Bo Nix one-score games record
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The gist
Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers 26-21 for a 17th straight one-score win with Bo Nix starting.
The streak broke a record held by Patrick Mahomes' Chiefs, the longest since 1950.
Background
Bo Nix is the Denver Broncos' third-year quarterback, described in coverage as a technically divisive player at his position. Denver had gone 1-6 in games decided by one score in 2024, then went 16-2 in such regular-season games from the start of the 2025 season, a turnaround that has coincided with Kansas City going 3-10 in one-score games since being 11-0 in 2024. The streak became a record chase in November 2026 as Denver kept winning close games, tying then passing marks set by Peyton Manning's Colts and Patrick Mahomes' Chiefs.
How it unfolded
- Sep 27, 2026Denver overcame a 10-point deficit to beat Jacksonville, the 50th fourth-quarter comeback of coach Sean Payton's career and Nix's seventh.
- Nov 1, 2026The Broncos trailed Kansas City 24-13 in the fourth quarter at Mile High and won 28-24, their 15th straight one-score win, tying an NFL record. Nix threw for 222 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
- Nov 4, 2026Reporting noted Nix had 12 fourth-quarter comebacks and 15 game-winning drives in 42 starts, the most for any quarterback at that point in his career.
- Nov 7, 2026Denver's run reached 16 straight one-score wins, tying the 2023-24 Chiefs with Mahomes for the longest since 1950; Denver's last such loss was 23-20 at the Chargers in Week 3 of the 2025 season.
- Nov 8, 2026The 26-21 win over Carolina, helped by a key turnover, was Denver's 17th straight one-score win with Nix starting, breaking the Chiefs' record; Denver improved to 7-2.
Key terms
- one-score win
- A set score meaning the set was won in a tiebreak by 7 points to 6, with the loser scoring 5 points in the tiebreak.
- fourth-quarter comeback
- A sports team or athlete overcoming a points deficit during the final quarter to win the game.
Source: Wikipedia
Who’s saying what
- Coach
- Sean Payton said part of the streak "pisses me off" because some of those games shouldn't have been one-score games, and that the team still has work to do.
- Player
- Nix said the 7-2 Broncos feel really confident but still have a lot of things they can get better at.
- Analysts
- Coverage framed Nix as the most clutch quarterback candidate, citing his 15 game-winning drives as the most for any quarterback in his first three seasons.
Still unverified
A statistical database (PFR) credits the Browns with 6 game-winning drives despite only 5 wins, attributing a game-winning drive to two different quarterbacks, Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson, for the same game; the author wrote he had never seen that before.