Denver Broncos - Buffalo Bills Playoff Rematch Set for Divisional Round
The Buffalo Bills beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-24 but not before sustaining some bumps, bruises and injuries. The Broncos now can exact revenge for last year’s playoff loss.
The Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills are set for a playoff rematch in the Divisional Round.
Denver, sitting at 14-3 after their sensational regular season, waited and watched at home as four AFC teams went head-to-head in the Wild Card round.
After the Bills beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-24 on Sunday afternoon, the Chargers lost 16-3 to the New England Patriots, meaning Buffalo is the lowest remaining seed and will be in the Mile High City next weekend.
The Broncos would have rather played the No. 7 seed Chargers, but instead they get the 6-seed Bills and the always dangerous Josh Allen.
Denver now has a chance at revenge against the Bills, who ended the Broncos season last year in the Wild Card round in Buffalo, with a 31-7 win.
Buffalo Bills come back twice in 4th quarter to beat the Jags
The Jacksonville Jaguars were the hottest team in the NFL, winners of 8 straight games, but the Bills outlasted them.
The 3-point victory was Josh Allen's first-ever road playoff win, and the Bills' first road playoff win in 33 years.
Neither the Jags nor the Bills played their best games. But that's postseason football. When everyone is pushing to do their best at all times the entire game.
Trevor Lawrence was pushing too hard at times, including his 1st quarter interception. But the Bills offense stalled and could only convert it into a field goal.
Then, Jacksonville got it going. Bhashul Tuten ran wild three times in a row for a total of 47 yards and T-Law hit Brian Thomas for the go-ahead score.
The Bills fumbled the ensuing kickoff, but Jacksonville couldn't convert any points as they went for it on 4th down and Lawrence was stopped short on the Buffalo 9 yard line.
Finally, the Bills got it rolling. Allen connected with Keon Coleman on a 36-yard pass and the giant quarterback ran the touchdown in. Although, he grabbed his left knee after the score; his left foot planted in the ground and his knee seemed to hyperextend, although he was fine to continue playing.
[Highlight] Josh Allen rushes for TD to take the lead
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Later, Jacksonville's Cam Little missed a 54-yard field goal—doinked it of the left upright—and Buffalo led 10-7 at halftime.
Both teams exchanged field goals in a slow third quarter before the fourth quarter fireworks.
Once in the game's final frame, the Jags and Bills went punch for punch.
Jacksonville scored a touchdown—Lawrence to Parker Washington—and Buffalo marched down to score their own—Allen to Dalton Kincaid.
Then they each scored again. Lawrence hit Washington on a deep ball and connected with Travis Etienne in the end zone to take the 24-20 lead.
Then Allen hit Brandin Cooks on a monstrous 36-yard pass and eventually ran in his second score of the day to steal the lead back at 27-20.
Those four straight touchdown drives, and four lead changes came to a halt when Lawrence threw his second pick of the day to seal the Bills win.
Rich Kurtzman
Buffalo Bills are weaker than any time since Josh Allen's second season
The Bills looked very beatable on Sunday. They fumbled the kickoff return, and had to settle for field goals twice when penalties set them up in 3rd-and-long situations.
That included the interception at Jacksonville's 33 yard line. They went a mere one yard in four plays. Give the Jags defense credit, but the Bills usually find a way to score a touchdown when they get the ball in opposing territory.
On top of that, the No. 1 rushing team looked mediocre against the Jaguars. Granted, the Jags were the No. 1 rush defense this year, but James Cook was stymied at the line of scrimmage. He and Allen combined for a mere 79 yards and a mediocre 3.0 yards per carry average.
Injuries abound
Josh Allen took a complete beating in the Wild Card win. First, he was tackled by the helmet on a run attempt, no call, and his left ear was bloodied. His head was landed on twice, too.
[Highlight] The double hit on Josh Allen (who was later evaluated for a head injury)
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Later in the first half, he banged his hand on a teammate's helmet while completing a pass. He shook it multiple times on the ensuing plays, including the aforementioned first touchdown run. Where he was hit backwards as his foot was stuck in the turf.
Plus, Allen already had the injured right foot from the Week 17 Cleveland game.
“Now we have a chance to do it again," said Allen after the win. “Feels good. Feels good. At the same time, it just means we get another game.”
Allen's a warrior, but there's no doubt he's been taking a beating the last three weeks. That should play to Denver's advantage, even if he expectedly guts through the pain and plays.
Besides Allen, wide receiver Gabe Davis left the game on a cart in the fourth quarter with a knee injury. That was on top of Josh Palmer being scratched from today's game before it kicked off.
Buffalo's receiving corps is decimated by injuries, and while Khalil Shakir led the team with 12 catches for 82 yards, they're hurting for production. Denver's best-in-the-league cornerbacks should be able to slow them down significantly next week.
Finally, safety Jordan Poyer was ruled out in the second half with a hamstring injury.
The Bills defense is already a liability this year, and being without Poyer would be a huge issue for them against the Broncos.
Josh Allen is the X-factor
This may be his weakest team since his second season—the defense is 12th in scoring at 21.7 points per game—but Allen is always the X-factor.
Even with all the early bumps and bruises, Allen put the Bills on his back and he carried them to the win.
Not only did he run a second touchdown in, the game-winner, but the play before he ran 10 yards on a 4th and 1 from the Jacksonville 11. He and the offensive line pushed and bullied the Jags on what should've been a 2-yard run.
And even despite all the receiver injuries, Allen was extremely efficient; he went 28-35 (80%) for 273 yards and a touchdown. The offense went 7-14 (50%) on 3rd downs, and 2-2 on 4th downs, and he was sacked only once all game long.
The Broncos' best pass rush in the NFL will have to not only put pressure on Allen, but also contain him and not let the brute run all over them.
In last year's playoff game, Denver only sacked him twice and he escaped a sack on a 4th down to throw an incredible, backbreaking touchdown.
[Highlight] Josh Allen to Ty Johnson who makes an unreal catch in the back of the end zone for TD
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These Broncos are better, while the Bills are worse than they were last year. Especially on defense.
That's why Denver's offense is going to have to play one of their best games of the year on Saturday, Jan. 17 to beat the Bills.
The Broncos defense will have the advantage when the Bills pass in terms of personnel. Denver's playmakers in the defensive backfield far outnumber the Bills' receivers, even with their two talented tight ends. Where the Broncos will be tested on defense is when the Bills run the ball. If Denver can slow Cook down, like the Jags did today, it will make for an extremely close game.
That is, if Bo Nix and the offense come to play.
Nix can't turn the ball over—like Lawrence did today with 2 INTs—while still making the Bills pay with some intermediate and deep passing. Plus, R.J. Harvey needs to punish Buffalo's sad, sorry run defense.
Last year, when the Broncos were the No. 7 seed and facing Buffalo in Orchard Park, Sean Payton dialed up a bomb on the first drive. It worked and Denver led 7-0 early. Then, despite being within 3 points at halftime, the Broncos went super conservative offensively. They ran, ran, passed on multiple drives, allowing the Bills to take momentum and steamroll Denver.
That was with a rookie quarterback and far fewer playmakers offensively.
This Broncos team is different. Nix has taken steps forward, Harvey is a versatile threat, and Troy Franklin has grown a lot this year, too.
The Bills present a truly tough task in the Divisional Round. But, this is a game the Broncos can win.
As of Sunday night, the Bills are 1.5-point favorites despite Denver playing at home at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium.
Buffalo has all the experience and the best quarterback left in the playoffs.
But Denver has the homefield advantage and a much-improved team compared to last year's playoff meeting with the Bills.
It's the Broncos' time to shine.
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