With quarterback Josh Allen and running back James Cook leading the way, the Buffalo Bills rode a dominant second half to a 31-7 win over the Denver Broncos in the wild-card round Sunday. The victory advances the Bills to the AFC divisional round for the fifth straight season.
After allowing a Denver touchdown on the opening drive, Buffalo scored the next 31 points as Cook led a backfield that totaled 210 rushing yards against a Denver defense that ranked third-best in the NFL at stopping the run in the regular season. Cook accounted for 120 rushing yards on a season-high 23 carries and added a touchdown.
During the second half, Allen delivered multiple big plays in the passing game. The first came on a game-changing fourth-down decision from the Denver 24-yard line late in the third quarter. With the Bills holding a 13-7 lead, Allen bought time before hitting running back Ty Johnson for a dazzling touchdown pass in the back of the end zone. An ensuing two-point conversion strike to wide receiver Keon Coleman put Buffalo up 21-7.
JOSH ALLEN. TY JOHNSON. WOW
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Then, to open up the fourth quarter, Allen connected with wide receiver Curtis Samuel for a 55-yard touchdown. For the game, Allen finished 20-of-26 on pass attempts for 272 passing yards, two touchdowns and 46 rushing yards.
Next up for Buffalo is a home date with the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round — a matchup that will see the two MVP favorites in Allen and Lamar Jackson square off for a spot in the AFC Championship Game. The two teams met in Week 4, when the Ravens dominated the Bills in Baltimore.
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Bills’ ground game controls the pace
Buffalo clearly wanted to avoid the possibility of a shootout with the NFL’s third-highest-scoring team since Week 11 and deployed a ball-control strategy that emphasized taking their time with an effective ground attack. The Bills recorded their longest time of possession of the season (41:43), although the approach resulted in a bit of a grind, with Buffalo leading just 10-7 at halftime.
The game began to loosen up, and by the third quarter, Cook became the first Bills player to rush for at least 100 yards in a postseason game since Thurman Thomas in December 1995.
Perhaps because of a concussion to rookie running back Ray Davis and the Bills not wanting to get Cook banged up for next week’s showdown with the Ravens, the Bills started to have some fun late and decided to throw more. Allen’s two passing touchdowns give him 23 career postseason passing scores, which breaks a tie he held with Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly for the club record. Allen broke the record in his 11th playoff game, six fewer than Kelly. — Tim Graham, Bills senior writer
Buffalo’s defense clamps Broncos
As they often do, the Bills deferred getting the ball until the second half after winning the coin toss, but upon doing so, they had to withstand a huge statement from the Broncos early on in the game. After the opening kickoff, the Broncos put together a five-play, 70-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 43-yard bomb from Bo Nix to receiver Troy Franklin.
It brought up two of the big problems for the Bills defense all season. First, the explosive plays, which have been commonplace against them. And secondly, third-down defense as the Bills surrendered a 19-yard gain on a third-and-8 play in that drive.
However, impressively, their defense settled in extremely well from that point forward. Not only did they shut down the Broncos from scoring again, they allowed only 154 yards of total offense the rest of the way, forced multiple three-and-outs and even forced the Broncos off the field three plays after a successful fake punt. The Bills will have a far bigger test on defense next week against the Ravens, but this is just the type of performance they needed to get ready. — Joe Buscaglia, Bills beat writer
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Rematch with the Ravens awaits
There are two postseason matchups Bills fans have been awaiting, and the Broncos weren’t one of them. So bring on the Ravens, with an eye on possibly meeting the Kansas City Chiefs a week later in the AFC Championship Game. All week, Denver felt more like a Week 19 opponent than a playoff matchup. With that out of the way, Western New York will become a swirl of excitement and anxiety as the NFL’s top two quarterbacks square off again, but this time in Orchard Park.
When the Ravens cruised to a 35-10 victory in Week 4. Derrick Henry broke off an 87-yard touchdown run just 4:10 after the opening kickoff and finished with 24 carries for 199 yards. Jackson didn’t need to do much through the air, but still was efficient, going 13-of-18 for 156 yards and two touchdowns. Jackson also rushed for 54 yards and a score. Buffalo was without linebacker/captain Terrel Bernard and nickelback Taron Johnson that week, and top receiver Khalil Shakir injured his ankle in the first quarter and didn’t return. Allen, sacked only 0.8 times on average, took a season-worst three sacks.
Will three months’ worth of adjustments, home-field advantage and a healthier roster be enough to make up a 25-point differential? — Graham
Required reading
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