The Broncos defeated the Bills 33-30 in overtime in the AFC Divisional Playoff on Saturday in Denver to advance to the AFC Championship Game next Sunday. It was a classic, great game that will go down in Broncos history. There is so much to talk about the game and then the aftermath of the game with the Bo Nix injury news. Here are my thoughts on the game.....
1) This game had it all. It was an all-time classic. This game will long be remembered in Broncos history. The range of emotions from the pre-game to during the game was just all over the place. At one point, I thought the Broncos were going to win when they were up 23-10 in the 3rd quarter, then when Buffalo took the lead at 24-23 early in the 4th quarter, I felt like the Broncos were going to lose. It was over three hours of just pure emotion. I was spent by the end of the game.
2) Bo Nix had his moment in this game. If there was ever a doubt about Nix, he shut it down in the biggest game of his life. He threw for 3 TDs, and drove the Broncos down for the leading touchdown with a minute to play and gave Denver a 30-27 lead. That TD pass to Marvin Mims will be one of the great throws by any Broncos QB in history. He led the team all game long and outplayed Josh Allen.
3) It is always interesting to see how some of the pre-game narratives played out during the game. All week, there was the narrative of the Bills being able to run the ball on Denver's defense with James Cook. The Bills and Cook were able to do that. There was the narrative that Josh Allen would outplay Bo Nix. That was not the case as Nix actually out-dueled Allen. There was the narrative about the Broncos running the ball on the Bills weak run defense and struggling against the pass defense. Well, Denver didn't even really try to run the ball consistently and instead attacked the Bills pass defense all game long. There was the narrative that the Broncos defense might not be able to hold up in some parts and that was true as well, but the Broncos defense forced 5 Bills turnovers and make some huge plays to stop Buffalo in key moments.
4) I thought all week that Sean Payton would be a big factor in this game with his gameplan and play-calling. He was really good in this moment. He dialed up some great calls for Bo Nix and even threw in a little trick play with a tackle eligible TD pass to Frank Crum. Give Payton credit. He deserves it.
5) If you are looking for turning points in this game, then you have to look at the sequence right before the end of the first half and to start the second half. Denver scores on a beautiful 29 yard TD pass from Bo Nix to Lil'Jordan Humphrey to make it 17-10 Denver with 22 seconds left in the first half. Buffalo gets a kick return and has the ball at their own 20 with 16 seconds left and no timeouts. They try to complete a pass, Josh Allen scrambles, gets stripped by Nik Bonitto, and Denver recovers at then Bills 32 with 2 seconds left in the half. Denver kicks a field goal and is now up 20-10 going into halftime. I don't understand what the Bills were doing there in that spot. The, Buffalo gets the ball to start the 3rd quarter, and Bonitto strip sacks Allen and Denver recovers at the Bills 17. Denver settles for a field goal but is now up 23-10. That was a huge right there.
6) There always seems to be controversy at the end of these games. This one will be remembered for the play that Jaquan McMillian made on Brandin Cooks in overtime. The Bills forced a Denver punt on the first possession of OT, and all Buffalo needed was a field goal and they win the game. On 3rd and 11 from his own 36, Allen throws a deep ball to Brandin Cooks. Cooks gets his hands on it but as he is going to the ground, McMillian rips it out, gains possession, and the referee calls it an interception at the Denver 20 yard line. Right away, even Gene Sterratore in the CBS booth said it was an interception. The call stood and Denver got the big turnover in OT. At first glance, it looked like an interception and even after seeing the replay, I think it was. There's a lot of debate about it, but the rule made it clear that it wasn't a catch. Then, the Broncos got two pass interference calls. The first one gave Denver the ball at the Buffalo 37 and the second one got the ball to the Buffalo 8 yard line to set up Will Lutz for the game-winning field goal. The first pass interference call was a bit ticky tack, but it didn't matter because Joey Bosa got flagged for roughing the passer anyway. The second pass interference was blatant because if Marvin Mims didn't get interfered with he was going to make the catch and score. It sucks that a great game will sometimes be remembered for controversial plays, but I do think they were the right calls in the right moment.
5) Where does this game fall into memorable Broncos playoff games in my lifetime? It is definitely in the top 10 and probably top 7. Here is my list:
- The Drive
-The Fumble
-The Drive Part 2 vs the Oilers
-Super Bowl XXXII
-Tebow to Demaryius Thomas 2011 AFC Wild Card
-2015 AFC Championship Manning vs Brady
-2025 AFC Divisional against Buffalo
6) Unfortunately, what will always be remembered about this game was the aftermath. About a hour after the game ended, the news came out that Bo Nix fractured a bone in his ankle late in the overtime, and he is out for the rest of the playoffs. It was an absolute stunner because he finished the game and did the postgame interview and it didn't seem like anything was wrong. Nix hurt his ankle when he was running the ball in overtime. The next play he threw a deep ball to Marvin Mims, which threw a pass interference. That set up a kneel down and then the game-winning kick. It was absolutely heartbreaking to hear that after the game. When the game ended, I celebrated with my family and texted some friends about the game. My boys wanted to go to their friends house, so I took them there, and when I came home, I was going to pour myself a drink and watch the Seattle-49ers game and enjoy the Broncos victory. Just as I poured the beer, my son texted me the news about Nix. It was such a gut-wrenching moment, and took away from the celebration of that game. I will always remember the feeling of the Broncos winning that game, but I will also never forget the feeling of hearing about Nix getting hurt.
7) The thing that I will cherish the most about this game will be the fact that I was able to enjoy it and experience it with my family-especially my two sons, Nick and Anthony. I have seen Denver go to 7 Super Bowls in my lifetime and now 10 AFC Championship Games. I just wanted them to experience a big playoff win at this stage in their life, and I am so happy that happened. Nick was 7 and Anthony was just about to turn 5 when Denver last won a playoff game-Super Bowl 50. They have followed in my footsteps and have become huge Broncos fans. We watch every game together, and it is so much fun to have that bond with them over the Broncos. To see them experience this win, at ages 16 and 13 respectively, is just so special. That is why this game will be forever special to me.
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