The Broncos enjoyed this past week as a well-earned bye week, anxiously awaiting the results of the AFC playoff matchups. Denver finished atop the AFC standings this season, which earned them the right to rest and recoup this week after a brutal regular season that, despite their 14-3 record, saw them take their fair share of lumps. After the results of this weekend, they seem to have at least one more lump to take.
Thanks to their spot as the top seed in the conference, the Broncos will host the lowest remaining seed in the AFC playoff picture. The NFL has announced that Denver will play on Saturday of next week, with the exact time slot of the game still to be announced. However, the Broncos already know who their opponent will be, and it's another tough draw for Sean Payton's squad.
By virtue of their victory over the Jaguars and the Chargers' embarrassing loss to the Patriots, the Buffalo Bills will be traveling to Mile High Stadium for a second straight year of facing the Broncos in the playoffs. Last year, Denver squeaked in as the final seed and was destroyed in the first round by Buffalo. This year has the chance to be completely different, but Denver's draw is nonetheless brutal.
Josh Allen and the Bills are a tough draw for Bo Nix and the Broncos
The Broncos traveled to Buffalo last season to take on the Bills in the Wild Card Round, and they were absolutely manhandled in a very forgettable game. The Broncos dropped the Wild Card game by a score of 31-7, and were outscored 31-0 following their opening drive touchdown. Nix only threw for 144 yards and was also the team's leading rusher, and the Broncos were completely embarrassed on the road.
The roles are drastically different this time around, but the Broncos surely still feel the sting of their loss last year. While Josh Allen seems to have gone up a level himself, the rest of the team around him has taken a significant step back. Factoring that in with the fact that they are playing on a six-day week after a brutally physical game in Jacksonville, the Bills have the deck stacked against them this week.
Despite all of those factors, this is still a tough draw for the Broncos. No defense in football had been playing better over the final month or so than the Jaguars, and Allen absolutely manhandled them down the stretch with his cast of misfit and castoff receivers. The media will likely view the Broncos as home underdogs to the Bills, and they need to make sure they don't take Allen and his team lightly.