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The Broncos got two big wins in one on Sunday.
By taking down the Packers 34-26 at home, Denver (12-2) not only clinched a playoff berth but also moved into first place in the AFC with three weeks left in the regular season. The victory Sunday plus the Patriots’ loss to the Bills moved the Broncos, who’ve now won 11 straight games, into the No. 1 seed.
With their loss, which snapped their four-game winning streak, the Packers (9-4-1) drop from NFC North leaders to the No. 7 seed.
Here are my takeaways:
1. Parsons goes down with non-contact injury
Packers superstar edge rusher Micah Parsons went down with a non-contact knee injury in the last minute of the third quarter, with what is believed to be a torn ACL — a devastating blow to Green Bay’s Super Bowl hopes.
The two-time All-Pro defender was rushing at Broncos quarterback Bo Nix on a pass attempt when he took an awkward step with his left leg and fell to the ground in pain holding his knee. Packers coach Matt LaFleur came onto the field to check on Parsons as he was being tended to by Green Bay’s athletic staff.
He was able to walk off to the locker room on his own power, but the Packers later ruled him out of the game with the knee injury.
Micah Parsons walks off the field with a knee injury during the third quarter against the Broncos on Sunday. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
Unfortunately for Green Bay, Parsons isn’t the only Packer to suffer an injury on Sunday. Christian Watson, who’s been the Packers’ leading receiver since making his season debut in Week 8, left the game with a chest injury and starting safety Evan Williams suffered a knee injury.
2. Exceptional performance by Nix
Bo Nix put together his best performance of the season in Denver’s biggest game of the year to this point. The second-year quarterback completed 67.6% of his passes for 303 yards and four touchdowns, tying a career-high, with a 134.8 passer rating, a season-high. He also had two fourth-down conversions in the second half, one with his legs and the other with his arm that set up the Broncos’ final touchdown.
It was the most complete performance of the season for Nix and the Broncos’ offense, which has underwhelmed and been inconsistent for large portions of the year. In the biggest game of 2025 yet, Denver got 391 yards and five touchdowns from its offense.
3. Red-zone struggles, miscues doom Packers
Green Bay entered Sunday with the NFL’s second-best red-zone touchdown rate (68.1%), but it went 1-of-4 on drives that ended inside the 20 against Denver.
Midway through the fourth quarter, with the Broncos facing a third-and-short at the 8-yard line, an offside penalty on Packers defensive end Kingsley Enagbare gifted Denver a fresh set of downs inside the goal line. The Broncos turned that into their fifth and final touchdown of the day, which put Denver up 34-26.
The Broncos also turned Jordan Love’s third-quarter interception into a touchdown drive, and the Packers quarterback threw a costly second pick with 6:38 left in the game. The pass was thrown a bit behind the intended target, receiver Dontayvion Wicks, on a potential game-tying possession.
4. Jacobs impresses in loss
Packers star running back Josh Jacobs had 92 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns on 14 touches.
Late in the second quarter, he hauled in a 14-yard pass in the end zone, using the upper body of the defender in coverage — linebacker Dre Greenlaw — to secure the ball and got two feet in bounds before barreling out of bounds. It marked the second receiving touchdown of Jacobs’ six-plus year career.
Early in the third quarter, the former first-round pick took a handoff 40 yards to the house, Jacobs’ longest run of the season.
4 ½. What’s next?
The Packers play Saturday night next week, traveling to Chicago for their highly-anticipated rematch with the Bears (10-4), whom they beat in Week 14. The winner will have a leg up for the NFC North crown. Green Bay will host Baltimore (7-7) the following week before ending the regular season at Minnesota in Week 18.
The Broncos welcome the playoff-hopeful Jaguars (10-4) to Empower Field at Mile High next Sunday before playing at Kansas City on Thursday Night Football in Week 17. Denver will end the regular season at home against the Chargers in Week 18.
Ben Arthur is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.
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