Bills steamroll Broncos to set up Josh Allen-Lamar Jackson NFL playoff clash
Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes, James Cook finished with 120 yards rushing and the Buffalo Bills leaned on a balanced attack in their 31-7 wild-card playoff victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
The Bills methodically wore down the Broncos, scoring on six of their first seven drives in a performance in which they finished with a 23-minute lead in possession.
Denver took an early lead, but Buffalo didn’t back down after rookie Bo Nix capped Denver’s five-play game-opening drive with a 43-yard touchdown pass to Troy Franklin.
Then, with Buffalo ahead 13-7, Allen broke the game open with a 24-yard touchdown pass, putting Ty Johnson in the back of the end zone on fourth-and-1 with 3:06 left in the third quarter.
“I’ve been saying it all year that Ty Johnson is the best third in football,” Allen said. “The things he can do for us, the way we communicate, him in the passing game, blocking and running the ball. He does it all. I’m so happy for him, so proud of him. He made a great play. It was in fourth place, there was no point in holding it and taking a bag there. They played human [coverage] and I just gave him a chance.
On Buffalo’s next possession, Allen completed a 55-yard pass to Curtis Samuel in the opening second of the fourth quarter.
The five-time defending AFC East champion Bills advance to the divisional round for a fifth straight postseason and will meet the third-seeded Baltimore Ravens next weekend. The Ravens, who earned a 28-14 victory over Pittsburgh on Saturday, defeated Buffalo 35-10 in Baltimore in Week 4 this season. The appearance marks the second playoff meeting between Allen and Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson after Buffalo defeated the Ravens 17-3 in the 2020 divisional round. Jackson and Allen are the leading contenders for this season’s MVP award, but the Bills quarterback said after Sunday’s game that his focus will be on the Ravens defense this week.
“Well, they were after us earlier this year,” Allen said of the new showdown with the Ravens. “So we have a lot of film to watch. It’s a great team. He’s a great quarterback, obviously with Lamar and what he can do. He is one of the most dynamic, if not the most dynamic quarterback in the league. He’s so fun to watch. But I’ll be looking at their defense this week, so that’s our focus.”
Cook became Buffalo’s first player to rush for 100 yards in a playoff game since Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas rushed for 158 yards in a 1995 wild-card playoff win over Miami. Allen finished 20 of 26 for 272 yards and increased his playoff total to 23 passing touchdowns, breaking Hall of Famer Jim Kelly’s franchise record of 21.
The seventh-seeded Broncos were outclassed in their first playoff appearance since their Super Bowl-winning season in 2015. Nix finished 13 of 22 for 144 yards in an outing that saw Denver punt four times and turn the ball over twice on downs.