KANSAS CITY, Mo. — And to all a good night.

In a 20-13 Christmas Day win over the Chiefs, the Broncos scored a late go-ahead touchdown and then came up with a fourth-down stop to unwrap a win and improve to 13-3.

With Bo Nix's touchdown pass to RJ Harvey and the ensuing defensive stand, the Broncos earned their first win in Kansas City since 2015 and just their fourth December win at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in franchise history. Nix, who leads the NFL in game-winning drives this season, is also just the fourth quarterback in franchise history to win at Arrowhead in December.

The Broncos used a series of long drives to dominate the time of possession battle, and Denver's defense held the Chiefs' offense in check.

With the win, the Broncos secured their first 13-win season since 2013 and can now clinch the AFC West with a Chargers loss on Saturday. Denver also snagged its first season sweep of the Chiefs since 2014 and continues to control its own destiny in the race for the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

These were the players and plays who made the difference in a Week 17 win over the Chiefs:

GAME-CHANGING MOMENT

The biggest play of the Broncos' win wasn't even a play at all. With the game tied at 13 and Denver facing a fourth-and-2 at the Kansas City 9-yard line with two minutes to play, the Broncos lined up to go for it on fourth down. Harvey lined up in the backfield in the wildcat formation and appeared poised to try to ice the game with a conversion. But there was no play — and there was never going to be a play.

"We were going to take the penalty [and] kick the field goal," Head Coach Sean Payton said after the game. "That was the plan."

Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones, though, jumped across the line of scrimmage — and Quinn Meinerz reacted to seal the penalty call. It was the first penalty of the night called against the Chiefs and came in a big moment. With a new set of downs, Denver was able to force the Chiefs to use their first two timeouts.

"Obviously, that changed the complexity of the clock," Payton said. "That was a big play."

And, when Nix found Harvey three plays later on third-and-goal from the 1-yard line, it also forced the Chiefs into needing a touchdown rather than a field goal.

"It was covered initially and then he kind of climbed — and then [Harvey's] got receiver skill sets. I couldn't see the angle, and I heard the cheer and I just said, 'Please tell me that's not an interception.' It was loud enough that I didn't know if it was a Kansas City cheer. Fortunately, it was the Bronco cheer. I'm sure it was heck of a throw and catch. To score seven, it greatly changes the dynamic with their kicker. … That greatly changed the outcome of the game that they needed a touchdown."

DEFINING STATISTIC

4.

In a grind-it-out game, the Broncos recorded four scoring drives of at least 14 plays — and three of the drives lasted at least eight minutes. Denver nearly doubled up Kansas City in the time-of-possession battle and controlled the game, even if the scoreboard didn't always reflect it. The Broncos converted 11-of-18 third downs to keep drives alive, and they had a pair of 14-play second-half touchdown drives that helped Denver earn the win.

MEMORABLE HIGHLIGHT

Nix gave the Broncos their first lead since 3-0 when he powered into the end zone on Denver's first drive of the second half. On the designed quarterback run, Nix navigated his way to an open running lane and then lowered his shoulder into a defender. The 9-yard run capped a 14-play, 72-yard drive that took nearly 10 minutes off the clock.

BOX-SCORE STANDOUTS

Rookie running back RJ Harvey became just the third rookie since 1950 to record at least seven rushing touchdowns and five receiving touchdowns in a season, joining Gale Sayers and Alvin Kamara.

Guard Quinn Meinerz doesn't technically show up in the box score, but his ability to help draw Chris Jones offside led directly to the Broncos' win.

Payton credited center Alex Forsyth, who got a game ball after making his first start of the season in the place of Luke Wattenberg. Forsyth's success came after a difficult end-of-game moment in Kansas City last year.

Denver's entire defense gets a nod, as the team held the Chiefs to 139 total yards and came up with a fourth-down stop to win the game.