DENVER, COLORADO - DECEMBER 14: Jordan Love #10 of the Green Bay Packers warms up before the game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field At Mile High on December 14, 2025 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER - Bo Nix tied his career high with four touchdown throws and Denver's defense stifled Jordan Love in the second half of the Broncos' 34-26 win Sunday over the Green Bay Packers, who lost star Micah Parsons to a knee injury.
With their NFL-best 11th consecutive victory, the Broncos (12-2) clinched a playoff berth and moved a game ahead of New England for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. They stayed two games ahead of the Los Angeles Chargers in the AFC West.
The Packers (9-4-1), who led 23-14 in the third quarter before falling apart offensively, slipped a half-game behind Chicago ahead of their Soldier Field showdown with the Bears next weekend. This was Green Bay's first loss by more than three points.
Denver cornerbacks Pat Surtain II and Riley Moss recorded their first interceptions of the season, the Broncos sacked Jordan Love three times and Denver held the Packers to just one touchdown in four trips into the red zone.
After scoring on their first five drives, the Packers managed one field goal in their final half-dozen possessions. The others ended in a pair of picks, two turnovers on downs and a punt.
Former Broncos kicker Brandon McManus kicked field goals of 56, 23 and 35 yards to help the Packers take a 16-14 halftime lead, which they quickly stretched to 23-14 on Josh Jacobs' 40-yard touchdown run following a debatable pass interference flag on Moss.
Denver's defense finally got a stop when Surtain intercepted Love's deep throw to Christian Watson, who suffered a chest injury on the play.
The Broncos turned that takeaway into points when Nix drove Denver 71 yards on seven plays, hitting Courtland Sutton from 14 yards out to pull the Broncos within 23-21.
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Nix's 23-yard pass to Troy Franklin put the Broncos ahead for good at 27-23 and R.J. Harvey, who suffered a rib injury, capped the scoring with a 4-yard TD run.
In the first half, Love threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jacobs one play after Broncos coach Sean Payton declined a holding penalty that would have pushed the Packers back to the Denver 24.
The Broncos responded with their second straight touchdown drive, the payoff coming on a perfectly placed 5-yard throw from Nix to Lil'Jordan Humphrey that gave Denver a 14-13 lead.
Earlier, Franklin was mistakenly ruled down at the Green Bay 7 even though his knees never hit the grass as he broke tackles and rambled into the end zone. Nix made sure it didn't matter by finding fullback Michael Bandy for a 20-yard touchdown reception that erased Green Bay's 6-0 lead.
Parsons, who stripped Harvey at midfield on Denver's opening drive, sustained a non-contract injury with 44 seconds left in the third quarter. He had a clear shot at Nix but pulled up and grabbed his left knee before tumbling to the ground.
As he was being tended to by trainers, several Broncos players went up to him with comforting words before he headed to the locker room to be evaluated.
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Scoring summary
By the numbers:
FOX6 News will update this scoring summary with help from FOX Sports as the game unfolds.
1st quarter
- 7:06 - B.McManus 53 yard field goal attempt is good, Center-M.Orzech, Holder-D.Whelan. Packers 7, Broncos 6
2nd quarter
- 4:35 - J.Love pass short left complete. Catch made by J.Jacobs for 14 yards. TOUCHDOWN.
- 4:29 - B.McManus extra point is good. Packers 13, Broncos 7
3rd quarter
- 9:11 - B.Nix pass short right complete. Catch made by C.Sutton for 14 yards. TOUCHDOWN. Packers 23, Broncos 21
- 0:06 - B.Nix pass deep left complete. Catch made by T.Franklin for 23 yards. TOUCHDOWN. Packers 26, Broncos 27
4th quarter
- 7:32 - R.Harvey rushed right end for 4 yards. TOUCHDOWN.
- 7:27 - W.Lutz extra point is good. Packers trail Broncos 34-26
Head-to-head
The backstory:
The Packers and Broncos are an even 7-7-1 when meeting in the regular season. Green Bay has won four of the last six but is 1-7 at Denver, the only victory coming in 2007. The Broncos won the last game, 19-17 at home in 2023.
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Super Bowl XXXII was the most significant game between the teams. Denver won 31-24, giving the franchise its first Super Bowl victory.
Packers kicker Brandon McManus played nine seasons for the Broncos and won Super Bowl 50 with the team. Linebacker Kristian Welch played for the Broncos in 2024, and running back Emanuel Wilson entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the team in 2023 – but never played in a game.
Tight end Marcedes Lewis, who played five seasons with Green Bay, is now with Denver.
Broncos offensive lineman Quinn Meinerz is from Hartford and played college football at UW-Whitewater. Linebacker Jordan Turner played four seasons at Wisconsin.
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Jim Leonhard, Denver's assistant head coach and defensive pass game coordinator, also played – and coached – for the Badgers. He is from Tony, Wisconsin.
The Source: Information in this post was provided by FOX Sports, the Green Bay Packers and The Associated Press.