KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One of the Broncos' most pivotal play calls against the Kansas City Chiefs did not dial up a power run, an innovative pass concept or a timely misdirection. "Harrisburg," as Head Coach Sean Payton referred to the call after the game, expressly instructed the Broncos to not even snap the ball.
Facing fourth-and-2 from the Chiefs' 9-yard line late in their Christmas night matchup, the Broncos had a crucial decision to make: send out kicker Wil Lutz to break the tie with a field goal — with the potential downside of the Chiefs having two minutes to tie or take the lead with a touchdown — or forego the close go-ahead field goal by attempting a fourth-down conversion.
Denver's offense stayed on the grass at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, but the unit lined up in an unusual formation that sent quarterback Bo Nix out wide and positioned running back RJ Harvey in the backfield. The Broncos did not intend to run a play, but instead attempted to confuse the Chiefs and lure a lineman to jump offside, which would grant Denver a first down, the chance to exhaust Kansas City's timeouts and take aim at the end zone.
Guard Quinn Meinerz, tasked with calling out the offense's cadence, baited Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones into a premature jump and earned the offside flag and Broncos first down.
"It was at a different formation, one we'd never shown," Payton said. "We were going to take the delay of game, so we didn't have a play. … It's a unique one because you're on the road, so it involves a heel, and then Meinerz is barking the cadence out. … That changed the complexity of the clock, and that was a big play."
Kansas City used up two of its three timeouts on the next two plays, before Nix found Harvey along the back of the end zone to secure a 20-13 lead for the Broncos. Denver's defense denied the Chiefs' attempt at a game-tying drive to clinch the victory.
The Broncos set a new NFL record with their 12th regular-season comeback victory, and their second-half success in grinding out yardage with smart, patient plays paved the way to a critical win. Down 7-6 at halftime, Nix and the Broncos' offense compiled two 14-play drives that took 9:47 and 6:48 of game time, respectively, and converted red-zone trips into touchdowns.
That patient, methodical approach paid off in subtler moments well before the touchdown celebrations, with the "Harrisburg" turning point as a prime example.
"If you ask anybody that plays offense, they'll tell you that whenever you can put a drive like that together, it shows that you are able to impose your will on an opposing defense," wide receiver Courtland Sutton said. "To be able to stay on the field, continuously convert third downs, continue to just move the ball downfield methodically, I think it wears the defense down and it kind of breaks their will a little bit. … I think it speaks volumes to just the character of how our offense is and where possibly it can continue to go."
While eliminated from the playoffs and without star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs entered the Christmas prime-time matchup with a top defense and a game plan designed to run time off the clock and keep the score closer with fewer drives that had long durations.
Payton said he identified the tactic early on, but pulling away against the winners of the past three AFC Championships required more than just a strategic adjustment. Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo did not often attack Denver with pressure looks, instead aiming to take away big plays with less aggressive defensive coverage.
In the first half, the Broncos sustained long drives and won the time-of-possession battle, but Denver turned their two red-zone trips into field goals and trailed 7-6 at halftime despite a clear advantage in yardage.
"Honestly, it's the exact opposite of what I thought we were going to get," Nix said of the Chiefs' plan. "I thought they were going to pressure us like crazy, but … we got a bunch of two-high zone the whole game. They put a lid on top of it and they make it tough to find explosive plays, so you've just got to inch your way down the field. Obviously, the two plays we scored on, they were longer drives, a lot of plays. We just did what we had to do, but that was a good defense."
The Broncos' offense continued to dice up the Kansas City defense with accurate Nix passes and a strong dose of runs in the second half, but its ability to turn those long drives into touchdowns made the difference. Both teams scored on two of their second-half drives, but Kansas City settled for two field goals while Denver found the end zone on Nix's 5-yard run on a quarterback draw and his 1-yard pass to Harvey with under two minutes remaining.
Kansas City dared the Broncos to beat them in a gritty, slow-paced game, and Denver thrived in that style of play. Along with the two second-half touchdowns, the Broncos converted 11 of their 18 third-down opportunities, ran the ball 13 more times than the Chiefs and held possession for almost 19 more minutes of regulation.
Despite the one-possession final score and down-to-the-wire, Denver held a lopsided 303-139 advantage in total yardage.
"We needed to grind them out, we needed to keep punching them in the mouth and keep having long drives," left tackle Garett Bolles said. "And that's what we did: We wore them out and then we obviously got that huge play where they jumped offsides and we got to punch it in to win the game. We knew exactly what we needed to do, we did it, we executed it, and we came out with the victory."
Bolles said the win was one of the best Christmas gifts he'd ever received. A member of the Broncos since 2017, Bolles won in Kansas City for the first time in his career. Pulling out a win in what he called a "buckle-your-chinstrap" type of game made the moment sweeter for him.
"It's fun to be a Denver Bronco, man," Bolles said. "We've got a long way to go, but [we're] just one step closer."
