ENGLEWOOD — Broncos quarterback Bo Nix explained a significant area of improvement in his second NFL season.

“I’m seeing the game drastically different than what I did even last year,” Nix said following Tuesday practice at Broncos Park. “I was learning a lot, and even though football is football, there are different tendencies. There are different things in the league you just never see, and you never get. I feel like I’m seeing the field really well right now, meshing it with our game plan, and getting to what we need to get to and making sure the plays are run efficiently.”

Nix enters Week 17 on Thursday against the Chiefs after an impressive first in his NFL career: back-to-back games with 300 yards passing. Nix has been especially accurate over his last five starts with a .67 completion percentage. Nix credited his growing relationship with coach Sean Payton.

“Coach has just put me in spots to throw it early and be aggressive early. Take some shots down the field and start drives with a few passes. Just sort of be aggressive. … Not even finished year two, he’s still probably learning some things as a play caller,” Nix said. “I think we’ll just continue to get better and better. … He’s just trusted me and put me in good chances to succeed throwing it. That’s all you can ask for as a player. It’s my job to help the coach out and protect his calls.”

The Broncos (12-3) are coming off their first loss since September. Nix is hopeful it provides fuel to beat a reeling Chiefs (6-9) team on Thursday night in Kansas City.

“I think we just have to look in the mirror and fix things,” Nix said. “We have the team that we’re going to be able to fix things faster because of a loss. I’m excited to see what we do in response to that.”

QB Oladokun: “I’m super excited”

Chiefs third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun will start on Thursday against the Broncos with starter Patrick Mahomes and backup Gardner Minshew suffering ACL injuries.

Oladokun was a seventh-round draft pick (South Dakota State) in 2021 by the Steelers. The Chiefs signed him to their practice squad in 2022. Oladokun replaced Minshew last week in a Kansas City road loss to the Titans. He completed 11 of 16 passes for 111 yards and got sacked four times.

Oladokun spoke with Chiefs media during a Tuesday news conference ahead of his first NFL start.

“It’s definitely been crazy,” Oladokun told reporters in Kansas City. “Stuff happens fast in the league; people always say that. It’s definitely just been a lot of preparation getting ready for this game. I’m super excited to go out there and show the world what I’ve got. … We know we’re facing a great opponent in Denver. One of the best teams in the league right now.”

Cornerback Pat Surtain discussed how the defense will prepare for Oladokun instead of Mahomes.

“It’s different, for sure,” Surtain said. “Not having a great player in Mahomes out there. … It’s quite the adjustment. But we’re preparing the right way, game-planning the right way, and focusing on what’s ahead.”

Injury updates

The Broncos placed defensive back Delarrin Turner-Yell on the practice squad injured list on Tuesday, per the NFL’s transactions wire. Turner-yell suffered a knee injury on Sunday in a Week 16 home loss to the Jaguars. He had not played in a regular-season game since a torn ACL in December 2023.

There were no changes in the injury report between Monday to Tuesday from practice at Broncos Park.

Four players were listed non-participants: tight end Nate Adkins (knee), wide receiver Pat Bryant (concussion), linebacker Dre Greenlaw (hamstring) and center Luke Wattenberg (shoulder).

Four players with injury designations were listed as full participants: cornerback Riley Moss (ankle), left guard Ben Powers (biceps), linebacker Karene Reid (hamstring) and linebacker Justin Strnad (foot).

Briefly

Right guard Quinn Meinerz is looking forward to the final two games of the regular season. He said: “Everything is at stake for us. We’ve put ourselves in a really good position here. To be playing extremely important and meaningful games in December. It’s extremely important to win these games, secure the No. 1 seed and the AFC West. These are the things that you start out (the season) thinking about.” … Safety Talanoa Hufanga is looking forward to facing the Chiefs on Christmas Day. Hufanga said: “I’m excited. For me, personally, it’s cool because I get three days off after (Christmas). So, three days to spend with my family and my kids.” … Five Chiefs players were listed Tuesday on their injury report as non-participants in practice: CB Trent McDuffie (knee), WR Nikko Remigio (knee), WR Rashee Rice (concussion), WR Tyquan Thornton (concussion) and Jaylen Watson (groin).