Broncos Punch Their 2026 Postseason Ticket

Denver’s defense did not play a pretty game. They were getting diced up in the first half by Jordan Love as he threw for a career high in a half with 215 yards. Josh Jacobs was giving the defense work by catching and running in for a score and totaling nearly 100 yards.

The opening half was rough. Green Bay scored on all four of its first-half possessions. The saving grace for Denver, though, was that the number one red zone defense clamped up.

The Broncos allowed only one touchdown in four trips down in the red zone. Against an explosive offense like the Packers, that is key. The first half was 16-14 Green Bay.

The second half looked like it was going to be even worse. The Packers came out and scored immediately to go up 23-14. I mean, it looked easy.

The offense in the ensuing possession went three and out, and the defense had to go right back out onto the field. Down 23-14, the odds were heavily stacked against the Broncos, and then Patrick Surtain made the play of the game.

On the first play of the drive up 23-14, Green Bay looked for the killshot downfield to Christian Watson, and it was intercepted by Surtian, who stayed stride for stride with him. Since that play, Denver outscored the Packers 20-3.

The defense, which didn’t have a sack up until that point, finished with three. Love in the second half had less than 70 yards passing with no touchdowns and two interceptions. The Broncos’ defense made plays when needed.

Was it perfect? No. Did that unit change the complexion of the game? Absolutely.

Franchise Quarterback

Bo Nix played his best game as a pro. He was 23/34 for 303 yards with four touchdowns and no turnovers against a stout Packers defense. This was his fourth four-touchdown game in his young career so far.

Nix did not get sacked once. He made plays when the team demanded it every time, and that was what was most impressive.

We know that Nix can game manage at a very high level. What we didn’t know was how he would respond in a back-and-forth game against a contender when the defense was reeling a bit.

When Green Bay was up 6-0, he led a drive to go up 7-6. When they went up 13-7, he led a drive that put the Broncos up 14-13. Nix’s biggest drive came when they were down 23-14.

This was a drive that Denver needed, and this was all Nix. He made plays with his legs and made incredible off-schedule plays. He put the team on his back at the biggest moments.

That drive was capped off with a beautiful throw to Courtland Sutton down the right sideline to make it 23-21. Nix would later lead a drive that put the Broncos up 27-23 to close the third quarter, and they never looked back from that moment.

The stats don’t do justice to how clutch Nix was in this game. You have to watch the highlights to see some of the plays, and he was making them, and when they were being made.

Nix wasn’t perfect as he had some balls that were close to being intercepted. Given the magnitude of the game and the playoffs on the line, he was magnificent, and no one can criticize anything about his play for this week, at least.

End Of My Denver Broncos Playoffs Clinched Rant

The Broncos, as a franchise, were dead in the water. They missed the playoffs every year from 2016-2023.

Bo Nix enters the equation, and Denver has back-to-back playoff appearances. Not only that, they are in a prime position to get the one seed with the New England Patriots’ loss today.

I want to say good game to the Packers, and it was unfortunate to see Micah Parsons suffer what looked like a torn ACL. Wishing him a speedy recovery and good luck the rest of the way.

As for the Broncos, what are the haters going to say now?