The Denver Broncos edged the Buffalo Bills, 33-30 in a wild divisional-round overtime thriller that featured enough comebacks, great plays and thrilling drives to make this one both epic and memorable as quarterbacks Josh Allen and Bo Nix battled down to the wire.
For Denver, this game didn’t start out epically at all. The first quarter was basically a bad Broncos rerun—i.e., a long, deliberate drive that stalled in the red zone, followed by an opposition drive that wasted the time-consuming opening show. Broncos kicker Wil Lutz opened the scoring with a 28-yard field goal, and Josh Allen countered with a 4-yard touchdown pass to receiver Mecole Hardman to put Buffalo up, 7-3.
After that things got interesting in a hurry. An unlikely touchdown pass to lineman Frank Crum (!) after a fumble by Buffalo running back James Cook III put the Broncos up 10-7, and a 33-yard field goal by Buffalo kicker Matt Prater tied it at 10-10.
The two teams continued to battle back and forth until just before the half, when a sudden series of Buffalo turnovers temporarily put Denver in control. The Bills turned the ball over again with two more fumbles in a span of three snaps, allowing the Broncos to score 10 unanswered points to go into the half leading 20-10.
The lead didn’t last, despite yet another fumble that put Denver in the red zone with a chance to take control of the game. But the Broncos couldn’t take advantage of the Bills’ generosity, and a 33-yard field goal by Lutz made it 23-10.
At that point Buffalo took over, with a one-two punch that featured big plays from Allen and gashing runs by Cook. Allen threw two touchdown passes to make it 24-23, the first a 10-yard strike to receiver Keon Coleman, the second a 14-yard toss to tight end Dalton Kincaid.
The Denver offense continued to struggle after that with Nix under constant pressure, and another Prater field goal made it 27-23, Bills, with just over four minutes left. Nix countered with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Mims Jr., after which Allen led yet another comeback drive that ended in a Prater field goal from 41 yard out to tie the game at 30-30 and send it to overtime.
The overtime featured more back and forth initially. The Broncos got a first down but had to punt after their would-be drive stalled, and the Bills posted a series of first downs that featured Allen making a series of clutch third-down plays. Just when it looked like Buffalo was going to drive for the winning field goal, a long Allen toss to receiver Brandin Cooks was intercepted by Ja'Quan McMillian after Cooks seemingly had possession, but McMillian wrestled it away as the two players hit the ground together.
The Broncos got aggressive after that. Running back RJ Harvey broke open a short pass to gain 24 yards, and Denver's subsequent shots down the field were rewarded with a pair of pass-interference penalties. The second of the two PIs on cornerback Tre'Davious White was the one that broke Buffalo's back, setting up a chip-shot field goal by Lutz from 23 yards out to win the game.
Statistically, Allen and Nix ended up close to even as they went toe-to-toe, with Allen finishing 25-of-39 for 283 yards with 3 TD passes and two interceptions, while Nix went 26-of-35 for three TD passes and a single pick. The Buffalo rushing game was far more powerful, with Cook finishing with 117 yards on 24 carries, with Allen adding another 66 yards on 12 rushes, although Allen's two lost fumbles were crucial blows.
For Denver, the familiar theme in this one was survival in the clutch. The Broncos were outplayed for much of this game, but the Broncos did what they’ve done throughout the season, which was to make just enough plays to win. They’ll host the winner of tomorrow’s game between the Houston Texans and New England Patriots for the AFC championship, and earning the top seed turned out to be every bit as important as coach Sean Payton thought it would be.
Buffalo, meanwhile, lost this game on penalties and turnovers. Allen was spectacular, as usual, but he was able to overcome nearly all of his unexpected turnovers. And while it’s somewhat unfortunate that this one was decided on PI penalties, the Bills once again have only themselves to blame for yet another season-ending loss.