Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills took care of business in the wild-card round on Sunday afternoon, as they dominated the Denver Broncos, 31-7, to move on to the divisional round.
The Bills will now host the Baltimore Ravens next week to see who will have a spot in the AFC Championship.
The Bills were the heavy favorites in this game considering rookie quarterback Bo Nix was going to play his first playoff game on the road against a veteran Buffalo squad when it came to January football.
But just like he has all season, this game began with Nix trusting his talent and launching a 43-yard strike to his old Oregon teammate Troy Franklin to put Denver up 7-0.
However, while the "Bills Mafia" wasn’t too happy about that start to the contest, they knew Allen, their MVP frontrunner, wasn’t going to let them down.
What ensued was 31 unanswered points by Buffalo, which began with a field goal and touchdown on the team’s first two offensive drives.
The first touchdown for the Bills was scored by none other than James Cook, who co-led the NFL with 16 rushing touchdowns on the season. He capped a 13-play drive with a five-yard barrel into the end zone to make it 10-7.
Cook finished the game with 120 yards rushing on 23 carries against a Denver defense that has been one of the best in the league all season.
Thanks to long, methodical Bills drives, the first half ended with Broncos kicker Wil Lutz smacking the goal post with an attempted field goal to tie the game at 10 apiece, and that was just about as close to scoring as the Broncos would see the rest of the game.
Buffalo scored on every second-half drive except to kneel down at the end of the game, which included touchdown passes from Allen to Ty Johnson on a ridiculous throw and catch from 24 yards out, and Curtis Samuel breaking free for a 55-yard score to truly seal the victory at 28-7 as the fourth quarter began.
In the end, Allen was an efficient 20-for-26 for 272 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, while also rushing for 46 yards on eight carries.
Samuel was his best receiver in terms of yards thanks to that huge gain. He finished with 68, while Khalil Shakir had six catches for 61 yards.
Meanwhile, Nix was 13-for-22 for 144 yards with one touchdown, while also rushing for 43 yards. The Bills were stingy when the Broncos tried to establish a run game, holding the Broncos to a total 79 yards.
Courtland Sutton was Denver’s top receiver per usual, hauling in five catches for 75 yards.
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NFL officials are expected to be sharp in the playoffs with a shot at the Super Bowl hanging in the balance, but fans found they missed a crucial penalty during Sunday’s game between the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos.
The Bills drove down the field right out of halftime. Josh Allen got the offense within a few yards of a touchdown. On third down, Allen was forced to take a sack because there were no receivers open. But there was a reason why no pass-catchers could break away from their defender.
Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid appeared to be held in the end zone by Denver Broncos defensive back Patrick Surtain II. The officials didn’t throw a flag on the play and the Bills were forced to settle for a field goal to make the game 13-7.
Head referee Bill Vinovich was seen talking to Allen before Buffalo kicked the ball away.
NFL fans were not happy with the lack of a penalty, especially in such a crucial spot.
Buffalo was looking to stave off any Denver comeback attempt. They were able to score a touchdown in the second half to take the lead. The Broncos had a chance to tie the game but Will Lutz missed a field goal.
Bo Nix started the scoring with a 43-yard touchdown pass to Troy Franklin in the first quarter. The Broncos haven’t scored since.
Former NFL star Robert Griffin III faced backlash for his post about Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert following the team’s playoff loss to the Houston Texans.
Herbert was roasted on social media for his performance. He was 14-of-32 with 242 passing yards. He had one touchdown pass and four interceptions in the 32-12 loss.
Neither quarterback mentioned has appeared in a Super Bowl.
Lamar Jackson’s struggle to win big games has been chronicled. He led the Baltimore Ravens to the AFC Championship Game last season but failed to get past the Kansas City Chiefs. Jackson is 3-4 in seven playoff appearances. He has 1,499 passing yards, eight touchdowns and six picks.
Dak Prescott has been injured a few times in his career, which has derailed the Dallas Cowboys’ playoff hopes. He’s 2-5 in seven playoff starts. He had 1,962 passing yards, 14 touchdowns and seven picks. The Cowboys haven’t made it to the conference title game since the 1995 season.
Herbert was praised for having a bounce-back season under first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh. But his lack of success in the postseason has been highlighted. He’s 0-2 in two playoff appearances since he entered the league in 2020.
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