Broncos’ first postseason berth in 9 years has them facing playoff-tested Bills

Denver (10-7) at Buffalo (13-4)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS

BetMGM NFL odds: Bills by 9.

Series record: Bills lead 23-17-1.

Against the spread: Broncos 12-5, Bills 10-7.

Last meeting: Broncos beat Bills 24-22 on Nov. 13, 2023, at Orchard Park, New York.

Last week: Broncos beat Chiefs 38-0; Bills lost to Patriots 23-16.

Broncos offense: overall (19), rush (16), pass (20), scoring (10).

Broncos defense: overall (7), rush (3), pass (19), scoring (3).

Bills offense: overall (10), rush (9), pass (9), scoring (2).

Bills defense: overall (17), rush (12), pass (24), scoring (11t).

Turnover differential: Broncos plus-6; Bills plus-24.

Broncos player to watch

QB Bo Nix. The sixth quarterback taken in the NFL draft last April threw for 29 touchdowns, two shy of Justin Herbert’s rookie record. He was the AFC’s Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against Kansas City in Week 18 when he led the Broncos into the playoffs with a 38-0 wipeout of the Chiefs’ backups. He set franchise records for completion rate (89.7 percent) and most completions to start a game (18). His 18 completions to start the game were the most ever in the NFL by a rookie quarterback.

Bills player to watch

QB Josh Allen. The seventh-year starter is 4-0 in his past four wild-card playoff outings, all at home, and has gone a combined 91 of 129 for 1,187 yards with 13 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He’s also gained 214 yards rushing with two scores. Allen is coming off a season in which he’s thrown a career-low six interceptions, down from a career-high 18 last season.

Not PARSE.LY: Buffalo Bills

Bills’ Von Miller won’t let his affection for the Broncos get in the way of his playoff objective

 

Broncos scheme ways to get the ball in the hands of dynamic returner/receiver/runner Marvin Mims Jr.

 

Allen leads Bills into playoffs for 6th straight year in overcoming his doubters -- Elway included

 

Key matchup

Bills O-line vs. Broncos D-line. Allen’s elusiveness combined with a line that’s featured the same five starters for all but two games this season led to Buffalo allowing a league-low 14 sacks — the fewest since Indianapolis allowed 13 in 2009. Meantime, the Broncos led the NFL with a single-season best 63 sacks, including 12 over their final two outings.

Key injuries

The Broncos are as healthy as they’ve been all season with no starter or key backup nursing an injury. ... Bills returner Brandon Codrington injured his hamstring on Sunday and is questionable to play. Otherwise, Buffalo is at the healthiest it’s been all season.

Series notes

Buffalo has won five of the past seven meetings, including three of four at home since 2008. ... The Broncos’ win last season was decided when kicker Wil Lutz hit a 36-yard field goal as time expired, and after his miss from 41 yards was negated by Buffalo being flagged for having too many players on the field. Bills offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey was fired a day later and replaced by current coordinator Joe Brady. ... In the teams’ only other playoff meeting, the Bills advanced to their second of what became four straight Super Bowl appearances — all losses — with a 10-7 win over the Broncos in the 1991 AFC championship game. Carlton Bailey’s 11-yard interception return of a John Elway pass in the third quarter was the lone touchdown.

Stats and stuff

The Broncos are back in the playoffs for the first time since winning Super Bowl 50 on Feb. 7, 2016. Their eight-year playoff drought was the longest for a team that hoisted the Lombardi Trophy. ... QB Bo Nix didn’t throw a TD until Week 5, but finished with 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in his rookie season. ... Seventh-year WR Courtland Sutton caught a career-best 81 passes for 1,081 yards. He’s the first Broncos receiver to top 1,000 yards since 2019, when he had 1,112 yards. ... Four of WR Marvin Mims’ six touchdown receptions have come in the past two weeks as he’s caught all 13 passes thrown his way for 154 yards. Mims is the first Denver player with back-to-back games with at least two TD catches since TE Julius Thomas in 2014. ... Nik Bonitto (13 1/2), Jonathon Cooper (10 1/2) and Zach Allen (8 1/2) all set career highs in sacks. ... Lutz tied Jason Elam (1995, 2001) for most field goals in a season with 31. His 139 points were the second most in franchise history. Lutz was 13-for-13 on field goals and 27-for-27 on PATs after the Chiefs cratered the left side of Denver’s field-goal protection unit and blocked a potential game-winning kick as time expired in Week 10. ... Buffalo matched a single-season team record with 13 wins for the fifth time, and third since 2020. ... The Bills are making a franchise-best-matching sixth straight playoff appearance and seventh in eight seasons under coach Sean McDermott. ... The Bills have been eliminated in each of their past three division round appearances, twice by Kansas City (2021 and ’23) as well as Cincinnati in 2022 since losing the AFC championship game to Kansas City in 2020. ... Allen has a 5-5 playoff record, with his only loss in the wild-card round coming in a 22-19 OT decision at Houston in 2019. ... The Bills set single-season records with 525 points scored and 65 touchdowns, including a team-high 30 rushing, while becoming the NFL’s first team to finish with 30 or more passing and rushing. ... RB James Cook’s 16 TDs rushing matched the franchise single-season record set by O.J. Simpson in a 14-game season in 1975. ... Buffalo matched a single-season NFL record in having 13 players with a touchdown catch, and the only team to do so twice after having that many in 2020. ... The Bills led the NFL with a plus-24 turnover differential and finished third in forcing 32 takeaways. Allen’s six interceptions and two lost fumbles accounted for all eight of Buffalo’s turnovers. ... Buffalo’s offense finished second in the NFL in red zone production by scoring 48 touchdowns on 67 drives. The defense finished 16th in allowing opponents to score 35 TDs on 61 drives inside the Buffalo 20.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL