Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix’s first playoff game ended with a 31-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills last season. The Broncos return to the NFL playoffs on Saturday, with Buffalo as the opponent again.

For last year’s game, Denver held the No. 7 seed in the AFC postseason field, with the Bills at No. 2. This time around, the Broncos are No. 1, with Buffalo at No. 6. But Nix expects Saturday’s game to be just as tough.

“They’re a similar team,” Nix said. “Same players, same coach, same quarterback. I know they’ve dealt with some injuries, but I imagine some of their guys will be back. And it’s going to be a tough, physical football game.

“They know how to win. They’ve been in this situation before. They had a great win last week, coming off probably their best win of the season. And they have a good rhythm right now as a team. So it’s going to be a challenge.

“We’ve got to start fast. We’ve got to make sure we match their tempo and not let them get out because they played last week. And we can’t let this bye week affect us with a slow start.”

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Over the previous five seasons, the Bills won seven playoff games. Denver hasn’t won a postseason games since beating the Carolina Panthers 24-10 in Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7, 2016. Last year’s loss to Buffalo is the Broncos’ only postseason appearance since then.

As the No. 1 team, Denver had a bye during the Wild-Card Weekend. Buffalo reached the Divisional Weekend by beating the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-24 on Sunday.

Against the Jaguars, quarterback Josh Allen rallied the Bills from behind twice in the fourth quarter and scored the deciding touchdown on a 1-yard run with 64 seconds to play to make it six postseasons in a row with at least one victory for Buffalo.

“He’s incredible,” Nix said of Allen. “He’s MVP of the league for a reason. He continues to make play after play when the game’s not necessarily looking like he can make the play. He just goes out there and does superhero stuff. And I think one of the things that separates him is just his toughness, his ability to go play after play at his max velocity, his max peak performance.

“And it’s been fun to watch him play over the course of his career. It feels like he just got in the league, but he’s been in there for a while at this point, making play after play. And he’s just kind of a generational talent. You don’t see that all the time — guys as big as the D-linemen just being able to be as athletic as skill players. It’s not normal. And he’s got great arm strength, too. So it’s one of those things where he can do it all at a high level.”

During the 2025 regular season, Allen led the NFL in fourth-quarter passing yards with 1,216. Nix had the third-most with 1,130. Each quarterback threw eight fourth-quarter touchdown passes.

Allen also led all NFL quarterbacks in fourth-quarter rushing yards with 231 and eight touchdowns on 44 carries in 2025. Nix placed third again with 118 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries in the fourth quarter.

Nix’s ability to deliver in the fourth quarter seems reflected in the Broncos’ one-score games this season. In 2024, Denver had a 1-6 record in games decided by seven or fewer points. This year, the Broncos have a 9-2 mark in games that close.

Another thing that’s different for Denver this season is the location of Saturday’s game. In last year’s playoff game, the Broncos faced the Bills at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. The postseason rematch takes place at 3:30 p.m. CST Saturday at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver. CBS will televise the game.

Nix said last year’s playoff game came in a “tough environment.” He’s expecting Broncos fans to show the Bills how that feels on Saturday.

“I expect it to be extremely loud,” Nix said. “I expect it to be a great environment, similar to what it’s been recently, the past several home games. But something tells me it’ll be kicked up a notch just because it’s got playoffs on it. And it’s a good team coming in, so a good team with a good fan base, so I expect it to be a great environment Saturday. Normal kickoff time. It’s going to be a fun time.”

A former Pinson Valley and Auburn standout, Nix joined the Broncos from Oregon as the 12th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. He was the 33rd quarterback who had been drafted by Denver. Only one of the preceding 32 has delivered a postseason victory for the Broncos – 2010 first-round pick Tim Tebow in a 29-23 overtime win against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Jan. 8, 2012.

The other quarterbacks who have started Denver playoff victories include John Elway with 14, Peyton Manning with five, Craig Morton with two and Jake Plummer with one.