The Denver Broncos defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 22-19 in Week 11 to get to 9-2 and the No. 1 seed in the AFC Conference. One NFL analyst believes the win is enough to crown the Broncos the AFC West champions now. For reference, there are seven weeks left in the season. The Chiefs are now 5-5, while the Los Angeles Chargers are 7-4 after a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Las Vegas Raiders, meanwhile, are 2-7 heading into “Monday Night Football.”
Why the AFC West Is the Broncos’ Division
NFL.com’s Jeffri Chadiha released his weekly in-season column on Monday. In it, he wrote about the Broncos, saying, the AFC West now belongs to Denver. Chadiha continued.
“The Chiefs have won nine straight AFC West championships. Their path to a 10th title almost certainly ended inside Empower Field on Sunday, as the Broncos answered every major question about their chances of contending for a championship. All the criticism of second-year quarterback Bo Nix and that beleaguered offense? Nix actually outplayed Patrick Mahomes,” Chadiha wrote.
Full stop. Chadiha hit the nail on its head. Nix did outplay Mahomes in Week 11. Here’s a fun fact: Nix and Mahomes’ statistics are nearly identical since the former entered the league in 2024. Both players’ stats are below.
Mahomes has 6,277 passing yards, 43 passing touchdowns, and 16 interceptions. He has 592 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns as well.
Nix has 5,901 passing yards, 47 passing touchdowns, and 20 interceptions. He has 635 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns as well.
On Sunday, though, Nix had the better numbers.
Nix’s passing stats in Week 11: 24-of-37 for 295 yards, eight yards per attempt, and an 89.4 passer rating.
Mahomes’ passing stats in Week 11: 29-of-45 for 276 yards, 6.1 yards per attempt, and a 79.5 passer rating.
“The hurdles that Denver’s dominant defense faced with All-Pro cornerback Patrick Surtain II sidelined with a pec injury? The Broncos sacked Mahomes three times and limited his two best wide receivers — Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy — to nine receptions for 63 yards (although tight end Travis Kelce finished with nine catches for 91 yards and a touchdown),” Chadiha wrote.
The Broncos have a bye in Week 12, then play the Washington Commanders in Week 13. It’ll be interesting to see for Broncos fans if Surtain II is back by then. Nix, meanwhile, will work on icing the division with six games left.