The Denver Broncos are coming into their Divisional Round game against the Buffalo Bills with some obvious advantages, and while there are more than three, we've highlighted the three most obvious ones here.
With this win, the Denver Broncos would then play the New England Patriots, Houston Texans, or Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship Game. However, getting past Buffalo is no easy task at all.
Let's chat about three obvious advantages the Denver Broncos have over the Buffalo Bills.
These three advantages that the Broncos have over the Bills could lead to a victory
Coaching
Sean Payton is a better coach than Sean McDermott. What we've seen from the Buffalo Bills head coach in recent years is a clear 'ceiling' when the playoff roll around. Buffalo has continually fallen short in the playoff despite having some of the best QB play of this generation, and for multiple years now, McDermott's job status has been in question. The only thing Sean Payton has done since taking over his take the Broncos from among the most dysfunctional teams in the NFL to one of the best.
Payton's ceiling is higher as a head coach, and McDermott's playoff failures year after year have really begun in the Divisional Round.
Overall play in the trenches
Here are the trench metrics from ESPN on the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos:
Pass Rush Win Rate: Buffalo - 27th, Denver - 3rd
Run Stop Win Rate: Buffalo - 22nd, Denver - 4th
Pass Block Win Rate: Buffalo - 4th, Denver - 8th
Run Block Win Rate: Buffalo - 1st, Denver - 4th
Some other key metrics to highlight are the Buffalo Bills having just 36 sacks on the year, and the Denver Broncos having 68. Furthermore, Bo Nix has been sacked just 22 times this year, while Josh Allen has been sacked 40 times this year.
Overall, the Denver Broncos have a slight edge in the trenches, and this should only be more true with the game being in front of the home crowd. Yes, the Buffalo Bills have an excellent run defense, but the Broncos stop the run well, and the Bills' offensive line has allowed a ton of sacks this year.
Mile High
The main advantage from last year when Denver and Buffalo played to this year is that this game is at home for the Broncos. Denver was able to do enough to land the first overall seed, so they not only have each playoff game in the AFC at home, but have also come off extended rest. The Bills are a good team and are likely keeping this one close, but Mile High is simply a different level of an advantage for the home team.
The crowd should be loud enough to get Buffalo to commit some pre-snap penalties on offense.