Denver climbs to third in power rankings but faces a playoff rematch with Josh Allen's Bills. Can their pass rush contain him?
The No. 1 seed Denver Broncos know their Divisional Round opponent. It is Josh Allen and the No. 6 seed Buffalo Bills, as they defeated Trevor Lawrence and the No. 3 seed Jacksonville Jaguars.
Allen and the Bills knocked the Broncos out of the playoffs a year ago, so this might not be the opponent Denver was hoping for.
There are plenty of questions, including whether or not the Broncos' offense can answer the call against the Bills.
Still, there is a lot of hope for the Broncos, and for good reason after they finished 14-3.
Eric Edholm of NFL.com released new power rankings, and he had the Broncos at No. 3 behind the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots, respectively.
"The Broncos watched over their bye and saw the AFC's No. 3 seed removed from the tournament with Jacksonville's loss. Meanwhile, the conference's No. 2 seed, New England, struggled to score 16 points in its playoff opener. So, for all the handwringing there has been about whether the Broncos truly are top-seed worthy -- and yes, I've been among the mild doubters -- the big picture looks pretty good. However, what matters is the here and now, and that means the Broncos facing Josh Allen, who just completed a hop-on-my-shoulders performance in Jacksonville and who could give a very good Denver defense problems."
Broncos Pass Rush Could Frustrate The Bills
There is no doubt Allen can give the Broncos defense problems, and, after all, he did exactly that a year ago.
So, it will be up to the Denver pass rush to frustrate Allen and force him into quick throws or turnovers, as Edholm wrote.
"The Broncos' pass rush could be a problem for the Bills, but Allen's out-of-structure playmaking should give Denver some issues, too. Buffalo also defends the pass well, so the Broncos must find ways to penetrate what has been a leaky run defense. If they can do that and keep Allen under wraps, they can host the AFC Championship Game."
The Broncos having home-field advantage is a big boost that they didn't have a year ago, and it could be a big difference maker this time around.
Still, there are plenty of questions and headlines with this game, and it is the first game of the Divisional Round with kickoff on Saturday in Denver and the winner moving on to the AFC Championship Game against the Texans-Patriots winner.