The Buffalo Bills and the Denver Broncos open the Divisional Round in pursuit of a spot in the AFC Championship Game. Who will advance?
Bills player to watch: Josh Allen
The Buffalo Bills quarterback has been outstanding in the postseason and continues to elevate his play in high-pressure moments. Last week, Allen won the first playoff game of his career when trailing in the fourth quarter, another milestone in his growing résumé.
Allen owns an 8-6 postseason record, throwing for 26 touchdowns, adding nine rushing TDs, and even recording one receiving touchdown, compared to just four interceptions and two lost fumbles. He is 7-3 in playoff games without a turnover and has not committed a giveaway in six consecutive postseason outings, dating back to an interception in a 27-10 loss to Cincinnati in the 2022 divisional round.
Broncos player to watch: Bo Nix
Bo Nix enters the postseason carrying both promise and unfinished business. The Broncos quarterback tied Russell Wilson’s NFL record with 24 wins in his first two seasons, though he is 0-1 in the playoffs as he looks to earn his first postseason victory.
Nix ranks third all-time in touchdown passes (54) by a quarterback in his first two NFL seasons. He is also just the fourth QB in league history to throw 25 or more TD passes in each of his first two seasons, and one of only four quarterbacks to record 700-plus completions over that span.
Key matchup: James Cook vs. Denver’s run defense
The NFL’s leading rusher faces one of the league’s toughest defensive fronts. James Cook goes up against a Denver run defense that ranked second in the NFL, a unit rebuilt after Buffalo gashed the Broncos for 210 rushing yards in last year’s playoff meeting, including 120 yards from Cook.
Denver addressed those issues in free agency, adding Talanoa Hufanga and Dre Greenlaw from San Francisco. Hufanga earned second-team All-Pro honors in his first season with Denver, while Greenlaw returns for the playoffs after battling injuries.
Up front, Zach Allen led the league with 47 quarterback hits for the second straight season, becoming the only defensive lineman other than J.J. Watt to reach 40+ QB hits in back-to-back years.
Key injuries
Bills
S Jordan Poyer (hamstring) and CB Maxwell Hairston (ankle) are ruled out.
WRs Gabe Davis and Tyrell Shavers were placed on injured reserve with knee injuries.
WR Curtis Samuel, DT Ed Oliver, and S Damar Hamlin are questionable but have returned to practice.
LB Terrel Bernard is uncertain with a calf injury.
Allen is expected to play despite injuries to his right foot, throwing-hand finger, and left knee.
Broncos
Greenlaw returns from a hamstring injury suffered Dec. 21 against Jacksonville.
DL John Franklin-Myers (hip) practiced fully this week.
TE Lucas Krull and LB Drew Sanders are trending toward returns after extended absences.
Series notes
The Bills have won both previous playoff meetings against the Broncos: a 10-7 victory in the 1991 AFC Championship Game and a 31-7 wild-card win last season. Both games were played in Buffalo.
Stats & notes
Buffalo has reached the playoffs for a franchise-record seventh straight season.
The Bills are one of only four teams to win a playoff game in six consecutive postseasons, joining Dallas, New England, and Kansas City.
Buffalo seeks back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances for the first time since 1990-93.
Under Sean McDermott, the Bills are 8-7 in the playoffs.
Including postseason games, Allen is 47-10 when he avoids turnovers and 10-0 this season in those situations.
Denver hosts its first home playoff game since 2015, when it advanced to Super Bowl 50.
The Broncos led the NFL with 68 sacks, ranked second in total defense, and posted a league-best +45 sack differential, the highest in NFL history.