Bills overwhelm Broncos in second half, move on to showdown with Ravens

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Denver Broncos got on the board quickly in their AFC wild-card matchup versus the Buffalo Bills. Denver scored in the first three minutes with a deep pass from rookie quarterback Bo Nix to wide receiver Troy Franklin.

The Broncos never scored again, as the Bills went on to take a commanding 31-7 win. Quarterback Josh Allen led the rout, going only one drive without scoring.

Allen went 20-of-26 for 272 yards and two touchdowns, in addition to eight carries for 46 yards. In the final three quarters, he completed 14 of 17 passes (82%) for 227 yards and the two touchdowns.

Allen passed Jim Kelly’s mark for the most postseason passing touchdowns in Bills history (23).

James Cook had 23 carries for 120 yards and one touchdown. The Bills rushed for more than 200 yards in a playoff game for the fifth time in franchise history and the first since the 1995 wild-card game vs. the Miami Dolphins.

The Bills are the first team to record at least 250 passing yards and 200 rushing yards in a playoff game since the 2012 San Francisco 49ers, who pulled it off against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC divisional playoffs.

On the other side, the Broncos’ rushing attack was limited to 79 yards, with quarterback Bo Nix finishing as Denver’s leading rusher (43 yards). His receivers dropped three passes, their most in a game this season.

Here are the most important things to know from Sunday for both teams:

Eye-popping stat: Allen’s touchdown pass to running back Ty Johnson — on fourth-and-1 in the third quarter — had a completion probability of 15.6%, the most unlikely touchdown pass of Allen’s career (regular season or postseason) and of any player in the past five postseasons.

Promising trend: Third-down defense. Getting off the field has been an issue for the Bills, but against the Broncos, the unit limited Denver’s long drives. The Broncos converted 2 of 9 (22.2%) third-down attempts despite the Bills coming into the game allowing opponents to convert 43.8%, fourth worst in the NFL, and the Broncos converting 39.6% (13th).

The Broncos went three-and-out drives on three drives. The Bills used the running game taking time off the clock and it played a big part in Buffalo establishing and keeping the lead.

Surprising performance: WR Curtis Samuel. He was the Bills’ biggest free-agent signing at receiver, but he remained buried on the depth chart for much of the season. Samuel put together his best game in his playoff debut, catching all three of his targets for 68 yards, including a 55-yard touchdown catch. — Alaina Getzenberg

Next game: vs. Baltimore Ravens (Saturday or Sunday)

The postseason wait might be over for the Broncos, but there is plenty of work to be done in their quest to return to the AFC’s elite.

The Broncos were scrappy and stuck around for a while on Sunday, but the Bills showed their postseason pedigree and won the wild-card matchup going away. The Broncos’ first playoff game in eight seasons started well, as Nix’s 43-yard touchdown pass to Franklin on the first drive gave Denver a quick 7-0 lead.

But the Bills steadily wore down the Broncos with Allen, a powerful run game and a defense that frustrated the Broncos after the opening score. Aside from Franklin’s score, Denver’s offense had one other play on offense for more than 20 yards. The Broncos also never got the run game going.

Describe the game in two words: An education. Broncos coach Sean Payton routinely says when your team is good enough, external things (weather, game pressure and loud road environments) don’t mean as much. The Broncos had their moments Sunday. They kept Josh Allen under 100 yards passing deep into the third quarter and scored on their first possession of the game with a 43-yard downfield shot from Nix to Franklin. But the Bills are a better-constructed team with an MVP candidate at quarterback. Without forcing turnovers and keeping drives alive on third-down conversions, Denver didn’t have enough to pull the upset.

Troubling trend: If the Broncos hope to have more success in what Payton calls the “bigger games” going forward, they’re going to have to figure out how to stop the alpha quarterbacks in the AFC. With Sunday’s loss, Denver is 0-6 this season when facing Allen, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert (twice). Breaking through against the conference’s best signal-callers will be the key to the Broncos truly being a playoff contender.

Biggest hole in game plan: The Broncos settled down on defense as the game wore on, but their first-quarter struggles defending the run raised eyebrows. The Bills had 100 yards rushing in the first quarter and converted 10 first downs on run plays in the first half, repeatedly pounding away at the middle of Denver’s defense. Buffalo had seven runs of at least seven yards on their first touchdown drive, including back-to-back runs of 11 and 16 yards.

QB breakdown: There are easier places for a rookie quarterback to make his postseason debut than Buffalo, but Nix didn’t turn the ball over until late in the fourth quarter and was sacked twice. But there were moments when his accuracy wavered. After throwing for 62 yards on his first two completions of the day he finished with 82 yards the rest of the way. Nix had a smattering of moments when he tried to force the ball into a spot where it had no place to fit. — Jeff Legwold

Source: www.espn.com