Bo Nix had just played the final snap of his rookie regular season when head coach Sean Payton found him on the sideline. They shared a couple of words and then a fist bump. There was no big celebration, no prolonged embrace. The meaning came through loud and clear. Sunday’s task: Complete. First real milestone for the Broncos’ duo: In the books. Satisfied with simply exceeding expectations in their first year together? Not a chance. Take Our Poll The Broncos’ eight-season playoff drought is mercifully over. They just had to win one of their final three games on the season to solidify their spot in the AFC postseason field and did so in their final chance Sunday by putting a 38-0 pounding on a Kansas City team playing without three future Hall of Famers and 13 regulars altogether. Denver gave the 76,489 on hand at Empower Field a celebration equal parts cathartic and rowdy and in the process ushered in a slew of firsts. RELATED: Renck: Broncos, Bo Nix prove they belong with emphatic playoff-clinching rout of Kansas City Chiefs First time to the postseason for the Walton-Penner ownership group, who received game balls from Payton in the postgame locker room. First time, too, for the team’s elder statesmen in left tackle Garett Bolles and receiver Courtland Sutton. Perhaps most compelling: A first time into the big dance for the Broncos’ coach and quarterback duo, who reckon they’re going to be doing this regularly for the foreseeable future. “Our goal wasn’t just to make the playoffs,” Nix said Sunday. “It hasn’t been done for a while, but it’s for a lot more than that. We’re excited for the opportunity. It’s going to be tough. “But we’ve got a game to play.” Bo Nix (10) of the Denver Broncos scrambles against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first quarter at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post) If the 24-year-old rookie felt any pressure entering Sunday’s must-win, he didn’t show it. Nix put together a clinic against a slew of Chiefs backups and role players. He and the Broncos offense romped up and down the field from the start. “The quarterback really got on a heater,” Payton said. Nix completed his first 18 passes, a franchise record to start the game, and only saw the ball hit the ground on the final offensive play of the first half when he missed a wide open Javonte Williams for what would have been a touchdown. “I’ll be upset for a while that I missed (completion) No. 19 to Javonte for a touchdown,” Nix said. The quarterback, though, finished his day 26 of 29 for a career-high 321 yards and four touchdowns. The Broncos converted 10 of 14 on third down, picked up two more conversions on fourth down and scored on six of Nix’s seven possessions. More than a gaudy stat line, Nix delivered what he has throughout his first NFL season: Belief, confidence and a swagger that players with much more experience gravitate toward. “It’s just all about playing hard, playing good and playing confident,” Nix said. “So when the guys need a throw or they need something, all I can do is provide it. They don’t really care about the words I use or all these cool speeches I could give. They just want to see me go out there and compete, play hard and win games.” Marvin Mims Jr. (19) of the Denver Broncos dives into the endzone for a touchdown as Cam Jones (44) of the Kansas City Chiefs rolls to the ground behind him during the thrid quarter at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post) This team was supposed to be in rebuilding mode. Las Vegas set Denver’s win total at 5.5. Many took the under. Nix never bought any of that. In large part because of the rookie quarterback — though Payton and general manager George Paton did terrific work in building out the roster with non-headline moves like defensive linemen John Franklin-Myers and Malcolm Roach, safety Brandon Jones and a quality rookie class — everybody else in the locker room thought they could surprise people, too. RELATED: Keeler: Broncos’ Garett Bolles on Shannon Sharpe, Jeff Saturday, Von Miller reunion in playoffs: “Sweetest moment I can think of” “I never wavered,” receiver Courtland Sutton said. “It was so funny, hearing all the things of, ‘The Broncos are going to win four games. Three games. Two games. This, this and that. Got a rookie quarterback, blah, blah, blah.’ I was like, ‘Man, they have no idea what we have in this locker room.’ The type of player that Bo is. Bo isn’t your average rookie.” Added left tackle Garett Bolles: “(Nix) talks and walks the walk at the same time. That’s all you can ask for, man.” Payton had conviction from the start that he and Paton would find a quarterback after taking on a record $85 million dead salary cap charge to jettison Russell Wilson this spring. The coach boasted about the team’s ability to evaluate the position long before they made Nix the sixth and final quarterback taken in the first round of April’s draft. He took, essentially, victory laps about their foresight regarding Nix before the quarterback had ever actually played a regular-season game. Nix didn’t throw his first touchdown pass until Week 4, but then he got rolling and so did Denver’s offense. By the time he fist-bumped Payton on the sideline Sunday afternoon and started thinking about next weekend’s Wild Card game at Buffalo, he’d thrown for 3,775 yards (66.3% completions) and 29 touchdowns, the second-most by a rookie in league history behind only Justin Herbert’s 31 in 2020. He’d rushed for 440 and four more touchdowns and even caught one, too. Nix has already proven to be exactly what the Broncos needed. In fact, in many ways he already is the Broncos. He’s ready sooner than expected. He’s more dynamic than people gave him credit for. And he’s planning on doing this for a long time. “You don’t have to be what people say you’re going to be,” Nix said, describing his franchise and himself simultaneously. What Nix and the Broncos are now is a playoff team. They say that’s just the starting point. “It’s a fun rollercoaster to ride,” Sutton said. “(Nix) has so much more. This is only the beginning. This isn’t a farewell to Bo’s rookie season, man. He’s got a lot more in the tank.” Bo Nix (10) of the Denver Broncos stands on the field after the fourth quarter of the Broncos’ 38-0 win over the Kansas City Chiefs at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post) Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.