finished the contest with six tackles, two sacks, and one interception. He became the first Broncos’ cornerback to record at least two sacks and one interception in a game.

“It’s great, man. Obviously, those guys have been on top for a while,” McMillian said after the game. “As a team, we wanted to take that next step, but in order for us to take that next step, we had to beat those guys, get through them, and it was a wonderful win for us. Even more confidence going into the bye week and then following the rest of the season. But it was a big win, we needed it.”

Meanwhile, at the other corner position, Riley Moss had a challenging day accounting for over one hundred negative yards on coverage, penalties, and costing points on the board. The first pass-interference call on Moss was for 40 yards and led to the Chiefs’ first field goal of the game. A pick-six interception for a touchdown by Jahdae Barron was nullified by an illegal contact penalty by Moss. The 5-yard flag erased the 41-yard return by Barron and six points off the board. Then, in the fourth quarter, a 46-yard pass interference call on Moss led to the Chiefs’ only touchdown of the game, which put them ahead 19-16 with 9:57 left in the game.

Bo Nix, who is familiar with fourth-quarter comebacks, delivered one of his best games of the season despite not throwing any touchdown passes. Nix completed 295 passing yards, had no interceptions, and finished with a passer rating of 89.4. He now holds the record for most fourth-quarter comebacks in the first two seasons of any NFL quarterback.

“They were at the top, and to be the best you have to beat the best. If you don’t believe you’re going to win, there’s no sense in playing. We worked hard and put together a great team to win games like this, and it paid off.”

Squarely in the driver’s seat for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, the Broncos go into their BYE week with two weeks’ rest. When they return, they will face the Washington Commanders in a nationally televised game on Sunday Night Football. Their next two games are against teams with a losing record. At 9-2, the Broncos have only had two wins against teams with winning records: the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. Both of those teams faced each other in the Super Bowl earlier this year. See the full game photo gallery from the Broncos - Chiefs game at www.SportsReportNet.com.