Stick here for live updates and analysis as Denver takes on the Bills at Empower Field at Mile High.
Live updates
Overtime updates
TE issues (5:57 p.m.): Another chunk play to Kincaid. Broncos continue to struggle with Bills TEs. — Peterson
Nearly over (5:56 p.m.): Josh Allen slips out of a game-winning safety to keep the Bills alive. — Peterson
Punting (5:53 p.m.): After a first down, Denver couldn’t do much else on the next set of downs. Broncos punt. Buffalo to start at its own 8. Up to the Denver defense now. — Nguyen
Now it’s up to the Denver defense to rescue the Broncos. Next score wins. — Peterson
Long wait (5:51 p.m.): Courtland Sutton (8 seasons) is the longest-tenured Bronco outside of Garett Bolles, who is in his ninth season. Can Sutton and Bolles finally get their first playoff win? — Peterson
Return (5:50 p.m.): Good 25-yard return by Mims to start the Broncos off in overtime at their 28. — Peterson
Coin toss (5:47 p.m.): Buffalo wins the coin toss. Denver will get the ball first. — Nguyen
Bills win the toss and elect to kick it to the Broncos.
Denver will start OT with the ball and Buffalo will know what it needs after the opening possession. — Gabriel
Fourth-quarter updates
We’re heading to OT (5:45 p.m.): Are you not entertained, Broncos Country? We’ve got bonus football in Denver … with a trip to the AFC title game on the line. 30-30 at triple zeroes. — Peterson
Field goal, Bills (5:43 p.m.): Prater with ice in his veins to drill the 50-yarder. We’re going to overtime. — Peterson
It’ll be no comfort to Broncos fans if this goes Buffalo’s way in OT, but this has been one whale of a game. — Gabriel
In-com-plete (5:41 p.m.): Josh Allen had Knox for a touchdown but the Denver pass rush forced the throw … and the incompletion. — Peterson
Big gain (5:39 p.m.): The Bills gain 24 on the hook and ladder. They’re at the Denver 32 with 24 seconds to go. — Nguyen
Loud (5:37 p.m.): This is as loud as I have heard a crowd in new stadium since AFC championship game a decade ago. — Renck
Huge catch? (5:36 p.m.): Josh Allen connects with Brandin Cooks for a huge gain. But it was called incomplete after his hand hit out of bounds. — Nguyen
Touchdown, Broncos (5:31 p.m.): Marvin Mims with a Mile High Miracle. — Peterson
Bo Nix finds Marvin Mims Jr. for a 26-yard touchdown pass. Eight plays for 73 yards on the drive. Mims grabbed his lower back at the end of play after crashing into a camera. Broncos 30, Bills 27 with 55 seconds to go in the game. — Nguyen
Third down (5:29 p.m.): Bo Nix uses his legs on third-and-4 to get the first down. The tension is palpable. — Nguyen
On the line (5:27 p.m.): Playoff legacies on the line right now in Denver. Josh Allen and Sean McDermott own the distinction of having the most playoff wins (8) without a Super Bowl. Can Buffalo hold on — or will the cardiac Broncos deliver another late miracle? — Peterson
First-and-10 Denver at the Buffalo 38 with 2 minutes to go. Broncos trailing by four.
Here we go. — Gabriel
Courtland. Sutton. (5:23 p.m.): On third-and-11, Bo Nix finds Courtland Sutton on an island for a 23-yard gain. Center Alex Forsyth was hurt on the play. P. J. Mustipher is coming in. — Nguyen
Courtland Sutton was lost, now he’s found. 2 big catches in a row. 25-yard grab on third-and-11 gives Broncos crucial first down. — Saunders
First down (5:21 p.m.): And Courtland Sutton shows up at just the right time with his first catch of the game for 11 yards and a first down. — Peterson
Field goal, Bills (5:19 p.m.): If Josh Allen doesn’t skip that pass, it’s 30-23, Bills. As is, the Bills settle for a 31-yard field goal from Matt Prater to make it 27-23 with 4:11 to go. — Peterson
Broncos get stop on third down, sending out Prater for short field goal. Was a lot cooler for Broncos Country when he was attempting these after an inexplicable Tim Tebow comeback. 31-yarder good. Bills lead 27-23 with 4:11 left. #Broncos offense has become a ghost in the second half with 3 points. Can Nix produce his 8th game-winning drive? — Renck
Third-down conversion (5:16 p.m.): Great call on third down by the Bills. Empty backfield and a QB sweep. Josh Allen for first down. — Saunders
Energy (5:12 p.m.): Sean Payton told CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson this at halftime: “They’re a good second half team but so are we. We felt like, coming in, the bye week doesn’t help you in the first half. But it helps you in this half.”
Right now, though, Denver looks like the team that’s gassed. — Gabriel
TE issues (5:08 p.m.): The Bills’ tight ends continue to haunt the Broncos. Dawson Knox with another Bills’ first down. — Peterson
Three-and-out (5:03 p.m.): If Denver’s going to come back, they have to do better than that. A 0-yard completion, a 3-yard run and a ball batted down at the line. Buffalo ball after the punt. — Nguyen
Touchdown, Bills (4:57 p.m.): Josh Allen finds Dalton Kincaid for a 14-yard touchdown. Nine plays for 85 yards on the drive. Bills take the lead, 24-23, with 13:24 left in regulation. — Nguyen
Not a great sequence for Talanoa Hufanga. Missed tackle on 46-yard gain. Then got Mossed by Dalton Kincaid on 14-yard TD on third-and long. Broncos trailing 24-23. Nothing ever comes easily to this team. — Renck
Josh Allen’s 14-yard TD pass to Dalton Kincaid was PERFECT. Bills lead 24-23, 13:24 left. Great game. — Saunders
Huge gain (4:56 p.m.): Josh Allen connects with Khalil Shakir for a monster 46-yard gain. Bills in the red zone. — Nguyen
Third-quarter thoughts — Broncos 23, Bills 17
Parker Gabriel, beat writer: The Broncos lead but they have 67 rushing yards and are 1/3 in the red zone. At least one of those is going to have to hit in the fourth or this is going to get dicey for Sean Payton’s team.
Sean Keeler, sports columnist: Highly unlikely 23 Denver points wins this one. The magic number? 25. Joah Allen is 2-5 in postseason games when his opponent scores 25 points or more. 24 points or fewer? Allen’s 6-1. Keep swinging, boys. Keep swinging.
Troy Renck, sports columnist: Sean Payton needs to stare down at his Waffle House menu playsheet. See where he wrote run the ball. And do it. The lack of balance will cost the Broncos this game. You can’t lose at home with four takeaways. But you can with no balance and no answer to Bills’ pressure and blitzes.
Third-quarter updates
Cook cooks (4:54 p.m.): Bills Cook: 16 or 91 rushing (5.7 average). If Broncos had converted TDs they could have taken him out of the mix. — Saunders
Nix plays (4:50 p.m.): Broncos have run 47 offensive plays:
- 30 Bo Nix passes
- 8 Bo Nix runs
- 9 Runs to RBs
— Gabriel
Out of rhythm (4:47 p.m.): Bo Nix looks out of sorts. And O-line was confused multiple times by pressure and blitzes on that drive. Broncos punt. Announced attendance is 76,088. 310 no-shows. — Renck
Last drive for the Broncos: Four passes and two rushes. Took 2:25 off the clock.
- Bo Nix: 1/4 for 19 yards
- RBs: 2 carries for 3 yards
— Gabriel
76,008 fans, just 310 no-shows at Mile High. — Saunders
Mimsy (4:43 p.m.): Bo Nix finds Marvin Mims Jr. for the 19-yard catch-and-run for the first down on third down. — Nguyen
Locked down (4:42 p.m.): P.J. Locke had spinal fusion surgery this offseason, knew he’d be a back up after the Broncos signed Talanoa Hufanga and played 14 defensive snaps over the first 13 games of the season.
He’s been a starter since Brandon Jones’ pectoral injury and just made a massive play. — Gabriel
Interception (4:39 p.m.): And Josh Allen gives it right back. P.J. Locke snags the deep pass and runs it back to the Denver 38. — Nguyen
Holy cow! P.J. Locke picks of Allen near Denver’s goal line. Momentum, Broncos. — Saunders
P.J. Locke sees the Bills’ interception and raises them by knifing a Josh Allen TD ball out of the air to give the ball back to Denver. Momentum flips again. — Peterson
Broncos had 10 takeaways through the first 16 games. And have six in the lasts two games.. and counting. — Renck
Interception (4:37 p.m.): Bo Nix is picked off at the line by defensive tackle Deone Walker. Buffalo is getting the ball at the Denver 36. — Nguyen
Holy cow! Deone Walker picks off Bo near the line of scrimmage. Momentum, Bills. — Saunders
Touchdown, Bills (4:31 p.m.): Josh Allen finds Keon Coleman, who jukes Riley Moss on his way to a 10-yard touchdown. Nine plays for 73 yards on the drive. Broncos 23, Bills 17 with 6:49 to go in the third quarter. — Nguyen
Bills respond as Allen goes on heater. Nothing ever comes easily for Broncos. It’s 23-17 with 6:49 left in third. Broncos have three takeaways, but have only one touchdown in three attempts in red zone. That is hanging over them a bit right now. — Renck
Against the ropes, Bills come back punching. Impressive drive: 9 plays, 73 yards. Broncos 23, Bills 17. — Saunders
Broncos may well win this game but failing to get in the end zone from the Buffalo 17-yard line after Bonitto’s strip sack is going to make it a rockier ride. — Gabriel
What a hit (4:29 p.m.): Hufanga drops the boom on Knox. — Peterson
Key play (4:25 p.m.): Devon Key is showing why he earned that All-Pro nod. Nice tackle on the kickoff to add to everything he’s done today. — Nguyen
Field goal, Broncos (4:20 p.m.): Denver settles for a 33-yard field goal by Wil Lutz. Four plays, 2 yards on the drive. Broncos 23, Bills 10 with 11:35 to go in the third quarter. — Nguyen
My colleague Luca referred to going for it (potentially) there as “going full Sean Payton.” Never go full Sean Payton in a playoff game this early when you can go up two TDs. And they don’t. Wisely. — Keeler
Three costly fumbles by the Bills … looks like they’ll be shuffling back to Buffalo. Broncos lead 23-10 early in the third quarter. — Saunders
Strip sack (4:17 p.m.): Shades of Von Miller by Nik Bonitto on that strip sack. Malcolm Roach with the recovery. Denver ball. — Nguyen
That’s two Josh Allen fumbles on the Bills’ last two possessions. Broncos defense is starting to flex. — Peterson
Halftime thoughts — Broncos 20, Bills 10
First-half thoughts: There’s winning the middle eight minutes and then there’s the Broncos down the stretch of the first half here. 10 points in 22 seconds turns this from a nail-biter into a game Denver firmly controls. Only four RB runs so far today. My guess is Payton comes out with his foot on the gas pedal when the Broncos offense gets the ball back.
Sean Keeler, sports columnist: And finally, Josh Allen’s litany of injuries bites him. He loses the ball with his bad hand, and it GIFTS the Broncos a free three points before the end of the half. That’s how you don’t make a Super Bowl, Super Josh. And that’s how a ‘1’ seed holds serve a home. Ten points in 1:55. Wow.
Troy Renck, sports columnist: Broncos looked nervous, looked tight, but getting tested in close games prevented panic. They survived two fumbles — one didn’t count because of a penalty — and two drops to take 20-10 lead at half. Broncos have run enough to keep deep strikes open in pass game. They have 12 carries for 58 yards. Payton has lived up to promise to be more daring with TD pass to Frank Crum and strike to Lil Jordan Humphrey. … Nix has 150 yards passing. Allen is 8-for-10 for 81 yards. Denver has also held the ball and played keepaway, limiting Allen’s possessions. Bills only had four and turned the ball over twice.
Second-quarter updates
Field goal, Broncos (4:01 p.m.): Wil Lutz nails the 50-yard field goal. Broncos 20, Bills 10 going into the half. — Nguyen
Bills’ Josh Allen carried the ball loosely. That was first mistake. And not believing that Nik Bonitto would be hustling the way he was, was the second. Broncos have four takeaways in the last two games. Defense has been nails. Hard to end a half better than that. — Renck
Turnover (4 p.m.): Nik Bonitto strips Josh Allen, Devon Key recovers. Denver has the ball with 2 seconds in the half. — Nguyen
Touchdown, Broncos (3:57 p.m.): Tony Romo is a witch. He just called that play before it happened. Bo Nix finds Lil’Jordan Humphrey for a 29-yard touchdown to cap the 11-play, 70-yard drive. Broncos 17, Bills 10 with 22 seconds remaining in the half. — Nguyen
Lil’Jordan Humphrey caught a lil’touchdown. — Gabriel
And Lil’Jordan Humphrey totally redeems himself. — Peterson
REDEMPTION. — Keeler
Would argue that was a big’touchdown, Parker. — Evans
Third-down conversion (3:55 p.m.): Turns out Marvin Mims might’ve just been good at football this whole time. — Evans
Bo Nix finds Marvin Mims Jr. for a 15-yard gain on third-and-10 to keep the drive alive. Nix is 12 of 22 for 121 yards today. — Nguyen
Oh, right, Marvin Mims. — Gabriel
Razor-thin margins (3:53 p.m.): Close? How’s this for close? Bills 10, Broncos 10. Bills’ first downs 11, Broncos’ first downs 10. Bills’ yards 168, Broncos’ yards 164. 38 seconds left in the first half. — Saunders
Injury (3:52 p.m.): Bills cornerback Cam Lewis makes a nice play to break up Bo Nix’s pass to Courtland Sutton. But then he sits down on the field after the play. — Nguyen
Run, Bo, run (3:46 p.m.): Bo Nix scrambles for a 6-yard gain on third-and-3. First down. — Nguyen
Zero-star stars (3:45 p.m.): Frank Crum landed at Wyoming in 2018 as a zero-star recruit the year that Josh Allen — another zero-star recruit — was drafted by the Bills. — Peterson
First down (3:44 p.m.): Bo Nix finds Marvin Mims Jr. for the first down. But Mims comes up limping. — Nguyen
Field goal, Bills (3:37 p.m.): Broncos flip the script, holding Josh Allen and the Bills to a field goal. It’s 10-10 in Denver. — Peterson
Broncos 10, Bills 10. Denver’s red-zone D comes through again. — Saunders
Matty P… Matt Prater converts 33-yard field goal. It’s knotted at 10 with 2:13 left in the half. Game has lived up to the hype. Physical. Big plays. Big mistakes. Crowd roaring. — Renck
With 2:13 until halftime, Wyoming semi-legend Frank Crum has as many points (six) as Wyoming legend Josh Allen (six). If the Broncos can keep Allen at six, everything’s gonna be A-OK. — Keeler
Thirteen plays, 69 yards on the drive for Buffalo. Denver’s defense comes up big to hold the Bills to 3. — Nguyen
Key sequence upcoming here. Broncos have the ball with 2:06 left in the half. Buffalo starts the second half with it. 10-up through 27:54. — Gabriel
Broncos injury update (3:37 p.m.): Troy Franklin now questionable to return. Good grief. — Keeler
Sacked (3:35 p.m.): Malcolm Roach takes Josh Allen down again. — Nguyen
Sacked (3:31 p.m.): Denver’s defense finally gets to Josh Allen. Malcolm Roach and Zach Allen split the sack for a 7-yard loss. — Nguyen
Touchdown, Broncos (3:22 p.m.): FRANK CRUM TD, EVERYBODY DANCE. — Keeler
Who had tackle Frank Crum on their bingo card for the Broncos’ first touchdown of the playoffs? — Peterson
The foremost University of Wyoming luminary in attendance today scores a TD. That’s Broncos OL Frank Crum, not Josh Allen. — Gabriel
Take away Palcho’s All-Pro vote. Who knew that the first Wyoming player in game to score TD would be Frank Crum. Take that Josh Allen. Nix to Crum for 7 yards. Payton promised to be daring. Proved it there. Broncos lead 10-7 with 9:33 left in half. Crum is a large man. If Kane, the WWE legend, was a football player, he would be Crum. — Renck
Mimsy! (3:20 p.m.): Mims sighting. And, oh, baby, what a sight. — Keeler
Beautiful ball from Nix in a tight window for Mims for 27 yards. — Peterson
Oh, right, Marvin Mims. — Gabriel
Marvin Mims has to play at least 60% of snaps without Pat Bryant today. The Broncos need it. He showed why there. — Evans
And another one (3:19 p.m.): RJ Harvey goes off for a 12-yard run. — Nguyen
Big run (3:18 p.m.): Jaleel McLaughlin gets a 13-yard run on Denver’s first play. — Nguyen
Turnover (3:15 p.m.): MASSIVE. Singleton with the helmet strip, Hufanga recovers. HUGE. — Keeler
One play after losing Josh Allen as a spy, Alex Singleton levels James Cook with textbook tackle, jarring ball loose. Talanoa Hufanga pounces on it. Huge turnover. Broncos take over at 25-yard line. Denver has 3 takeaways in last six quarters. — Renck
Huge run (3:14 p.m.): Denver’s defense is struggling. Josh Allen finds a huge hole for a 26-yard scramble. — Nguyen
Incompletion (3:10 p.m.): Response? (Makes sad trombone sound.) — Keeler
Tough grab on a low throw but one Sutton would probably say he should have had over the middle on third-and-10. — Gabriel
Broncos are missing on critical plays early. Sutton could have (should have?) made that catch. Bills lead 7-3 early in the second period. — Saunders
First-quarter thoughts — Bills 7, Broncos 3
Parker Gabriel, beat reporter: The Broncos and Bills traded nearly identical opening drives. The difference: Josh Allen finished it with a TD pass and Denver settled for a FG. Sean Payton’s team looks a little tight. Better loosen up quick.
Sean Keeler, sports columnist: The Broncos drive 64 yards for three. The Bills drive 67 yards for seven. Gotta reverse that math, and ASAP. That last Harvey/Nix exchange looked like young dudes pressing in the moment. You won’t see that from Super Josh. Unless you’re knocking the snot out of him.
First-quarter updates
Crisis averted (3:07 p.m.): RJ Harvey fumbles, knocks the ball back to Bo Nix who throws it toward Adam Trautman for the incompletion. — Nguyen
Broncos with some creative fumbling early. So far, it hasn’t hurt them. — Saunders
So Harvey fumbles exchange. Then as he tries to pick up ball, Bills defender knocks it in air to Nix. He then takes off and inexplicably tries to sidearm ball to Trautman… Nothing to see here…
Yikes.. Breathe. Breathe… — Renck
Critical drive. At least for the orange and blue in attendance. After watching James Cook run wild, need a response. — Keeler
Touchdown, Bills (3:03 p.m.): Josh Allen finds a wide-open Mecole Hardman Jr. to the right for a 4-yard touchdown pass. Twelve plays, 67 yards on the drive. Bills 7, Broncos 3 with 0:05 to go in the first quarter. — Nguyen
Seven beats three. Especially when that pass for six looks so easy at the end. — Keeler
So we get two possessions in first quarter. Difference? Bills scored touchdown in red zone and Broncos settled for field goal. That Lil Jordan Humphrey drop amplified. Mecole Hardman score and PAT makes it 7-3 Bills with 5 seconds left in first. — Renck
- Denver’s opening drive: 14 plays, 64 yards, 7:31 TOP
- Buffalo’s opening drive: 12 plays, 67 yards, 7:24 TOP
The difference: Red zone offense. Bills punch in a TD, Broncos settle for a FG. — Gabriel
Injury update (3 p.m.): Pat Surtain II is out of the tent and is entering this play. Huge break for Denver. — Nguyen
QB attack (3 p.m.): Bills’ plan on third-and-short/fourth-and-short. Establish the Allen dive early. Then turn around and throw a pass (jump pass?) off it to a wide-open dude. Allen’s such a weapon on short-yardage. — Keeler
Fast start (2:57 p.m.): James Cook looks like he is operating on an ethernet connection in a dial-up world. … He already has 38 yards rushing for Bills. — Renck
Injury (2:55 p.m.): Pat Surtain II shaken up on that tackle attempt on James Cook. He’s heading to the blue tent. — Nguyen
Big run (2:54 p.m.): Not a great start for a Broncos defense that gave up 120 yards to James Cook last year in Buffalo. — Peterson
Bills punch Broncos’ D in the most on the first play. 24-yard run by James Cook. Huge hole. — Saunders
Injury update (2:53 p.m.): Broncos injury update: Bryant OUT with concussion. Yikes. — Keeler
All-Pro (2:52 p.m.): Broncos special teams All-Pro Devon Key made the tackle on the kickoff coverage. — Nguyen
Next man up (2:51 p.m.): Status of Mims and Bryant LITERALLY putting Denver’s playoff hopes in the hands of Lil’Jordan Humphrey. Now about those hands … — Keeler
Field goal Broncos (2:48 p.m.): From first-and-5 to a FG attempt on a snuffed Bo Nix run, dropped TD and errant corner route throw for Evan Engram.
3-0 Broncos. Better outcome than a turnover but a missed opportunity nonetheless.
14 plays, 64 yards, 7:31 TOP on the FG drive for Denver. — Gabriel
That Pat Bryant first-drive exit will loom extremely large. That’s him on that second-down ball from Bo Nix instead of Lil’Jordan Humphrey. Denver’s up 3-0 instead of 7-0 early. — Evans
Per Associated Press, “Broncos have scored on last 6 opening drives in the playoffs. Last time they failed was in Super Bowl 48 when they gave up a safety on the opening snap vs Seahawks” … So there’s that. — Renck
Dropped (2:47 p.m.): Lil’Jordan Humphrey dropped a lil’touchdown. — Gabriel
Perfect play call. Perfect throw. Lil’ Jordan Humphrey is going to want that one back. — Peterson
Big drop. PBU to the sun there. But you gotta hang on there, dude. 3 won’t do it vs. Playoff Mode Josh. — Keeler
Fumble (2:45 p.m.): Jaleel McLaughlin coughs up the ball in the red zone but there’s a flag on the play. — Peterson
Offsides on Buffalo is going to wipe a Jaleel McLaughlin fumble off the board.
Wow. Huge early break for the Broncos. — Gabriel
Broncos catch a huge break … maintain possession. The Ghost of Earnest Byner lives at Mile High. — Saunders
Historic success (2:45 p.m.): FYI, if the Broncos win today and then again next Sunday, they would play in their 9th Super Bowl. Only the Patriots would have played in more (11). — Saunders
Injury update (2:44 p.m.): Pat Bryant just went to the locker room. Was hanging his head as a trainer ushered him in. — Evans
Fourth down (2:44 p.m.): Nix has had two designed runs on the opening drive. That’s two more than he had the last game. Or so it seems. Love getting him involved in ground game. Broncos face fourth-and-inches from 18-yard line. — Renck
NOT the best spot. 2 inches. Game of inches it is. — Keeler
Run, Bo, run (2:43 p.m.): Josh Allen isn’t the only QB who can stretch defenses with his legs. Bo Nix with three runs so far in the opening drive. — Peterson
Injury updates (2:41 p.m.): Bryant now ALSO being evaluated for a concussion. Stop, omen. Stop! — Keeler
Two WRs already being evaluated for concussions for the Broncos: Mims and Bryant. — Gabriel
Hot start (2:41 p.m.): First drive of the game: Bo Nix is 4 for 4 and just rushed for a first down to keep the drive alive. Broncos’ game plan has Bills confused. — Saunders
Air it out (2:40 p.m.): Bills have the 30th-ranked rush defense in the NFL, but the Broncos are airing it out on their opening drive. — Peterson
Pat. Bryant. (2:39 p.m.): Pat Bryant having the game of his life. And it’s only the first drive. He has three catches. Also Marvin Mims Jr. being evaluated for a concussion after big hit on kick return. — Renck
Mims being evaluated for a concussion? It was an omen. Geez. — Keeler
Positive play (2:38 p.m.): How the heck did Jaleel McLaughlin escape that? It looked like a tackle for a loss, but he squirmed his way out and got a 6-yard gain. — Nguyen
First down (2:37 p.m.): First play for Denver’s offense: A first-down pass from Bo Nix to Pat Bryant. — Nguyen
Injury (2:34 p.m.): The Bills’ Dorian Williams is down on the turf at Empower Field after a nasty head-to-head hit on the opening kickoff. — Peterson
Williams is up. Thank goodness. Let that one NOT be an omen for today. Here we go. — Keeler
Energy (2:34 p.m.): The flyover is the closest the Jets will get to the playoffs again. Let the real contenders have at it. Broncos v. Bills. Broncos seeking first playoff win since the 2015 season. — Renck
Coin toss (2:32 p.m.): Bills win the toss and defer. Broncos up first with the ball. — Gabriel
Pre-game updates
Crowd (2:29 p.m.): Broncos Country is turned up for Denver’s first home playoff game in a decade. Bills Mafia is one of the best traveling fan bases in the league, but Buffalo fans are few and far between at Empower Field as the two teams line up for the national anthem. — Peterson
Volume (2:26 p.m.): Stating the obvious here: It’s going to be loud. Place is a live wire 6 minutes before kickoff. — Gabriel
Fanbase (2:05 p.m.): Saw more fans with Bills gear walking into the stadium than I saw Jacksonville Jaguars fans in the stadium a few weeks ago. But half hour before kickoff, see a lot of orange. Looks like few people sold their tickets. Love that. And that’s how it should be when a team hasn’t had a home playoff game in 10 years. — Renck
Broncos inactives (1:03 p.m.):
- QB Sam Ehlinger (emergency third)
- TE Caleb Lohner (PS)
- WR Elijah Moore (PS)
- ILB Karene Reid
- CB Reese Taylor
- OLB Que Robinson
- DL Sai’Vion Jones
— Gabriel
Who’s in? (12:55 p.m.): Couple of gameday roster updates: Appears based on early warmups that both TE Caleb Lohner and WR Elijah Moore — Denver’s Friday practice squad elevations — will be inactive. Nice little bonus to get the game-day check for the Divisional round, though.
Also appears DL Jordan Jackson is active. He’s taped up and going through early warmups. Heavy trenches day. — Gabriel
History (12:41 p.m.): The Broncos have quite the history as the AFC’s top seed entering the playoffs. Denver’s conference-best ninth No. 1 seed is its first since the 2015 season, when Peyton Manning became the first QB in NFL history to clinch a Super Bowl title with two different franchises. The Broncos were also the top seed following a 14-2 regular season in 1998, which crescendoed with the franchise’s second Super Bowl trophy in John Elway’s final game. The Broncos have advanced to the Super Bowl in six of the eight previous seasons after earning the top seed. — Peterson
Coaching watch (12:28 p.m.): One of the funny things that happens when a team plays well into the postseason: Much of the NFL calendar keeps chugging on. It’s not quite college football Wild West, but a couple of worthwhile notes about Denver’s coaching staff:
Arizona’s going to be interesting to watch with DC Vance Joseph. The familiarity is there and other dominoes have (sort of, kind of) started to fall. John Harbaugh is headed to the New York Giants. NFL Network reported Saturday that Packers DC Jeff Hafley is a strong candidate in Miami.
Meanwhile on Friday, the Jets publicized their eight DC interviews, which included Broncos secondary coach Jim Leonhard. He’s also interviewed in Dallas and has history with Harbaugh, which could lead to an interview there when they’re allowed for Denver assistants again. Also, if Hafley gets a head coaching job, it’ll be worth remembering that Leonhard turned Packers coach Matt LaFleur down the Green Bay DC job in 2021 because he thought he was going to be the Wisconsin head coach.
Lots of machinations to come on that front for Denver’s coaching staff. If they lose today, it kicks back into gear basically tomorrow. If they win, then it’s all on hold until after the AFC title game. — Gabriel
Good afternoon from Empower Field (12:21 p.m.): There’s not a cloud in the sky, though this will be the coldest day of the season at Empower Field. Temperature is currently in the upper 20s and we may not hit 40 over the course of the afternoon. All the same, a beautiful day for the biggest game in a decade in this stadium. Some players are out for very early warmups at the moment, including Denver QB Bo Nix and his top receiver, Courtland Sutton. — Gabriel
Scouting report (12:06 p.m.): Check out how the Broncos match up with the Bills in Luca Evans’ scouting report.
Game predictions
Parker Gabriel, Broncos reporter: Broncos 23, Bills 22
More often than not this fall, the Broncos have found a way. That’s a good trait to have entering the postseason, where everybody is good and nothing is easy. So many arrows point in Denver’s direction — rest, overall health, roster depth, homefield advantage, so on and so forth. Really one arrow points in Buffalo’s: Josh Allen. He is the great equalizer. If on Saturday he is merely the great near-equalizer, the Broncos will play for a trip to the Super Bowl.
Luca Evans, Broncos reporter: Broncos 23, Bills 20
Theoretically, Buffalo should win. The city of Denver won’t like that this game’s line is so narrow, considering the Broncos are well-rested and earned the AFC’s No. 1 seed for a reason. The Broncos just aren’t poised on paper to take advantage of Buffalo’s weakness to the run game. That being said, Denver’s defense will give Bo Nix and Sean Payton a chance to close this game in the fourth quarter, where they’ve rarely faltered in 2025.
Troy Renck, columnist: Broncos 22, Bills 21
This is not a great matchup for the Broncos. Josh Allen is the hardest quarterback to defend. He has posted six straight playoff games without a turnover. He loves to throw to tight ends, which the Broncos have issues trying to defend. And don’t get me started with Bo Nix’s struggles against zone defense. But the Broncos will stay tethered, and win with a late field goal as they have done inexplicably all season.
Sean Keeler, columnist: Broncos 25, Bills 23
Josh Allen feels inevitable. He’s also 1-2 lifetime in the postseason when sacked three or more times. Those tush-pushes can’t beat you if The Winter Soldier’s facing third-and-forevers. In a perfect world, the Broncos keep Allen off the field and keep James Cook contained. Sean Payton’s never lost a playoff game when his team’s had a week of rest first (4-0). The Allen Legacy Tour has been a heck of a ride. But It’s about to blow a tire in Broncos Country.
Nate Peterson, sports editor: Broncos 23, Bills 21
Sorry, Bills Mafia, but the Broncos are going to the mattresses on Saturday. Facing a defense that was tops in the league during the regular season for sacks (68) and red-zone defense, Josh Allen is in for a long afternoon. Last year’s wild-card loss in Buffalo was much closer through nearly three quarters than the 31-7 final score indicated, and with another year under Sean Payton and Vance Joseph, Denver has closed the gap, is rested and healthy, and will deliver the Mile High City to its first AFC title game in a decade.
Broncos-Bills AFC Divisional Round: Must-reads
Renck: Broncos’ Sean Payton is built for games like this. It’s on him to deliver vs. Bills.
This one’s on Sean.
Hired in 2023, Sean Payton has been intentional on how he built his roster, created his program. He did not leave New Orleans. He brought New Orleans with him, his staff full of former Saints assistants.
The results in Denver have been pupil-dilating: a 14-3 record, the first AFC West crown in a decade, the conference’s No. 1 seed and a locker room players have called the closest they have ever experienced. Read Troy Renck’s column.
How the Broncos terrorized opposing QBs to rack up a franchise-best 68 sacks this season
Opposing quarterbacks rarely leave games against the Broncos with clean jerseys.
If Denver is going to beat Buffalo on Saturday at Empower Field at Mile High and make a run toward the Super Bowl in the coming weeks, Vance Joseph’s defense is going to have to do a lot right.
The Broncos will have to continue to be excellent on third down and in the red zone. They’ll need to avoid the field-flipping pass-interference penalties that have cropped up from time to time. They could stand to take the ball away more frequently. Read Parker Gabriel’s story.
Broncos WR Pat Bryant has moved on quickly from scary Week 16 hit
Three weeks after that hit that sent a crowd of 75,261 at Empower Field into a pallid silence, Bryant is ever the same. It was a football play, he shrugged. There is no animosity toward the Jaguars’ Montaric Brown, who delivered a blow on a hospital-ball crossing route strong enough to send Bryant to the hospital for precautionary measures. As medical staff strapped Bryant to a gurney to immobilize him and carted the rookie off, late in that 34-20 loss to Jacksonville, he had one prevailing thought.
“I was just really hoping, somehow,” Bryant said, “we won the mother(expletive) game.”
After a one-week absence due to a concussion, the receiver returned in Week 18 and led all Broncos receivers with four catches against Los Angeles. Bryant’s favorite route is the 10-yard dig. He hunts over the middle and doesn’t care if he gets hunted right back. That hasn’t changed. It won’t change. Read Luca Evans’ story.
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