By Nick Kosmider, Matt Schneidman and Darnell Mayberry
Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos won their 11th straight game with a 34-26 home win over the Green Bay Packers. Nix threw for 302 yards, a career-high four touchdowns and wasn’t intercepted or sacked a single time as Denver clinched a playoff berth for the second consecutive season.
Four different Broncos hauled in touchdown passes, led by Courtland Sutton’s seven receptions for 113 yards and a score. The Broncos (12-2) remained undefeated at home at 7-0 and haven’t lost since Sept. 21. After the New England Patriots fell to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, the Broncos now own the best record in football and have a straight path to home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.
Meanwhile, it was a costly defeat for the Packers (9-4-1), who lost their grip on the NFC North and lost key players to injuries, namely star defensive end Micah Parsons. Multiple media reports Sunday night indicated that Parsons suffered a torn ACL.
The Broncos intercepted Packers quarterback Jordan Love twice and sacked him three times. Denver limited Green Bay’s passing game to one touchdown and 276 yards.
This version of Nix makes Broncos title contenders
If this is the Nix the Broncos are taking into the playoffs, then Denver must be taken seriously as a Super Bowl contender.
The second-year quarterback, whose arrow has been pointing up for much of the past month, put together arguably the finest game of his career Sunday. He threw four touchdown passes and led back-to-back scoring drives in the third quarter that pushed Denver into the lead after it had trailed 23-14. He mixed in throws to all levels. He stood patiently in the pocket to deliver one big throw after another, escaped and made plays on the run when pressured and routinely got the offense into the right plays.
It was hard to pick his best throw, but it may have come on fourth-and-3 early in the fourth quarter. Nix stood firm in the pocket and threw down the left sideline for Sutton, who made the grab and got both feet in bounds to extend the drive. It was the type of poised play in the face of pressure that Nix has shown time and time again during his two-year career with the Broncos. He is now 22-9, by far the best record of any of the six quarterbacks drafted in the first round in 2024.
Nix has undoubtedly had a strong support system around him. He has one of the game’s top coaches and play-callers. He has a trusted No. 1 target in Sutton. He plays with one of the NFL’s best defenses, a unit that came up with one big red-zone play after another Sunday. But Nix playing at the level he did against Green Bay is what makes the Broncos a true threat to claim the franchise’s fourth Lombardi Trophy. — Nick Kosmider, Broncos beat writer
Surtain’s first INT comes when Broncos need it most
Pat Surtain II picked a good time to make his first interception of the season. The incredible highlight came in the third quarter, with the Packers holding a 23-14 lead and threatening to create even more separation. Love threw deep for Christian Watson, who was working against Surtain, the NFL’s reigning defensive player of the year. Surtain was playing underneath and leaped to snatch the ball in front of Watson, who suffered a chest injury on the play.
The play proved to be an instant jolt of momentum for the Broncos, who quickly engineered a touchdown drive that ended in a 14-yard touchdown pass from Nix to Sutton. It was reminiscent of a play Surtain made in Week 5 last season, when he flipped a game the Broncos were trailing against the Raiders with a pick six that jump-started a Denver win and the corner’s player of the year campaign.
It has been a challenging season at times for Surtain, whose three-game absence earlier this year due to a pectoral injury was the longest of his career. But he has remained a lockdown force in coordinator Vance Joseph’s defense and, on Sunday, made the play that changed everything. It was especially timely given that Riley Moss’ pass interference penalty minutes earlier had extended a Packers drive that ended in a touchdown. — Kosmider
Broncos red-zone defense wins the day
The Broncos entered Sunday with the fewest explosive plays allowed in the NFL, but they knew they weren’t going to keep Green Bay from striking for big shots. Love is too talented a quarterback with too balanced an offense in front of him for the Broncos to think they could completely turn off the faucet that is the Packers’ offense.
What the Broncos knew they couldn’t compromise on, though, was their league-best work in the red zone — and they didn’t.
The Packers, despite moving the ball with ease for much of the game, scored only one touchdown in four red-zone trips. The Broncos stopped the run inside the 20-yard line, pressured Love in key spots — and, yes, benefitted from a couple of untimely Green Bay penalties — to force three short Brandon McManus field goals. If the Broncos keep winning third downs and in the red zone like they did Sunday, this will continue to be a hard unit to beat, even when it is giving up big plays. — Kosmider
Key injuries pile up as Packers struggle
The Packers not only lost Parsons for the game with a knee injury, but they also lost their franchise right tackle Zach Tom to a knee injury and current No. 1 wide receiver Watson to a chest injury. If that wasn’t enough, starting safety Evan Williams also suffered a knee injury and didn’t return. Green Bay is already without star tight end Tucker Kraft for the season after he tore his ACL in Week 9 and their best defensive tackle, Devonte Wyatt, suffered a season-ending ankle injury on Thanksgiving. If Parsons is out for the season, that means two of Green Bay’s arguably three most important players (Parsons and Kraft, with Love being the third) will be facing lengthy ACL rehabs this offseason. The Packers’ team plane can’t leave Denver fast enough. — Matt Schneidman, Packers beat writer
Packers’ margin for error disappears
On top of all the key injuries, the walking wounded Packers also lost their perch atop the NFC North. Green Bay now sits 9-4-1 with a trip to Chicago awaiting next Saturday. The Packers can reclaim first place in the division with a win, but there might not be much optimism inside or outside the building regarding a Super Bowl run if Parsons is done for the season. That’s how much of a difference he has made for Green Bay’s defense, and the guys behind him on the defensive line don’t exactly inspire belief that they can get the job done. Maybe Packers coaches Matt LaFleur, Jeff Hafley and company can will their team to a playoff run, but that appears unlikely after the disaster in Denver on Sunday. — Schneidman
