Buffalo Rumblings
The Denver Broncos and the Buffalo Bills are set to meet in the NFL Playoffs for the second consecutive season. This time, though, the seeding is a near mirror-image of last season’s final standings. After the 2024 NFL season, the two-seeded Bills hosted the seven-seeded Broncos, winning 31-7 in a game that was much closer for most of the day than the final score would indicate.
This time, it’s the one-seeded Broncos hosting the six-seeded Bills. Denver is coming off a bye week, with their last game coming in a 19-3 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers’ backups on the final day of the regular season. Buffalo, meanwhile, had to deal with a physical Jacksonville Jaguars team last weekend, winning 27-24 in a hard-fought game.
Will the extra rest give the Broncos the edge they need to come out with a victory this time? Or, will the additional game experience allow Buffalo to keep sharp in what should be another tight contest? Either way, Denver has plenty of talented players, so narrowing it down to just five to watch is no easy task.
Here are our five players to watch this week. Share yours with us below in the comments.
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QB Bo Nix
Nobody threw more passes than Denver’s second-year signal-caller, and no quarterback led more game-winning drives this season than Nix did, either. He attempted 612 passes during the year, totaling 3,921 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. He also led seven game-winning drives. Denver won 11 of 13 one-score games they played this season, and much of that success is due to Nix’s poise under pressure. He has been exactly what head coach Sean Payton and the Denver brass hoped for when they drafted him 12th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
However, Nix was just 26th in completion percentage this season and just 19th in passing success rate. He averaged 6.4 yards per attempt, ranked 32nd in the league. Josh Allen, meanwhile, even with Buffalo’s flaws in the passing game, ranked fourth in completion percentage, 10th in passing success rate, and fifth in yards per attempt.
For as frustrating as Buffalo’s passing offense has been to watch at times this season, Denver’s passing offense has been far less efficient overall. The Bills have a very strong secondary, but injuries to safety Jordan Poyer and rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston will test the team’s depth. It’s less of a problem at cornerback thanks to Tre’Davious White and Christian Benford than it is at safety, where Cam Lewis, Damar Hamlin, or Jordan Hancock will likely end up slotting in next to Cole Bishop.
Can head coach Sean McDermott and defensive coordinator Bobby Babich keep giving different looks at the line of scrimmage to confuse Nix before the snap? If they show some of the looks that they showed quarterback Trevor Lawrence last week, it will certainly test Nix’s ability to diagnose coverage both pre-snap and post-snap. If the Bills can make Nix doubt his read while also accounting for...
