Quarterback Joe Burrow produced three touchdowns in regulation play to put the Cincinnati Bengals in front of the Denver Broncos on Saturday. And each time, rookie quarterback Bo Nix threw a touchdown pass as the Broncos tied the score.

But Burrow’s fourth touchdown couldn’t be matched by Nix because the 3-yard TD toss to wide receiver Tee Higgins came with 1:07 left in overtime and gave the Bengals a 30-24 victory.

“A tough one to lose,” Denver coach Sean Payton said. “We had our opportunities. I’m proud of this team. It wasn’t perfect, but, man, the will to compete and answer, it’s pretty impressive. …

“It went back and forth, and in the end, we didn’t make enough plays. They did.”

Cincinnati’s victory kept the Bengals’ playoff chances alive by preventing Denver from clinching the only open spot remaining in the AFC postseason field.

The teams reached overtime because Nix threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Marvin Mims with eight seconds left in the fourth quarter.

On a fourth-and-1 snap, Nix connected with Mims in the end zone on the run while being pulled down by former Davidson High School standout Cedric Johnson.

“Honestly, it’s really fun,” Nix said. “It’s why you play this sport. You play for moments like this.

“We had our opportunities. We just didn’t finish.”

In overtime, the Broncos got a break when Cincinnati kicker Cade York drilled the football into the left upright on a 33-yard field-goal attempt with 2:43 remaining in the extra period.

But with a tie as good as a victory in the playoff picture for the Broncos, Denver couldn’t get a first down, and Cincinnati got another chance at its 37-yard line with 2:20 to play.

Nix completed 2-of-4 passes for 2 yards in overtime, with the incompletions coming on third-down throws. Burrow went 7-of-8 for 97 yards and one touchdown in overtime, including a 31-yard connection with Higgins on the snap before the game-ending touchdown.

“You play the whole game, you get to these opportunities and I got to hit those,” Nix said. “That’s what NFL quarterbacks do. I’m going to continue to work until I do hit those and not put my team in that position. I feel like I kind of let them down.”

Burrow completed 39-of-49 passes for 412 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. All the TD passes went to Higgins.

A former Pinson Valley High School and Auburn standout, Nix completed 24-of-31 passes for 219 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He also ran seven times for 31 yards.

Denver tied the game at 10-10 with 3:10 left in the third quarter on Nix’s 6-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Courtland Sutton.

The Broncos tied the game at 17-17 on Nix’s 51-yard touchdown pass to Mims with 8:48 remaining in the fourth quarter.

According to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Nix threw the football 67 yards to Mims in the end zone for the league’s second-longest air distance on a completion since Next Gen Stats started measuring that metric in 2016.

After that touchdown, the Broncos recovered a Cincinnati fumble at the Denver 40-yard line. But Nix squandered the opportunity to go ahead by getting intercepted by outside linebacker Germaine Pratt at the Bengals 41. Burrow’s 1-yard run gave Cincinnati a 24-17 lead with 1:29 to play.

Nix completed 5-of-6 passes and had a 7-yard scramble to account for all the yards as the Broncos moved 70 yards in 1:21 to send the game into overtime.

“The only good thing that comes out of games like this is you see us battle and you see us compete really hard,” Nix said. “At the end of the day, that’s what we talk about. Sometimes this game, if you compete really hard, you’ll fail and it’ll bring you flat on your face. But at least you’re out there competing and you’re not just kind of handing it over there to them and giving up. It creates a good team, and you won’t always be flat on your face. Eventually, you keep competing and you pull these games out.”

At 9-7, Denver will get another opportunity to clinch its first playoff spot since 2015 in its regular-season finale against the Kansas City Chiefs. Because Kansas City has clinched the No. 1 spot in the AFC playoffs, it remains to be seen what kind of team the Chiefs will put on the field for the game, which will be played on Jan. 4 or 5. (The NFL has not announced the times and dates for its 16 Week 18 games.)

Denver also could have clinched a playoff spot in its previous game, but the Broncos lost to the Los Angeles Chargers 34-27 on Dec. 19.

“It’s been like this for two weeks,” Nix said, “so we just got to put everything in it to go win the game.”

At 8-8, Cincinnati needs to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in its regular-season finale while the Broncos lose to Kansas City. And the Bengals also need the Miami Dolphins and the Indianapolis Colts to lose one of their remaining two games to complete their playoff requirements.

On Saturday, Burrow became the fourth player in NFL history with at least three touchdown passes in eight consecutive games and the first with at least 250 passing yards and three TD passes in eight consecutive games.

Nix became the fifth rookie quarterback with 3,000 passing yards and 25 touchdown passes, the third with at least nine games with two or more touchdown passes and the second with four consecutive road games with at least two TD passes and a passing-efficiency rating of 90 or higher.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.