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Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix.
Bo Nix’s long-awaited 2026 debut on Monday Night Football began with a jolt. In his first regular-season snap since fracturing his ankle in the AFC Divisional Round, he was seeking a fast start. The ankle injury kept him out of Denver’s AFC Championship loss to the New England Patriots. Bo Nix was sacked on the first play of the game. Ran the ball on the second, and on the third play, disaster.
Interception.
The Broncos quarterback dropped back and targeted Courtland Sutton. Chiefs rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane jumped the route and intercepted the pass, handing Kansas City early momentum at Arrowhead Stadium.
That gave the Kansas City Chiefs the ball at the Denver 46 yard line. The Chiefs drove down the field and took advantage. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes who is also coming off a knee injury, engineered a 10 play, 46 yard touchdown drive. The touchdown score came off of a 15 yard scramble for the score and the early 7-0 Chiefs lead.
Could Bo Nix and the Broncos respond?
Denver Has High Hopes
Denver entered with high expectations after a 14-3 campaign, while the Chiefs welcomed Patrick Mahomes with hopes of a healthier 2026. Nix’s opening mistake underscored how quickly rust can build, and will need to erase the early mistake and get the Broncos back on the board to even it up.
With a healthy Bo Nix, and welcoming back starting running back J.K. Dobbins, the Broncos are strong favorites in the AFC West. Not to mention with the addition of Jaylen Waddle to the receiving corps and the boost that may provide. The offensive weapons at Nix’s disposal are the best he has had so far in his career.
Denver isn’t just setting it’s sights on defeating the Kansas City Chiefs though. They have much bigger plans, but one week at a time. If you want to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl, you got to get through the widely regarded best quarterback in the league when healthy. Patrick Mahomes is a winner, but as Bo Nix showed last year, he can be too.
Nix Responds To Mahomes
Bo Nix quickly did erase that mistake on the first drive from memory. On the following Denver drive, Nix tossed 5/5 for 55 yards, and a touchdown pass to tight end Evan Engram!
Fantastic response by Nix on the drive which allowed Denver to tie up the game at 7-7. This is the kind of play that the Broncos were hoping for coming into the season, and Bo made a heck of a throw to the back corner of the end zone.
No doubt the rest of this game will be exciting to watch these two quarterbacks go head to head all night. Trying to answer each other score for score. The winner gets the immediate lead as the top two teams in the AFC West battle it out tonight.
Broncos Bo Nix Responds After First Drive INT