Broncos aim to dominate Chiefs in Christmas night showdown in Kansas City

Denver (12-3) at Kansas City (6-9)

Thursday, 8:15 p.m. EST, Amazon Prime Video.

BetMGM NFL Odds: Broncos by 13.

Against the spread: Broncos 6-8-1; Chiefs 5-9-1.

Series record: Chiefs lead 73-58.

Last meeting: Broncos beat Chiefs 22-19 on Nov. 16 in Denver.

Last week: Broncos lost to Jaguars 34-20 in Denver; Chiefs lost to Titans 26-9 in Tennessee.

Broncos offense: overall (9), rush (18), pass (8), scoring (13).

Broncos defense: overall (4), rush (2), pass (10), scoring (5).

Chiefs offense: overall (13), rush (22), pass (9), scoring (20).

Chiefs defense: overall (10), rush (8), pass (12), scoring (4).

Turnover differential: Broncos minus-4; Chiefs minus-2.

WR Courtland Sutton needs 28 yards receiving to become the first Broncos player with back-to-back 1,000 yards seasons since Emmanuel Sanders (2014-16) and Demaryius Thomas (2012-16).

QB Chris Oladokun finished out last week's game against the Titans once Gardner Minshew joined Patrick Mahomes in tearing his ACL in consecutive weeks. Now, the former South Florida, Samford and South Dakota State quarterback — a seventh-round pick in 2022 — could make his first NFL start.

The Chiefs quarterback against the Broncos pass rush, which is the best in the league. They have 63 sacks, or 13 more than the second-place Falcons, and more than double what Kansas City (31) has had this season.

Chiefs: CBs Trent McDuffie (knee) and Jaylen Watson (groin) and WRs Nikko Remigio (knee), Rashee Rice (concussion) and Tyquan Thornton (concussion) missed practice this week. QB Gardner Minshew (torn ACL) went on injured reserve.

Broncos: LB Dre Greenlaw has been dealing with a hamstring injury. WR Pat Bryant (concussion), C Luke Wattenberg (shoulder), TE Nate Adkins (knee) have also been out. LBs Justin Strnad (foot) and Karene Reid (hamstring) were full participants this week.

The Chiefs won 16 consecutive games in the series beginning in November 2015 and ending in October 2023. But since then, the Broncos have won three of the past four, including their matchup earlier this season in Denver. Each of those three wins have come at home for the Broncos; they still have not won in Kansas City since Sept. 17, 2015.

Broncos QB Bo Nix is tied for the second-most victories over the first two seasons at his position with 22. ... Nix needs one TD pass to become the fourth QB in NFL history with at least 25 in each of his first two seasons. ... Two of Nix’s protectors earned their first Pro Bowl starting bids in G Quinn Meinerz and ninth-year veteran T Garett Bolles, who leads the league in pass-blocking efficiency and has yet to allow a sack this season. ... WR Courtland Sutton has moved into fifth in Broncos history with 6,226 yards receiving. ... Broncos LB Nik Bonitto needs one sack to joins Simon Fletcher as the only players in team history with at least 13 1/2 in back-to-back seasons. ... Chiefs TE Travis Kelce needs 46 yards to become the fastest at his position to reach 13,000 in NFL history. Kelce has caught a pass in 189 straight games, the longest streak in Chiefs history and longest active streak in the NFL. ... Chiefs K Harrison Butker has missed at least one PAT or FG attempt in eight of their 15 games. Kansas City was 1 for 9 on third down and finished with 133 total yards last week against the Titans. Nearly half of those yards were offset by 10 penalties for 59 yards.

Broncos RB R.J Harvey could have a huge day against a beaten-up Kansas City defense, one week after the Titans' Tony Pollard eclipsed 100 yards against it. The Chiefs offense has been decimated by injuries, which means they could be punting a lot, giving the Broncos the ball for long stretches. And if the game gets out of hand early — a distinct possibility — then it could be Harvey getting fed simply to run out the clock.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard (20) gets past Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Kristian Fulton (8) as he runs the ball during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid watches during the second half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, left, and Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) shake hands after an NFL football game in Denver, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Denver Broncos running back RJ Harvey, left, runs against Jacksonville Jaguars safety Eric Murray (29) during the second half of an NFL football game in Denver, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street closed higher and reached more records Wednesday on a holiday-shortened trading day.

The S&P 500 index rose 22.26 points, or 0.3%, to 6,932.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 288.75, or 0.6%, to close at 48,731.16, and the Nasdaq composite added 51.46, or 0.2%, to 23,613.31

Trading was extremely light as markets closed early for Christmas Eve and will be closed for Christmas. Roughly 1.8 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, which is roughly a third of the average trading day.

Markets will reopen for a full day of trading on Friday; however volumes are expected to be remain light this week as most investors having closed out their positions for the year.

The S&P 500 is up more than 17% this year, as investors have embraced the deregulatory policies of the Trump administration and been optimistic about the future of artificial intelligence in helping boost profits for not only technology companies but also for Corporate America. Some of the strongest performers this year include Nvidia and Micron Technologies, both companies that make chips or other components that power the proliferation of data centers across the country.

Much of the focus for investors for the next few weeks will be on where the U.S. economy is heading and where the Federal Reserve will move interest rates. Investors are betting the Fed will hold steady on interest rates at its January meeting.

The U.S. economy grew at a surprisingly strong 4.3% annual rate in the third quarter, the most rapid expansion in two years, driven by consumers who continue to spend in the face of ongoing inflation. There have also been recent reports showing shaky confidence among consumers worried about high prices. The labor market has been slowing and retail sales have weakened.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week and remain at historically healthy levels despite some signs that the labor market is weakening.

U.S. applications for jobless claims for the week ending Dec. 20 fell by 10,000 to 214,000 from the previous week’s 224,000, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. That’s below the 232,000 new applications forecast of analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet.

Dynavax Technologies soared 38.2% after Sanofi said it was acquiring the California-based vaccine maker in a deal worth $2.2 billion. The French drugmaker will add Dynavax’s hepatitis B vaccines to its portfolio, as well as a shingles vaccine that is still in development.

Novo Nordisk's shares rose 1.8% after the weight-loss drug company got approval from U.S. regulators for a pill version of its blockbuster drug Wegovy. However, Novo Nordisk shares are still down almost 40% this year as the company has faced increased competition for weight-loss medications, particularly from Eli Lilly. Shares of Eli Lilly are up 40% this year.

European markets moved between slight gains and losses. Asian markets were also quiet, with Hong Kong moving up 0.2% while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.1%

Gold prices were flat at $4,502 an ounce, and silver rose 0.8% to $71.69. U.S. crude oil was flat at $58.38 a barrel.

Derek Orth works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

A board above the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange displays the closing number for the Dow Jones industrial average, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Anthony Matesic works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

FILE - A screen displays financial news as traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

A person walks in front of a chart showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)