Nix's late TD pass and stand by Broncos defense finishes off 20-13 win over Chiefs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Broncos coach Sean Payton sent his offense back onto the field on fourth down Thursday night, the ball inside the Kansas City Chiefs' 10-yard line and less than 2 minutes left on the clock — and no intention of ever snapping it.

Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones didn't know that. And when he jumped, and the offsides penalty gave Denver a fresh set of down, Bo Nix needed a mere three more plays to hit R.J. Harvey with the go-ahead touchdown pass in a 20-13 victory Thursday night.

One secured when the Broncos made one last stop in the closing second at their end of the field.

“We were going to take the delay-of-game,” Payton said afterward. “Obviously that changed the complexion of the clock, and that was a big play. We were going to take the penalty and kick the field goal. That was the plan.”

Now, the Broncos (13-3) are one step closer to locking up the AFC West, which they can do while watching at home if Houston beats the Chargers on Saturday. They also have a chance to still land the No. 1 seed and first-round playoff bye.

“It would be relaxing,” Payton said of clinching this weekend. “It would be nice.”

Nix also ran for a touchdown while throwing for 182 yards as the Broncos beat the Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium for the first time since September 17, 2015. They also have won four of the last five in the series following a string of 16 consecutive losses.

“It's great to get that win," Payton said. “You always have to remember this: You're playing the heart of a champion, Andy Reid and this team. I don't care who comes out of that locker room. This is a team that basically has been at the top of our league for the better part of this century, and there's a ton of respect we have for what they've been able to accomplish.”

Third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun and tight end Travis Kelce tried to give Kansas City a chance in the final seconds, driving quickly down field after the Broncos had taken the lead. But a third-down pass at the Denver 26 was just out of Kelce's reach, and Oladokun overthrew Marquise Brown in the end zone on fourth down to seal the outcome.

The Chiefs (6-10) were missing Patrick Mahomes and backup quarterback Gardner Minshew, both of whom tore ligaments in their knees in back-to-back weeks, and were left to watch the game together from a suite. They also were missing Rashee Rice and several players on both sides of the ball that had been so crucial to their three straight Super Bowl trips.

Oladokun wound up with 66 yards passing. Kelce had five catches for 36 of those yards in what might have been the last game played by the Pro Bowl tight end at Arrowhead Stadium — he plans to announce soon after the season whether he is retiring.

“I’ll let that be a decision I’ll make with my family, friends, the Chiefs organization when the time comes," Kelce said.

The Broncos were nearly two-touchdown favorites, according to BetMGM, yet the Chiefs may have been inspired by hearing about the Vikings, who earlier in the day knocked off the favored Lions behind their defense and their own third-string quarterback.

After giving up a grinding, 14-play drive that soaked up more than half the first quarter and net the Broncos a field goal, Kansas City allowed little else through the first 30 minutes. And along the way, a defense put its top two cornerbacks on injured reserve this week managed to pick off Nix, setting up a short field that Oladokun converted into his first career touchdown throw.

It also happened to be Brashard Smith's first career touchdown catch.

The Broncos tried to answer with another 8-plus minute drive late in the half, but Courtland Sutton dropped a would-be touchdown toss in the closing seconds, and Wil Lutz had to kick his second chip-shot field goal to make it 7-6 at the break.

Denver finally got one of its long, time-consuming drives into the end zone in the third quarter, though. The Chiefs had pushed the lead to 10-6 when the Broncos churned through 72 yards in nearly 10 minutes, and Nix finished by scrambling nine yards for the score.

And the inability of the Kansas City offense to do much of anything was its undoing.

The Chiefs managed just 16 yards on their first three possessions of the second half, and that gave the Broncos a chance. They drove 65 yards late in the fourth quarter, twice converting on third down and then getting a fourth-down gift when Jones went early inside the 10-yard line, allowing Nix to find Harvey in the back of the end zone for the eventual winning score.

“We just did what we had to do,” Nix said.

Broncos: C Luke Wattenberg (shoulder) was placed on injured reserve earlier in the day.

Chiefs: WR Nikko Remigio (knee) was placed on IR. OL Jaylon Moore (knee) and DT Derrick Nnadi (illness) were inactive.

Denver wraps up the regular season next week against the Chargers.

Kansas City finishes its season next week in Las Vegas.

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

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Chris Oladokun (19) looks to pass as teammate center Creed Humphrey, right, blocks Denver Broncos defensive end Zach Allen (99) during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Chiefs running back Brashard Smith, center, evades tackles by Denver Broncos linebacker Justin Strnad, left, and linebacker Alex Singleton (49) while scoring a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

Kansas City Chiefs running back Brashard Smith (24) celebrates with wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster, center, and quarterback Chris Oladokun (19) after scoring a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) is tackled by Kansas City Chiefs defensive end George Karlaftis (56) during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Denver Broncos running back Jaleel McLaughlin (38) rushes for a first down as Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Ashton Gillotte (97) tries to stop him during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

NEW YORK (AP) — “Heated Rivalry” is scoring big with hockey romance fans. Since its Thanksgiving weekend debut, the steamy television adaptation of Rachel Reid’s 2019 novel has dominated social media feeds and inspired a growing fanbase devoted to the queer romance at its center.

The story traces Canadian Shane Hollander and Russian Ilya Rozanov as they sustain a decade-long secret relationship, mixing slow-building yearning with explicit sexual scenes. Jacob Tierney, who developed, wrote and directed the series, said he was drawn to the project for its “pure queer joy.”

Audiences have met that joy with a passionate response, propelling “Heated Rivalry” to the No. 1 series on HBO Max as the first season heads into its finale Friday. Along the way, it’s generated new interest in the “Game Changers” book series that it’s based on and drawn attention to sports romance fiction, especially stories with queer storylines.

Originally developed for the Canadian streaming service Crave, the show scored a distribution deal with HBO and has already been renewed for a second season.

“Unashamedly, when pitching, it was just like, this is a Harlequin romance. This has a happy ending,” Tierney said. “This is about two boys in love and a lot of sex.”

Hockey romance books have grown in popularity within the broader sports romance genre, fueled by readers drawn to the intensity of sport as much as the relationships at its center. Mackenzie Walton, who edited the “Heated Rivalry” novel, said the genre’s staying power comes from how deeply the stories immerse readers in the sport itself.

“It’s much more common when I read a hockey romance that I get the sense that hockey is important at the heart of the book, and I think readers really respond to that sense of authenticity,” Walton said.

According to the book’s publisher Harlequin, Reid’s six novel “Game Changers” series has sold 650,000 copies since the first was published in 2018.

“Anytime Hollywood pays attention to, and respects, romance fans, they notice and show their appreciation,” Leah Koch, co-owner of the romance bookstore The Ripped Bodice, wrote in an email. She added that producing a high-quality adaptation of a story queer readers might not have expected to reach television signals a growing recognition of both their cultural interests and their economic impact.

Content creator Josh Banfield has been making Instagram videos about the show since its November premiere. He believes part of the show's popularity with queer fans is the slow-burning aspect of Shane and Ilya’s romance.

“There’s something nice about seeing the yearning and seeing that they do maintain contact with each other and still have this connection,” Banfield said.

Fans and the creators behind the book and TV show also credit the lead actors, Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, for the show’s success. Tierney said he knew they were his Ilya and Shane almost instantly.

“The show was going to live and die based on this casting,” Tierney said. “I think once they did their chemistry read together, everybody was like, ‘OK, fine, done.’”

Rachel Reid, author of the books, said she was happy with the adaptation and with who was chosen to play the characters she wrote.

“If I built the perfect actors in a lab, I could not have built better people to play these characters,” Reid said.

It was also important to both Tierney and Reid to have Shane played by someone of Asian descent, as the character is in the books, to keep a sense of diversity in a genre that tends to have mostly white characters.

Hockey romances still tend to be dominantly white and heterosexual. According to Koch, readers who come to the Ripped Bodice's locations are looking for more people like Shane — queer and diverse — to be in their stories.

Customers frequently seek out queer sports romances and those that “go beyond the typical alpha-jock trope,” she wrote. But she’s skeptical that the success of “Heated Rivalry” will lead to more mainstream books or shows with queer stories.

“A breakthrough title does sometimes allow other authors more access, but not always,” Koch wrote. “But hey, maybe they’ll prove me wrong, and wouldn’t that be nice?”

Romance blogger Laura Dusi-Showers said women in particular are responding to the male-on-male romance in a hockey book because of the fantasy aspect of seeing something different than their everyday lives. As for why it works, she said it was due to hockey being a “manly, aggressive sport” with no out NHL players. “I think it’s opening people’s eyes to what could be,” Dusi-Showers said.

This was the reason Reid wrote her books in the first place: wanting to tell a different story.

“The series just came from a love of hockey, but also my own conflicted feelings about all the bad things about the culture around the sport, especially the homophobia,” Reid said.

Reid’s debut book in her hockey series, “Game Changer,” is about Scott Hunter, the fictional first fictional hockey player to come out publicly, and his juice-bar barista boyfriend Kip Grady. Part of this story was told in “Heated Rivalry’s” third episode and featured as a climactic moment in the fifth episode.

As to why fans are responding so strongly to the show and the actors, Reid singled out the acting.

“They’re getting really, really emotional or excited about one little quiet part or one line delivery, and that has nothing to do with the sex on the show,” she said, pointing specifically to Williams’ performance as the more awkward and less self-assured Shane. “Maybe a choice that Hudson made as an actor is making everybody lose their minds, and I love to see that.”

This image released by Crave shows Hudson Williams, left, and Connor Storrie in a scene from "Heated Rivalry." (Crave via AP)

This image released by Crave shows Hudson Williams, left, and Connor Storrie in a scene from "Heated Rivalry." (Crave via AP)