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ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK – JANUARY 12: Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills and Bo Nix #10 of the Denver Broncos meet on the field after their game during the AFC Wild Card Playoffs at Highmark Stadium on January 12, 2025 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)

Just minutes after the Divisional Round matchups were announced, the Denver Broncos disrespect showed up right away. 

As NBC Sports noted, despite being the No. 1 seed, being 14-3 and playing at home off a bye, the Broncos have opened as 1.5-point underdogs against the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round on Saturday. 

Let that sink in. 

Denver has earned the bye and owns home-field advantage through the playoffs. And somehow Vegas is still disrespecting them. 

As one analyst bluntly put it, “Time to be the overdogs again.” 

That line sums up the entire Broncos season. 

They continue to win games, stack major results, and prove that they are one of the league’s best teams each week. 

Yet fans, the media and now even the Vegas odds have continued to doubt them all year.

The Broncos will have to rise above the disrespect once again, something they’ve done all season while continuing to prove the doubters wrong. 

No. 1 Seeds Are Almost Never Underdogs  

If the line holds, the Denver Broncos would be just the fourth No. 1 seed in the last four decades to be listed as an underdog in the Divisional Round after a bye. 

The other three? All won. 

The 2017 Eagles, 2011 49ers, and 1996 Panthers were all underdogs despite earning a bye and all three won.

But the disrespect has been nothing new for this Broncos group. 

Denver was home underdogs against both the Chiefs and Packers this season and won both of those games. They will look to replicate those performances on Saturday. 

What makes this opening line even more puzzling is that Denver in January, with the altitude and conditions, is widely considered one of the toughest environments in the entire league.

Since the start of the 2024 season, Denver has lost just three home games and only one game this season. 

These numbers show why Empower Field is considered one of the toughest home-field advantages in the entire NFL. 

A Bills Rematch With Everything Flipped

There is another layer to this fascinating matchup. 

Last year, the Bills ended Denver’s season in the Wild Card round in Buffalo. 

The Broncos learned from that loss and left that game knowing exactly what they needed to change to put themselves back in this position.

After the Wild Card loss to the Bills last season, head coach Sean Payton looked around Highmark Stadium late in the loss and thought:

“We need to find a way to play this game at home.”

Well, here it is. 12 months later and a shot at redemption on their home turf. 

This time, Buffalo has to travel, Denver has the bye and the Broncos get the crowd, the altitude, and the chance to flip the script and quiet the disrespect. 

The Bills are a good team with playoff experience who also just had a great road win in Jacksonville today. 

But the idea that the No. 1 seed should open as a home underdog says more about perception than reality. 

The Broncos have heard it all year, and every time, they’ve responded the same way. They will get one more chance to do so.

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