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Mile High Huddle

Film Room: How Broncos Erased 11-Point Deficit to Stun Chiefs

Let's examine tape to wrap our brains around the Broncos' latest Mile High Miracle.
Lance Sanderson|
Nov 1, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos running back Jonah Coleman runs with the ball against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Nov 1, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos running back Jonah Coleman runs with the ball against the Kansas City Chiefs. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Denver Broncos

Here we go again with the “Heart-Attack Horsies."

It’s inexplicable how the Denver Broncos win close games nearly every week, yet here we are. This team, led by quarterback Bo Nix, somehow pulls a rabbit out of its hat when the chips are down. 

Once again, the Broncos erased an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit in miraculous fashion, beating the Kansas City Chiefs 28-24. It took a pair of touchdown drives and a last-second sack to pull it off, but the Broncos are officially in first place in the division, once again. 

Everyone says this isn’t a sustainable way to win football games, but the Broncos have won 15 consecutive one-score games. Eventually, it has to become the expectation that they’re going to pull it off. 

This week was crazy, though. Let’s break down the fourth quarter by the offense in this week’s film room. 

Starting the Scoring Drive

The Broncos hadn't gotten the ground game rolling for most of the game. J.K. Dobbins was a non-factor in the second half, and the Broncos leaned into the explosiveness of Jonah Coleman when the game was on the line. 

To open the Broncos' first scoring possession of the fourth quarter, Coleman showed off his vision on an inside zone run for 10 yards. Watch wide receiver Troy Franklin and tight end Adam Trautman at the point of attack. 

Franklin has developed his blocking incredibly well over the course of the season. Denver slices him across the formation as a kick-out blocker on the cornerback, and he does a good job up front. Trautman, who actually gets run into by Coleman, digs out the linebacker at the second level and helps pave the way.

This is a great run by Coleman. There really isn’t a lot there to begin with because center Luke Wattenburg gets beaten at the line of scrimmage, forcing the rookie to cut it back to the outside. Once he hits Trautman in the back, he bounces it outside and buries his head to finish the run with good power. 

The Next Play

I wanted to highlight this play because it shows how much differently Nix is playing while throwing on the run. 

Wattenburg loses immediately to the bull rush and gets dumped directly into Nix’s lap, making the quarterback roll to his right. The Chiefs are in zone coverage, and wide receiver Courtland Sutton sits down in the soft spot to pick up eight yards and keep the drive rolling. 

This isn’t a spectacular play, but we haven’t seen this very much over the course of the season. Nix would escape pressure and roll to his right, but he wouldn’t keep his eyes downfield and would usually throw the ball away. Keeping the offense on track is critical when you’re down 11 points in the fourth quarter. 

Two Plays Later

This play was absolutely insane for a handful of reasons. It was raining at this point in the game, further accentuating how insane this play is. 

The Broncos are trying to take a shot on first down near midfield, but nothing is there. Nix gets antsy in the pocket and goes into creation mode. 

Watch as Nix looks to Dobbins underneath on the checkdown. He has to eat the football because Dobbins has a defender draped all over him. Nix resets his feet and fires a dart to Trautman, who makes a ridiculous catch in front of Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton — who slipped on the wet field — and scampers upfield for an explosive gain. 

The fact that Nix held onto a wet football on the pump fake is nothing short of incredible. That easily could have been a fumble, but he kept the play alive and took a chance to hit Trautman in a tight window. Bolton could have broken that pass up if he didn’t fall. 

The Broncos also got 15 yards added to the result of the play thanks to an unnecessary roughness penalty by Chiefs safety Alohi Gilman, setting the offense up in the red zone. 

Setting Up the 2-Point Conversion

A few plays later, on 4th-and-Goal, Nix hit tight end Nate Adkins for his second touchdown pass of the game, which was followed by a great play design for a two-point conversion to cut the deficit to three points. 

I’m splicing the first touchdown of the game into this to show how they schemed the two-point conversion open, and how great a play call it was.

On the first touchdown, the Broncos run Franklin across the formation into a bunch formation. Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle runs a quick out route to the flat, with Franklin and Sutton muddying up the defense at the release. We’ve seen this look before when Peyton Manning was in Denver, and it’s a great design to get an easy throw for points.

On the second touchdown, Adkins runs an arrow route to the flat from an attached wing alignment, and Sutton draws a pair of defenders upfield to open the flat.

Watch Chiefs linebacker Drue Tranquill closely on this play. He gets his eyes inside and bites on the play-action fake while Adkins sprints to the flat. Tranquill isn’t responsible for the flat on this play, but keep this in mind. 

On the two-point conversion, Denver runs a 'sail' concept right in front of Tranquill, who dashes to the flat to cover tight end Evan Engram’s out route. That opened up a massive throwing window to Waddle, who finishes in the end zone for the second time.

Nix takes his time letting Waddle clear Bolton, and puts a good ball into his target's chest plate. This was a great way to take advantage of Tranquill’s aggressiveness in coverage.

Coleman’s Explosive Catch-&-Run

After Harrison Butker missed a 54-yard field goal, the Broncos are set up with great field position, plenty of time, and a pair of timeouts.

Sean Payton dials up a halfback “dash” play, running Coleman across the formation and into the opposite flat. Denver catches the Chiefs in an overload blitz to the left side, and Coleman gets a free release through the line of scrimmage, running wide open. 

Bolton gets caught inside and doesn’t touch Coleman in the hole, then rushes upfield to try to pressure Nix. That simple mistake was all it took to break this play open. 

Watch Franklin as a blocker downfield. He draws his defender across the field, then blasts Gilman into the boundary, opening a cutback lane for Coleman to gain more yards.

You don’t get explosive plays without receivers doing their jobs downfield, and this is the second week in a row where Franklin has done a fantastic job as a blocker on an explosive play. 

Coleman’s Second Career TD Run

On the next play, the Broncos run wide zone inside the 5-yard line. Coleman’s vision on this play is incredible. 

Left guard Ben Powers gets blown into the backfield at the point of attack, forcing Coleman to cut it back. Coleman puts his foot in the ground and gets north in a hurry, squeezing behind wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr., who does a good job at the second level to seal the lane to the end zone and help the Broncos take the lead. 

The Takeaway

You can watch these plays a hundred times, and it still won’t explain how the Broncos managed to turn it on so intensely when the game is on the line. They got some luck, some help from key penalties, great schemes and play designs, and cleaned up some execution errors. 

But it doesn’t explain why. There’s something about this team that is supernatural. It’s Mile High Magic. It’s football sorcery.

At the end of the day, though, the only thing that matters is the final score. I just really wish the Broncos' offense could figure it out earlier in the game.

My heart and nerves can’t handle too many more games like this one. 

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Lance Sanderson
LANCE SANDERSON

Lance Sanderson has been with Denver Broncos On SI since 2020, beginning on the beat originally in 2018 with Mile High Huddle. He covered the 2019 NFL draft on location in New York City. His works have also appeared on CBSSports.com, 247Sports.com, and BleacherReport.com. He co-hosts the Dove Valley Deep-Divers podcast on Mile High Huddle.

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