Broncos earn first season sweep of Chiefs in over a decade, improve to 13-3 on the season

The Denver Broncos are one win away from a division title and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs following a hard-fought 20-13 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas night. With the win, the Broncos improve to 3-2 all-time on Christmas.

But there were much bigger things at hand in this one. The Broncos, having already beaten the Chiefs once this season, earned the first season sweep of their arch nemesis since the 2014 season. At one point, the Broncos had lost 16 games in a row to the Chiefs. They have now taken four of the last five games in the series. 

But it didn't come easily. 

Despite several star players being out of the lineup, the Chiefs had a chance to pull the upset all night. Down to their third-string quarterback, Chris Oladokun, the Chiefs had a lead at halftime and led again in the third quarter of this game. 

The Broncos didn't play their best game, but they had several time-consuming drives that resulted in points and that allowed them to get the big road victory. 

Denver Broncos drives vs. Kansas City

It wasn't pretty, but it was enough to win. Bo Nix passed for just 182 yards and threw an interception and RJ Harvey led the way with only 43 yards rushing. But the Chiefs' offense was inept. They gained just 139 yards of total offense and went 4-for-11 on third-down conversions. The Broncos converted 11 of their 18 third-down plays. 

That was the difference in the game. 

The Broncos will need to be much sharper against the Los Angeles Chargers next week. However, if the Chargers lose to the Houston Texans on Saturday, the Broncos will clinch the AFC West title. They may still have to win in Week 18 in order to clinch home-field advantage, as several teams are still vying for that spot, including the Chargers, Patriots and Jaguars. 

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The last time the Broncos swept the Chiefs in a season, Peyton Manning was the team's quarterback. The Broncos are slowly breaking many of the long-time losing streaks that have clouded the team for years. A win over the Chargers next week would give the team its first division title since 2015 and the first time they have been the AFC's No. 1 seed since that same season, in which they ended up winning Super Bowl 50. 

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