Bo Nix, Broncos Dominate Chiefs to Upset Bengals, Dolphins Fans in NFL Playoff Race

Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos are in the playoffs after crushing a resting Kansas City Chiefs playing its backups, 38-0 at home on Sunday.

It was win-and-in for Denver, and that task was made much easier with the Chiefs resting a host of stars and starters, including quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce, defensive lineman Chris Jones and cornerback Trent McDuffie, among many others.

Nix completed 26-of-29 passes for 321 yards and four touchdowns and added 47 rushing yards. His 18 straight completions to open a game are a rookie record.

He threw one score to Courtland Sutton (five catches, 98 yards), two to Marvin Mims Jr. (five catches, 51 yards) and another to Devaughn Vele (four catches, 50 yards).

Needless to say, the rookie got plenty of love for his surgical precision and clutch performance. It may have been against backups, but Nix was about as great as can be.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs could do nothing against a staunch Broncos defense. Backup quarterback Carson Wentz threw for just 98 yards, and the Chiefs combined for 23 rushing yards.

It was a great day for Denver, but a tough one for the Cincinnati Bengals, who needed a Bronco loss and a Miami Dolphin defeat to the New York Jets to sneak into the playoffs. Cincinnati ended the regular season at 9-8 following a five-game winning streak, but a brutal 12-game start, which included seven losses by 26 combined points, did them in.

Miami needed a win and a Bronco loss, which would have been good enough for the Dolphins to jump Cincinnati and Denver on the conference record tiebreaker.

But Bengals and Dolphins fans' hopes quickly went up in smoke as Nix carved up the Chiefs defense.

Cincinnati and Miami will now stay home, while Denver will visit the Buffalo Bills for their AFC Wild Card round matchup at a date and time to-be-determined.