For a fifth consecutive season, the Buffalo Bills are heading to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.
Buffalo advanced courtesy of a 31-7 win over the Denver Broncos in an AFC wild-card matchup on Sunday.
Unsurprisingly, quarterback Josh Allen led the charge by throwing for 272 yards and two touchdowns. The MVP hopeful also made history in the win, Allen’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Ty Johnson in the third quarter put him atop the Bills’ post-season touchdown list. He then added one more on a 55-yard throw-and-catch to Curtis Samuel a couple of drives later. His 23 TDs now have Allen just above franchise great Jim Kelly.
Running back James Cook also had an impressive day as he finished with 121 yards rushing and a touchdown.
The Bills defence looked shaky early — letting Bo Nix connect with Troy Franklin for a 43-yard TD on the game’s opening drive — but settled in from that point. Buffalo scored 31 unanswered points and Nix was held to just 144 yards for the game. The rookie QB did not throw another touchdown throw while the Broncos’ offence as a whole finished producing just 224 yards.
Buffalo now gets ready for an exciting divisional-round matchup against the Baltimore Ravens who won their wild-card contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday.
If the Bills are going to advance to a conference championship game for the first time since 2020, they’ll have to repeat history by going through another MVP favourite in Lamar Jackson. Allen’s Bills beat the Ravens in 2020 en route to an AFC championship loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
On the other side of the AFC playoff bracket, the defending champion Chiefs are set to host the Texans after Houston took care of business against the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday.
