The Denver Broncos’ strong second season under coach Sean Payton came to an end at Highmark Stadium on Sunday as they fell to the second-seeded Buffalo Bills, 31-7, in the wild-card round.
A highlight-reel touchdown on the game’s fifth play gave Denver an early lead after star rookie quarterback Bo Nix announced his presence in the postseason with a 43-yard dart to wide receiver and former Oregon teammate Troy Franklin. It was the first rookie-to-rookie passing touchdown in NFL postseason history.
T AS IN TOUCHDOWN.
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/1UZYcSS7aZ
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) January 12, 2025
But the game devolved from their into a blowout as Denver’s offense was stifled and Buffalo posted three touchdowns and three field goals over the next eight drives.
Denver, despite boasting a stout defense in the regular season, had few answers for MVP candidate Josh Allen, who passed for two touchdowns and over 270 yards on the Broncos’ overmatched secondary.
After a two-win improvement from 2023, Denver will now head into this offseason with more promise than the last after watching Payton and Nix, a top Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate, lead the club to their first playoff game since 2015
Allen proves too big a problem for Denver to handle
Buffalo’s first three drives featured 12, 13 and 11 plays, respectively. Thanks to a big third-down stop in the red zone and a timely sack by defensive end Zach Allen on the third drive, the Broncos were able to survive those early marathon marches by giving up only 10 points. But that proved to be a best-case scenario.
In the second half, Allen patiently waited for the big plays in the passing game and found success. His incredible 24-yard throw to running back Ty Johnson in the back of the end zone on fourth-and-1 — a play that held up after replay review — gave the Bills a two-touchdown lead late in the third. Three plays into Buffalo’s next possession, Allen found receiver Curtis Samuel down the sideline for a 55-yard touchdown.
Allen and lead back James Cook battered the NFL’s second-best run defense (3.9 yards allowed per carry) from the very start of Sunday’s game. Cook finished with 120 yards and a score while Allen added 46 yards on the ground. The Bills had 100 rushing yards on their first two possessions alone, and when the Broncos had been successfully bullied up front, Buffalo took the deep shots that put the game away.
It’s what makes Allen, who finished with 272 passing yards and two TDs, such a vexing problem. And it’s reminder that elite quarterback play is often the antidote to even the NFL’s best defenses. — Nick Kosmider, Broncos beat writer
Broncos’ running game hits a wall in playoff loss
The Broncos began their first drive of the second half Sunday in need of a spark.
They trailed, 13-7, perhaps fortunate to be within a possession given Buffalo’s dominance on the ground. Instead, Denver went three-and-out. The Bills scored a touchdown on their next drive, and Denver went three-and-out once again after Nix’s third-down pass was nearly intercepted. That sequence more or less extinguished Denver’s hopes of an upset bid.
The common fatal trait that defined those and other failed drives for the Broncos: a complete inability to run the football.
Payton tried to get the time-of-possession battle from spinning out of control. He called consecutive run plays to open both of Denver’s drives, resulting in four carries for a combined 9 yards. Throw in a false start penalty on Franklin, and Denver faced a pair of third-and-longs it couldn’t convert, erasing the Broncos’ chance to stay in the game.
All year long, Denver shuffled through its running back rotation. Five different players led the Broncos in rushing, but they could never find consistent footing in the run game. The Broncos ran for 58 yards through three quarters on Sunday — with 12 of those coming from a Nix scramble on a two-minute drive at the end of the first half — and finished with 79 yards.
Last offseason, Denver made moves that ultimately helped fix many of their biggest problems during the ’23 season. The clear task now: find a way to improve a running game that wasn’t nearly good enough in moments that mattered for Denver this season. — Kosmider
Adding more offensive help for Nix a top priority this offseason
Nix took a big hit as he delivered a big throw on the money for 43 yards to help the Broncos strike first on Denver’s opening drive. The OROY candidate also guided an efficient two-minute drive in the second quarter that was spoiled when kicker Wil Lutz couldn’t tie the game on a 50-yard field goal attempt that bounced off the right upright. But the Broncos, once again, had too many quick drives.
Denver had three possessions that went three-and-out, and that doesn’t even include a possession where the Broncos executed a fake punt on fourth down — and still ended up punting on the drive.
FAKE PUNT! 🚨
📺: #DENvsBUF on CBS/Paramount+
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/P6C3l2byem— NFL (@NFL) January 12, 2025
The Broncos have needs everywhere at the skill positions on offense: a tight end to open up the middle of the field, a dynamic running back who can make more game-changing plays and another big-play wide receiver.
Armed with their own first- and second-round picks, among other draft capital, and spending room in free agency, Payton and general manager George Paton must find a player or two this offseason with the Joker traits they’ve been seeking for this offense the past two seasons.— Kosmider
Required reading
(Photo: Elsa / Getty Images)
