A victory in Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Kansas City Chiefs will put the Denver Broncos in the AFC playoffs, and they are well on their way after quarterback Bo Nix’s third touchdown pass of the first half made him 17-of-17 for the contest and gave them a 21-0 lead.

But the 3-yard touchdown pass was a lot more complicated than the stat line of 3 yards to wide receiver Devaughn Vele with 6:46 left in the first half.

Nix’s pass was intended for Adam Trautman at the back of the end zone. But the Denver tight end couldn’t quite get his mitts on it. Two Kansas City defenders did touch the football, however, but that only served to keep it from going out of bounds until it fell into the Vele’s hands.

The touchdown pass was Nix’s 18th on the Broncos’ home field – Empower Field at Mile High – and broke the NFL record for the most home TD passes by a rookie quarterback.

Russell Wilson with the Seattle Seahawks in 2012 and C.J. Stroud with the Houston Texans in 2023 threw 17 touchdowns apiece in home games during their rookie seasons to share the record before Sunday.

Nix is a former All-State quarterback at Pinson Valley High School who started for three seasons at Auburn.

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