Sunday was a memorable day for the Denver Broncos and Bo Nix, who put an exclamation point on his dazzling rookie season against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Nix went 26 of 29 with 321 yards and four touchdowns in Denver's 38-0 win that clinched the franchise's first playoff berth since 2015. In the process, Nix broke an NFL record as well as a franchise record held by Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning.
Nix's 89.7 completion percentage in Week 18 broke Manning's 11-year-old, single-game franchise record. Manning completed 89.29% of his throws in Denver's regular-season finale against the Raiders back in 2013. Manning won league MVP that year after throwing for 5,477 yards and 55 touchdowns, which are both NFL single-season records. Manning was on hand Sunday to see Nix make history.
In addition to breaking Manning's record, Nix also made NFL history by ending the season with 19 touchdown passes at home(the previous record was 17). Nix achieved history with his touchdown pass to Devaughn Vale, who made an incredible catch off of a deflection.
This TD was wild. 🤯
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) January 5, 2025
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/HdqJ03p3w8
The game capped off what was an extremely impressive regular season for Nix, who also led both teams in rushing on Sunday with 47 yards on seven carries. The 12th overall pick in last year's draft, Nix finished the regular season with 3,775 yards with 29 touchdowns against just 12 interceptions. He also ran for 430 yards and four touchdowns.
Speaking of history, Nix also became the first Broncos quarterback since Hall of Famer John Elway to lead the franchise to the playoffs as a rookie. Nix and the Broncos will now prepare to face No. 2 seed Buffalo in the AFC wild-card round.
