Broncos vs. Chiefs score, takeaways: Denver wins eighth in a row, knocks off Kansas City in walk-off fashion

Bo Nix and Wil Lutz showed off their clutch genes again, and the Broncos are now firmly in control of the AFC West -- a division the Chiefs have won nine straight times --  after a 22-19 win over Kansas City. It's Denver's eighth consecutive win.

Down 19-16 halfway through the fourth quarter, Nix led two field goal drives, the first ending in a 54-yarder from Lutz to tie the game, the second ending in a 34-yarder from Lutz to win it.

Prior to that, it looked like Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce would steal the show, as they have done so many times, including against Denver. The legendary Chiefs duo combined on a 21-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to give Kansas City its first and only lead of the day. It was also Kelce's 84th career touchdown scored, passing Priest Holmes for most in franchise history.

But it was Nix showing off his late-game prowess instead. His five game-winning drives this season are tied with Caleb Williams for most in the league.

On the final drive, Nix converted a third-and-15 with a 20-yard pass to Courtland Sutton and a third-and-5 with a 5-yarder to his favorite target as well, but the biggest throw was a 32-yarder to Troy Franklin to set up Lutz's game-winner. The second-year quarterback finished the game 295 yards passing and, crucially, no turnovers. Meanwhile, the Denver defense was tremendous throughout, with Ja'Quan McMillian intercepting Mahomes once and also sacking him to set up the game-winning drive.

After a quiet first half, the offenses started to pick up after McMillian intercepted Mahomes deep in Denver territory. Nix led an 11-play, 89-yard drive that Jaleel McLaughlin capped with a 4-yard touchdown plunge. Nix hit  Franklin on a beautiful 35-yard connection up the sideline to jump-start the drive, and it was a team-wide effort to get McLaughlin -- seeing more action in J.K. Dobbins' absence -- across the goal line.

Mahomes answered right back. After missing on some deep passes early, he hit Tyquan Thornton for 61 yards, and three plays later, Kareem Hunt bullied his way into the end zone from 2 yards away. After zero touchdowns over the first 40 minutes of the game time, there were two in a span of under four minutes.

That set up the thrilling ending and, once again, a Broncos win. Denver is now 7-2 in one-score games, the seven wins the most in the NFL. The Chiefs are 0-5 in one-score games this season, the worst record in the NFL, one year after going 12-0 in one-score games.

Nix at his best when his best is needed

The Broncos have had major issues getting going offensively this season, and Sunday proved no different. Denver scored field goals on its first two drives -- one set up by a huge Marvin Mims Jr. return -- and managed just one first down and zero points over its next three drives. The game was 6-6 at halftime.

Then Denver scored a touchdown and three field goals over its final five drives, a pattern that continues this season. Denver ranks 25th in points per drive (1.6) over the first three quarters of a game, but is fourth in the NFL with 3.18 points per drive in the fourth quarter.

That's where Nix steps in. He can be a bit adventurous -- to put it nicely -- throwing downfield, but he usually reined that in Sunday, with most of his deep incompletions being the sort that if his receiver couldn't catch it, no one would. Check out these two huge plays on the game-winning drive:

Nix explaind his throw to Franklin, too:

Keep in mind Nix pulled out this win with basically no running game -- 21 carries for 59 yards for Denver -- and against one of the NFL's best defenses. Of his 295 yards passing, 84 went to Franklin, a vertical target who is turning into a helpful secondary or tertiary option, 82 went to the rapidly improving Pat Bryant, a third-round rookie who provides size and speed, and 59 went to Sutton, who continues to be reliable.

Nix's 750 yards passing in the fourth quarter this season rank fourth in the NFL. While his fearless play style can sometimes backfire, it has come up huge several times in key situations this year.

Denver defense dominates, even if stats don't show it

The Broncos entered Week 11 with 48 sacks, the most by any team through 10 games since the 1989 Vikings. Sunday, they "only" had three, but the pass rush's impact was much larger than that. The Chiefs offense was called for five holding penalties (only three of them were accepted) as well as two false starts, one illegal use of hands and one illegal shift.

Mahomes was under siege often, but what set Denver's pressure apart was its ability to hem Mahomes in. He was sacked on a 21% of his pressures, his second-highest rate this year, and he had just one scramble.

Give enormous props to McMillian, the cornerback who might not even be playing if reigning Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II was healthy. McMillian became the first player ever to sacks Mahomes twice and intercept him once in a single game.

Contributors like McMillian show this defense has both the star power -- Surtain, Nik Bonitto, Jonathon Cooper -- and the depth requisite of a title-caliber defense.

Broncos in control of AFC West

Combining this result with the Chargers' blowout loss to the Jaguars, here's what the top of the AFC West looks like:

1. Broncos: 9-2
2. Chargers: 7-4
3. Chiefs: 5-5

It's not over by any shot, but after their bye, the Broncos face the Commanders and the Raiders, two teams they will be heavily favored to beat.

Chiefs in real trouble in more ways than one

A quick glance at the AFC standings shows the 5-5 Chiefs in an unfamiliar place: ninth. That's not one but two spots outside the playoff picture.

Kansas City is one of three teams at 5-5 along with the Texans and the Ravens. The Chiefs have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Ravens and will host the Texans in Week 14, a crucial "Sunday Night Football" affair.

But the Chiefs are also one game behind -- and don't have the head-to-head tiebreaker against -- the 6-4 Jaguars, who occupy the No. 7 seed. They've also lost to the 7-4 Chargers, who occupy the No. 6 seed. A key rematch is coming in Week 15.

But this goes beyond the potential playoff uncertainty. The Chiefs offense is becoming one-dimensional; their running backs are 23rd in yards per carry and 29th in yards per carry after contact. Hunt and Isiah Pacheco just aren't providing any explosiveness; Kansas City running backs have combined for one carry of 20+ yards this entire season. The passing explosiveness has been better than last year's anemic output, but it's still only middle of the road.

The defense remains one of the NFL's better unites -- and one of its best in some aspects -- but it has been just average in sacks and below average in turnovers forced. The splash plays on both sides of the ball are too few and far between.