In his first road game against an AFC West rival, Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix nearly delivered a victory over the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

Nix completed all five of his passes, including two third-down throws, as the Broncos moved into position for a 35-yard field-goal attempt on the game’s final snap. Kansas City blocked the kick to hold on for a 16-14 victory.

Denver coach Sean Payton said his rookie quarterback acquitted himself well his first trip to Arrowhead Stadium, and he wasn’t the only one who thought so. The former Pinson Valley High School and Auburn standout was the NFL Rookie of the Week for Week 10 of the 2024 season.

“There are these steps,” Payton said on Wednesday. “There’ll be some more adversity, but there is a poise with him. I think his teammates in the huddle talk about it. The third-down play was significant because right at that moment, then we controlled everything — the clock, the game.

“It was funny after the game, you’re going across the field, and I see (Kansas City coach) Andy (Reid) and a few of the other guys. I see (Chiefs quarterback) Patrick (Mahomes) and know him, and he just turned to me and said, ‘You got one.’ I think he told Bo, ‘We’re going to have a lot of good games.’ That’s something coming from him.

“And so we continue to look at the things that he does well and try to feature those things as he progresses into some of the things that he’s going to need to do. Yeah, we’re really encouraged.”

Nix completed 22-of-30 passes for 215 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions against Kansas City, but he said winning earns the most respect.

“I mean, that kind of stuff is awesome,” Nix said. “That’s a fortunate part of playing the game and competing against the guys that have been doing it on the stage for so long, and it’s an honor. But at the same time, those are the games that you got to continue to play and continue to compete in and ultimately win and you get guys like that, their respect. And then when you get their respect, it’s a special thing for you. It’s not something to be complacent about. But you feel like you’re on the right track and you’re doing the right things.”

Sunday’s loss was the second in a row for the Broncos.

“As soon as that game ended and we’re going in the locker room,” Nix said, “I was on to the next one and I couldn’t wait to get back on the field and play again, so that’s really my mindset right now. And we come out here to practice and everybody’s got that mindset. Just kind of a little bit ticked off with how it ended, and rightfully so. We all hate losing. We got a competitive team. We didn’t like how it ended, so we want to make sure that we avoid that at all costs moving forward. But we’re all excited to get back to Sunday.”

On Sunday, the Broncos will play the Atlanta Falcons at 3:05 p.m. CST at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver.

At 5-5, the Broncos occupy the final spot in the AFC playoff standings. At 6-4, the Falcons hold the top spot in the NFC South.

“Every game we walk out to and prepare for is the next most-important game,” Nix said, “and the next one is going to be even more important than that. But right now, what we have in front of us is we have one game on Sunday that we have to go out there and perform and play well and compete at a high level.

“And I mean, honestly, whether it’s at home or on the road, it doesn’t matter. The next one’s just as important. Obviously, we want to play well at home. That needs to be a staple for this franchise is playing good at home. But it’s the next game, so whatever we have to do to go into this next game and prepare and just give your teammates just a little bit more and give this team, give this organization just a little bit more so that we don’t have to go through what we did against Sunday and we get these wins.

“And it’s a streak league. So you win one and you can build off of it and you can continue to do that and you never know how you’ll shape up once it gets to the end of the season, and you look up and you’re making a good playoff run.”

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