The Denver Broncos took sole possession of the top seed in the AFC while extending their win streak to 11 by beating the Green Bay Packers, 34-26, as quarterback Bo Nix threw four touchdown passes and the Denver defense rose up to shut down Packers quarterback Jordan Love in the second half.
This was an epic, back-and-forth battle between NFL heavyweights, and it completely lived up to its advanced billing. The scoring pace was tepid early, with the Packers notching a couple of field goals early before Nix hit his first TD pass, a 20-yard strike to fullback Michael Bandy.
That made it 7-6, and that’s when the touchdowns started coming in earnest. Love and Nix traded TD passes to put the Broncos up by a point, 14-13, and Green Bay secured a narrow 16-14 halftime edge on another field goal by kicker Brandon McManus at the end of the second quarter.
Green Bay made it a two-score game on a 40-yard dash by running back Josh Jacobs early in the third, but after a Love interception Nix got hot. He hit receiver Courtland Sutton for a 14-yard touchdown, then receiver Tony Franklin for a 23-yard TD to put Denver up, 27-23, after a two-point conversion try failed on the second touchdown.
The Packers close to within a point on another McManus field goal, but Nix got hot again, mixing short bursts from running back RJ Harvey with deep shots to Sutton, and it was Harvey who finished off the final scoring drive of the day with a four-yard touchdown run.
Injuries played an important role in this one as well, especially for the Packers. Losing speed receiver Christian Watson seemed to limit the Packers in the second half, and Green Bay also defensive end and pass rusher extraordinaire Micah Parsons in the second half due to a non-contact knee injury that occurred as he was trying to chase down Nix during a scramble. Harvey did suffer a rib injury late in the game, which is something to watch going forward.
As good as Nix and the offense were, the Broncos might not have been able to win this game if their defense hadn’t come up big in the second half. Love operated from a mostly clean pocket early on, but the Broncos got home with three sacks in the second half as Love suddenly faced stiff pressure.
The Broncos win combined with the New England Patriots loss gave Denver sole possession of the top seed in the AFC, and the Broncos clinched a playoff berth at well. The next visitor in their late-season gauntlet is the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are suddenly on top and seemingly in control in the AFC South with red-hot quarterback Trevor Lawrence at the helm.
Green Bay, meanwhile, fell all the way to seventh in the NFC playoff standings with this loss, and they could be in trouble defensively based on reports that Parson’s injury was a torn ACL.