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, advance with a 33-30 overtime victory on Saturday buffalo bill In the best-of-the-best list.

Broncos beat reigning league MVP josh allenSome unexpected struggles on defense and a stifling offense for most of the second half were a reminder of when wins keep them in the postseason. The Broncos advanced to their first AFC Championship Game since finishing the 2015 season with a Super Bowl 50 victory.

All they needed was an other-worldly interception from Jaquan McMillian in overtime, a clutch drive at the end of the fourth quarter – which ended with a 26-yard touchdown pass. bo nix To Marvin Mims Jr.. – and a 75-yard drive helped by three Bills defensive penalties to survive and advance to the overtime game winner.

A year ago, Broncos coach Sean Payton stood on the sideline at Highmark Stadium as the Buffalo Bills finalized a 31–7 playoff victory over the Broncos and told himself that Denver needed to find a way to “hold those types of games” at home.

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

And the fifth of those takeaways, McMillian ripping the ball away from the Bills wide receiver brandin cook This one will be remembered for a long time with 7:46 left in overtime. Concerns about the run defense – 176 yards rushing has been allowed in regulation on the season – injuries at wide receiver and a balky red zone offense (1 of 3 on the day) could await.

But on Saturday, a team that had been playing great all season (11-2 in one-score games before Saturday) outlasted another to keep itself alive for the biggest prize.

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

What is meant by QB performance: The Bills have frustrated quarterbacks all season with 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 – allowing 156.9 passing yards per game – and were sure to frustrate Bo Nix in his second career playoff start. Knicks had two touchdown passes in the first half – including one to a reserve tackle frank crum – but he looked shaky, with several near-miss turnovers. Things got even more difficult after halftime, as Nix went 3 of 9 passing for 25 yards with one interception in the third quarter. But in typical Knicks style, he stepped up late, throwing a touchdown pass to Marvin Mims Jr. in the fourth quarter to put the Broncos ahead and lead the game-winning drive in overtime.

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 the Bills run defense, which is one of the worst in the league (28th in the regular season). Still, 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 – Despite injuries, Payton still hasn’t taken off in the run game. Instead, the Bills defense troubled the Knicks with coverage looks at times, including an interception in the third quarter.

Viewing Trends: As the regular season came to a close, the Broncos lamented how all the team’s good work on defense did not pay off. 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, including three fumble recoveries on Saturday.–Jeff Legvold

Next game: Sunday, January 25 vs. houston texans Or new England Patriots3 PM ET

Got the overtime bill once again.

Despite forcing the Broncos to punt after four plays on the opening possession of the extra period, the Bills’ offense was unable to string together a drive. Instead, Allen threw an interception on Buffalo’s only overtime possession and gave the defense back the opportunity. The unit was unable to get off the field on the following possession and the season ended on a field goal.

Overcoming that overtime challenge will have to wait another year as Allen is now 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 introduced in 1974 (regular season and playoffs).

The team reached this stage due to its weak defense in regulation.

With less than two minutes remaining in regulation and the Broncos driving, cornerback Tre’Davious White exited the game with an injury. backup dane jackson Came in and Nix went right after him, throwing a 26-yard touchdown pass to Mims Jr. to take the lead.

Allen and the offense managed to tie the game and take it to overtime on a 50-yard matt prater Field goal, but overtime got them.

Most Amazing Performance: ball security. It was the Bills’ first game with more than five turnovers since Week 7 in 2018 against the Colts. The Bills lost fumbles (two by Allen and one by Cook) and threw two interceptions – the most in any game with Allen as the starting quarterback. While Cook has seen an increase in fumbles recently (four lost since Week 10, tied). Sam Darnold The most by any player in that period), Allen’s mistakes were largely a callback to earlier in his career. While the Bills had a chance to win, the fifth turnover (McMillian’s interception) was very difficult to overcome.

What is meant by quarterback performance: It wasn’t Allen’s best game, but the reigning NFL MVP was generally solid when the pressure was on. Despite turning the ball over four times, Allen orchestrated back-to-back scoring drives in the fourth quarter and led a comeback from a 13-point halftime deficit. Allen was particularly good in the third, converting 10 of 15. However, Allen’s four turnovers are equal to his most in a game in his career (regular season or playoffs).

Statistics to know:: Allen lost despite 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 game, according to Elias Sports Bureau. However, Allen had thrown most of his passes for more than 20 yards without completing a game in his career (0-8).

— Alaina Getzenberg

Next game: season is over