The New England Patriots were off on Christmas, but they still had a vested interest in the day’s proceedings with the Denver Broncos taking on the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.

Unfortunately for the Patriots, the Chiefs had nothing to play for. They’ve already been eliminated from playoff contention and lost Patrick Mahomes for the season, positioning the Broncos as heavy favorites.

While the game was closer and uglier than expected, Denver pulled it out in the final minutes, escaping with a 20-13 victory after overcoming an early deficit.

The outcome was bad news for New England. The Broncos improved to 13-3, pulling half a game ahead of the 12-3 Patriots for the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

To get the top seed, New England needs to win out by beating the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins over the next two weekends. Both teams have already been eliminated from the postseason, so that shouldn’t be too difficult.

The Patriots don’t control their own destiny, however, as they also need Denver to lose its season finale against the Los Angeles Chargers. The Broncos are at home and will have a rest advantage for that game, so they’ll likely be favored, especially if the Chargers lose to the Houston Texans this week and don’t have much to play for.

Denver has the tiebreaker over New England if they both end up at 13-4. If they do and the Jacksonville Jaguars also get to 13-4, the Jaguars own the tiebreaker.

For now, the Patriots need to stay focused on beating the Jets and trying to win the AFC East, which they can clinch this week if they win and the Buffalo Bills lose to the Philadelphia Eagles. That would at least guarantee hosting a home game in the playoffs for the first time in six years.

Chiefs’ Chris Oladokun goes full Patrick Mahomes in wild sequence appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

If you squinted hard enough at your TV screen on Christmas Day, you might have thought Patrick Mahomes was back under center for the Kansas City Chiefs.

During the Chiefs’ holiday showdown against the Denver Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium, quarterback Chris Oladokun, starting in place of the injured Mahomes and Gardner Minshew, delivered a play so chaotic and magical it could have been copyrighted by No. 15 himself.

Late in the game with the score knotted up, Kansas City faced a 2nd and 7 from their own 30-yard line. The pocket collapsed almost instantly, forcing Oladokun to scramble for his life. As he rolled out, disaster nearly struck; the ball slipped from his grasp, bouncing dangerously on the turf.

In a moment of pure panic-turned-poise, Oladokun scooped the ball back up without breaking stride, kept his eyes downfield, and fired a strike to a wide-open JuJu Smith-Schuster.

The completion moved the chains and sent Arrowhead into a frenzy. It was the kind of improvisation that has defined the Chiefs’ offense for years, except this time, it came from the third-string signal-caller making his first career start.

Oladokun, who had already thrown his first career touchdown pass to rookie Brashard Smith earlier in the game, showed remarkable resilience against a stout Broncos defense. While the stat sheet won’t show the heart-stopping nature of the fumble-recovery-throw sequence, it was undoubtedly the highlight of the night.

For a team decimated by injuries, with Mahomes and Minshew both sidelined, moments like this provide a glimmer of hope. Oladokun might not be the two-time MVP, but for one wild play on Christmas, he did a pretty convincing impression.

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The NFL’s prime-time Christmas Day matchup between the Broncos and Chiefs certainly lost some of its luster when Patrick Mahomes went down with a season-ending injury, but there are still reasons to think Thursday’s contest could be entertaining – at least from a betting perspective!

If looking for a fun way to sweat Thursday’s holiday action, I have put together a three-leg same game parlay (+650) for the evening’s game. As always, it is worth noting that straight wagers are a far more profitable long-term betting strategy than parlays. Still, parlays can be a fun way to get some extra action on a game to make things interesting!

Check this one out, or visit our Same-Game Parlay Tool to build one for yourself.

Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs Same Game Parlay

Leg 1: Evan Engram Under 3.5 Receptions

-174

During Denver’s last three games, Evan Engram has played only 74 snaps, compared to 125 snaps for Adam Trautman. During that span, Engram hasn’t seen more than 4 targets or played more than 28 snaps.

The Chiefs defense is going to be in rough shape Thursday, with so many players on injured reserve, but Engram simply hasn’t been on the field enough to justify this number being so high.

Leg 2: Chris Oladokun Over 29.5 Pass Attempts

-108

Kansas City hasn’t had an explosive run in either of the last two games, and that doesn’t figure to change much during their final couple of contests, given how much of their offensive line is on injured reserve. Thursday in particular, they will have to face a strong Denver run defense. The likely consequence of having a non-existent rushing attack against a good defensive front is that Chris Oladokun should be very busy through the air on Christmas Day – especially if the Chiefs are facing a negative gamescript, which is expected.

Leg 3: RJ Harvey 70-Plus Rushing Yards

+174

In Week 16, Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears combined to gain 154 rushing yards on 34 attempts (4.53 yards per carry) against the injury-depleted Chiefs defense. On Christmas, RJ Harvey will get his turn to see if he can put up some gaudy numbers.

Harvey has been the clear lead option for Denver’s ground attack since J.K. Dobbins went down with a season-ending injury in Week 10. Since that point, Harvey has received 67 of the 94 attempts that have gone to the team’s running backs, including 16 of 20 red zone carries.

If Harvey can break a big run or two Thursday, he could be well on his way to cashing his alts.

Broncos QB Bo Nix spins Jaguars loss into ‘reality check’ before playoffs appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Bo Nix saw the silver lining in the Denver Broncos’ 34-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 16 of the 2025 NFL season.

Denver was rolling with an 11-game winning streak, soaring to the high seeds of the AFC. However, they suffered multiple lapses on both sides of the ball as Jacksonville took full advantage, pulling off the upset on the road.

Nix was active with his passing ability throughout the game. He completed 28 passes out of 47 attempts for 352 yards. However, he only had one touchdown and one interception, showing how Jacksonville limited his ability to make explosive plays in Denver’s favor.

Nix reflected on those woes during Tuesday’s press conference, per reporter Luca Evans. The second-year quarterback, while not content with the win streak coming to an end, had a clear message on how the loss will reset the Broncos’ mentality as they close in on the end of the regular season.

“Sometimes a loss, especially in this league, gives you a good reality check and puts you back on course,” Nix said.

What’s next for Bo Nix, Broncos

Bo Nix won’t lose confidence despite seeing himself and the Broncos fall to the Jaguars at home. Instead, he will look forward to getting the team back on track as they aspire to make a deep playoff run.

Nix continues to maintain a solid form as one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL. This season, he has completed 348 passes for 3,608 yards and 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also added 66 rushes for 265 yards and four touchdowns.

Denver boasts a 12-3 record on the season, holding the top spot in the AFC West Division standings. They are above the Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders at the moment. In terms of the AFC standings, they sit at first place. They are above the New England Patriots, Jacksonville Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers when it comes to the top four in the conference.

The Broncos will look to return to the win column in their next matchup. They will be on the road when they face the Chiefs on Dec. 25 at 8:15 p.m. ET.

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