Broncos find way again as Bills OT woes continue in playoffs

DENVER — In a city that has seen more than its share of memorable playoff moments, add Saturday night’s 33-30 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills to the best-of-the-best list, though it came at a huge cost.

The Broncos overcame reigning league MVP Josh Allen, some unexpected struggles on defense and a sputtering offense for much of the second half to author the memorable win that keeps them in the postseason. The Broncos advance to their first AFC Championship Game since they ended the 2015 season with a Super Bowl 50 win. But they will have to play without starting quarterback Bo Nix, who broke his ankle on the second-to-last play of the game and will miss the remainder of the playoffs. Now, backup Jarrett Stidham will face the winner of Sunday’s matchup between the Texans and Patriots.

Before the injury, Denver needed an otherworldly interception from Ja’Quan McMillian in overtime, a clutch drive late in the fourth quarter that was capped by a 26-yard touchdown pass from Nix to Marvin Mims Jr. and a 75-yard march in OT to advance.

A year ago, Broncos coach Sean Payton stood on the sideline in Highmark Stadium as the Buffalo Bills put the finishing touches on a 31-7 playoff win over the Broncos and told himself Denver needed to find a way to “have those kinds of games” at home.

The Broncos went 14-3 to get that wish as the AFC’s No. 1 seed. In front of a frenzied home crowd, they had five takeaways in a game that was a struggle nonetheless.

And the fifth of those takeaways, McMillian forcing Bills wide receiver Brandin Cooks to fumble with 7:46 left in overtime, will be remembered. Concerns over the run defense — a season-high 176 yards rushing allowed in regulation — injuries at wide receiver and a balky red zone offense (1-of-3 on the day) can wait.

On Saturday, a team that lived on great escapes all season (11-2 in one-score games before Saturday) pulled off another to stay alive for the biggest prize.

Here are the most important things to know from Saturday night for both teams:

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What to make of the QB performance: The Bills have frustrated quarterbacks this season thanks to a variety of secondary looks that often look like man-to-man coverage but aren’t. Buffalo entered Saturday’s game with the NFL’s best pass defense — 156.9 passing yards allowed per game — and certainly frustrated Nix in his second career playoff start. Nix had two touchdown passes in the first half, including one to reserve tackle Frank Crum, but he looked unsettled other times, with multiple near-miss turnovers. Things were even more difficult after halftime, as Nix went 3-of-9 passing for 25 yards with an interception in the third quarter. But in typical Nix style, he stepped up late, putting the Broncos ahead in the fourth quarter with a touchdown pass to Marvin Mims Jr. and leading the winning drive in overtime on which he was injured on the final play before the winning kick.

Biggest hole in the game plan: Broncos coach Sean Payton said Thursday that he planned to write a note on his playsheet to remind himself to “run it” against a Bills run defense that has been one of the worst in the league (28th in the regular season). Yet, the Broncos’ running backs carried the ball only nine times in the first three quarters. Even though the Broncos lost two wide receivers — Pat Bryant and Troy Franklin — to injuries, Payton still did not lean into the run game. Instead, the Bills’ defense flustered Nix at times with coverage looks, including one that led to a third-quarter interception.

Trend to watch: As the regular season drew to a close, the Broncos lamented about how all of the team’s good work on defense hadn’t resulted in turnovers. Denver entered the final week of the regular season with a minus-3 turnover differential, which is near the bottom of the league. But the Broncos forced two takeaways in Week 18 and added five more Saturday, including three fumble recoveries.— Jeff Legwold

Next game: Jan. 25 vs. Houston Texans or New England Patriots, 3 p.m. ET

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Overtime got the Bills again.

Despite forcing the Broncos to punt after four plays during their opening possession of OT, the Bills’ offense couldn’t put together a drive. Instead, Allen threw an interception on Buffalo’s only overtime possession. The Bills’ defense couldn’t get off the field on the ensuing possession, and the season ended on a field goal.

Allen is 0-7 in his career in overtime games, including 0-3 in the postseason. The seven overtime losses are the most without a win by a starting quarterback since overtime was first instituted in 1974 (regular season and playoffs).

With less than two minutes remaining in regulation and the Broncos driving, cornerback Tre’Davious White left the game because of an injury. Nix went right after backup Dane Jackson, throwing a 26-yard touchdown pass to Mims to take the lead.

Allen and the offense tied the score and forced overtime on a 50-yard Matt Prater field goal, but the Bills fell short in OT.

Most surprising performance: Ball security. It was the Bills’ first game with five-plus turnovers since 2018 Week 7 against the Colts. The Bills lost fumbles (two by Allen and one by Cook) and threw two interceptions, which is tied for the most in any game with Allen as the starting quarterback. Though Cook has had an uptick in fumbles lately (four lost since Week 10, tied with Sam Darnold for the most by any player over that span), Allen’s mistakes were largely a callback to earlier in his career. Though the Bills had a chance to win, the fifth turnover (McMillian’s interception) was too much to overcome.

What to make of the quarterback performance: It wasn’t Allen’s best game. The reigning NFL MVP was generally solid when the pressure was on, but ultimately had a mistake-filled game. Despite turning the ball over four times, Allen did recover to orchestrate back-to-back scoring drives in the fourth quarter and work back from a 13-point halftime deficit. Allen was especially good on third down, converting 10 of 15. However, Allen’s four turnovers are tied for his most in a game in his career (regular season or playoffs).

Stat to know: The loss came despite Allen becoming the first player in NFL history with three or more go-ahead passing or rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter of a single postseason, per Elias Sports Bureau. Allen, however, had his most passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield without a completion in a game in his career (0-8).

— Alaina Getzenberg

Next game: Season over