The Denver Broncos were truly playing with house money in the 2024 NFL Season. After a shaky 0-2 start, Denver finished the year 10-5 and squeaked into the playoffs as the seventh and final playoff seed. Given the circumstances with a rookie QB and that massive learning curve, and the overall inexperience in playoff pushes from the rest of the roster, the Broncos were truly maxed out.
Denver actually kept the game close for more than half in the Wild Card Round, so while the final score might indicate that the game was never close, that simply was not true. The Broncos actually held an early 7-0 at one point, and the game got out of hand thanks to some self-inflicted wounds by Denver.
Well, in the offseason, the Broncos attempted to fill some of their key roster holes, and that meant getting a bit aggressive in free agency to fix the defensive shortcomings. While some Bills fans may ask 'what is different for Denver?' in this rematch, two defensive studs that weren't here in 2024 absolutely make for a huge difference.
Talanoa Hufanga and Dre Greenlaw are healthy, tone-setters, and ready to flip the script for the Broncos
Signing a pair of ex-49ers that San Francisco absolutely wanted back, both Talanoa Hufanga and Dre Greenlaw are top-10, even top-5 players at their respective positions. Hufanga himself has had a stellar season for Denver, as he's racked up 11 passes defended, 1 forced fumble, 2.0 sacks, 106 total tackles, 6 tackles for loss, and 3 QB hits. He finished with a second-team All-Pro nod and had career-highs, or tied career-highs in passes defended, sacks, tackles, tackles for loss, and QB hits.
Hufanga has five games of playoff experience with the San Francisco 49ers in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, as well. Dre Greenlaw has a whopping 12 games of playoff experience. In those 12 games, he has two interceptions, 3 passes defended, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, and 72 total tackles.
Not only do both players bring 17 total games of playoff experience, which is an entire season, but they contributed to some of the best defenses in the NFL during their tenure with the 49ers. Having both players, who can play downhill and bring physicality, are massive changes from the 2024 Wild Card game.
It really is a shame that Dre Greenlaw wasn't healthy for half of the season, but he practiced in full at the end of the week and is probably as healthy as he can be. If the Broncos hope to contain the Bills offense, the tone-setters in Greenlaw and Hufanga will play huge roles.