DENVER — The Broncos are moving on.
In a back-and-forth instant classic, the Broncos gutted out a 33-30 overtime win over the NFL’s reigning MVP in Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.
Keyed by five takeaways and a pair of go-ahead scoring drives across the fourth quarter and overtime, the Broncos earned their first playoff win in a decade and now stand a game away from Super Bowl LX.
“We obviously weren’t ready last year, but we were ready today,” Head Coach Sean Payton said.
Quarterback Bo Nix — who will miss the rest of the postseason after fracturing his ankle — became just the second quarterback in franchise history to throw three touchdown passes in a postseason win, and he led the Broncos back after the Bills evaporated a 13-point deficit to take a fourth-quarter lead.
“He was fantastic when we needed him,” Payton said of Nix.
Denver’s defense, meanwhile, forced the second-most turnovers in franchise postseason history — including Ja’Quan McMillian’s overtime interception that kept the Broncos’ chances of a win alive.
“You’ll go five, 10 years before you see a turnover like that one,” Payton said, “and that ended up being a game-changer.”
The Broncos sealed the game in overtime as the Bills were whistled for pass interference on a deep pass to Marvin Mims Jr. and Wil Lutz drilled a 23-yarder.
Denver now moves on to face either the Patriots or Texans in the AFC Championship Game.
These are the players and plays that made the difference in the win: