• A legitimate uptick in offensive production: The Broncos‘ offense was considerably more efficient and on schedule in the fourth quarter, which has been true all season.

• Performing better in crunch time: Nix’s passer rating climbs almost 24 points in the final frame, and his heroics were on display again.

• The Denver Broncos toppled the Houston Texans in Week 9: Dive into the PFF game recap for advanced stats, snap counts, early player grades and more!

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The 2025 NFL season has hardly disappointed. Across a myriad of frenetic finishes and surprise starts, certain motifs have emerged to be true.

Foremost among them: Never count out the Denver Broncos.

Indeed, Denver pulled another rabbit out of its hat in Houston’s NRG Stadium on Sunday. Although the Broncos trailed 15-7 entering the fourth quarter, the team scored 11 straight points — all in the final frame — to emerge with a consequential 18-15 victory over the playoff-hopeful Texans.

From a qualitative standpoint, it’s evident that Denver has a penchant for last-minute comebacks. After all, the team’s six-game winning streak has involved a miraculous, against-all-odds 33-point fourth quarter to beat the Giants, plus an 18-point last period to defeat the Eagles on the road. And as PFF data reveals, there’s actual truth to the idea that the Broncos have been a better team when the clock starts dwindling.

In Week 9, the Broncos’ offense had flatlined through the initial three quarters against a stout Houston defense. Denver averaged only 3.8 yards per play, recorded a 29.7% success rate and picked up eight first downs across the first 45 minutes of the action.

However, a flip was switched once the clock hit 15 minutes to go. In the just fourth quarter, Denver averaged 5.0 yards per play, upped its success rate to 42.3% and tallied seven first downs.

As has been true for most of 2025, the anchor behind that offensive revitalization was quarterback Bo Nix. Nix rose to the occasion yet again in crunch time in Week 9, propelling the Broncos 48 yards in 50 seconds en route to a game-winning field goal. On Denver’s last possession, Nix scrambled 25 yards to put Wil Lutz in initial field goal range, then tacked on an extra nine yards through the ground to solidify the victory.

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Nix’s game script paralleled that of the entire Bronco offense. Across the first three quarters on Sunday, Nix went 9-of-21 for 97 yards, a touchdown, an interception, two big-time throws and one turnover-worthy play — culminating in a 56.4 PFF passing grade. Yet in the fourth quarter, Nix completed 9-of-16 passes for 76 yards, a touchdown, a big-time throw and a turnover-worthy play, bumping his passing mark to 69.3.

More specifically, the table below reflects how Nix has been relatively more effective when pressure has amplified later in games this season.

Rank is among qualifiers in each situation

Although Nix’s raw individual numbers don’t necessarily augment drastically in the fourth quarter, the percentage of quarterbacks excelling in that period is lower — which makes his play more impressive. Consider that 81.2% of quarterbacks to play 150 or more snaps in the first three quarters boast a 65.0 overall PFF grade, compared to only 65.5% of gunslingers to reach that mark in the fourth quarter (minimum 75 snaps). In simpler terms, it’s tougher to play well in the fourth quarter, and Nix even keeping pace is meaningful.

It’s also important to note that Nix ties for the league lead in fourth-quarter snaps this year (185), and that a higher volume could also impact some of his metrics. Still, it appears as though that larger sample size has only rendered him more comfortable.

Like Nix, Denver’s entire offense seems to transform in the final 15 minutes of a game — morphing from a pedestrian one to one of the best in the NFL.

Now 7-2 and in command in the AFC West, the Broncos appear near a surefire bet to reach their second straight postseason. Denver’s defense remains one of the sport’s most pernicious units, although its offense has yet to smooth out in Nix’s second season.

Across the first three weeks of 2025, Denver endured two walk-off field goals to lose to the Colts and Chargers and fall to 1-2. Now, the polar opposite has been true. As multiple contests during the team’s six-game stretch have demonstrated, leading the Broncos late into the fourth quarter isn’t good enough.

Some regression may be expected in due time, but Nix and Denver are awfully difficult to squash until the very end of a game — a trait that makes the Broncos that much more lethal if they can proliferate their pixie dust.