Broncos starting quarterback Bo Nix hadn’t taken a regular-season snap since fracturing his ankle in the AFC Divisional Round last season. His return to the field Monday night at Arrowhead Stadium lasted three plays before it went sideways.
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Watching from the ManningCast alternate broadcast on ESPN2, Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning reacted as Nix’s third-down pass was intercepted by Chiefs rookie Mansoor Delane.
“Oh, no, no, no, no,” Manning said as the play unfolded.
From the first, the sequence was ugly. On the game’s first play, Nix was sacked; on the second, he ran the ball; and then on third down, he dropped back looking for wide receiver Courtland Sutton. Delane jumped the route and picked it off, giving the Chiefs the ball at the Denver 46-yard line.
Manning and his brother, former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, immediately dug into what went wrong on the coverage, and their read wasn’t especially kind to either side of the play.
“Heavy inside technique, a form of two-man where the corner’s going to trail,” Peyton explained before Eli corrected him, saying, “It’s not even two-man. It’s single high. He just kind of guesses. He almost trips into it.”
The Mannings landed on a conclusion that made the interception look worse for Denver, not better for Kansas City. Peyton pointed out that Delane essentially got lucky, because Sutton’s route played directly into the coverage the rookie happened to be guessing on.
“He’s lucky he ran the in route, because the trail technique without a safety help over the top, if you go deep, it’s going to be wide open,” Peyton said. “He really lucks out on that play.”
The interception also played directly into the challenge Broncos head coach Sean Payton had warned his offense about before kickoff. He pointed to Kansas City’s ability to change up its defensive looks and pressure the quarterback, which made an early mistake costly.
“I think we’re looking at it and expecting someone who’s 100 percent, someone who’s moving well based on what limited footage you get,” Payton said of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. “He’s going to be one of those guys that threatens you not only in the pocket, but out of the pocket.”
Delane, a rookie out of LSU, got the interception, and Kansas City made the most of the field position. Kenneth Walker carried the ball seven times for 32 yards on the drive, and Mahomes finished it with a 15-yard scramble for a 7-0 lead.
Mahomes was playing his first game since tearing his ACL and LCL in December, an injury that ended his 2025 season as the Chiefs stumbled to a 6-11 finish and missed the playoffs. Nix, meanwhile, was returning from an ankle fracture that kept him out of Denver’s AFC Championship loss to the New England Patriots after leading the Broncos to a 14-3 record and the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
Nix answered on Denver’s next possession. He went 5-of-5 for 55 yards, ending the drive with a touchdown pass to tight end Evan Engram to tie the game. Peyton acknowledged the response on the broadcast, but still viewed Delane’s interception as a fortunate break for the rookie.
“He should have guessed right,” Peyton said. “Pretty good start to his career, Eli.”
The stakes behind Monday’s opener made the early sequence matter. Denver had swept Kansas City in both meetings in 2025 and then won the AFC West for the first time in a decade, ending the Chiefs’ nine-year grip on the division. After throwing an interception on his first passing attempt, Nix had already given Denver an answer on the very next drive.