Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos have had two weeks to scheme for their Divisional Round matchup against the Buffalo Bills. And giving Sean Payton two weeks to scheme gives him time to play 4-D chess.
Not only are the Broncos calling up rookie tight end Caleb Lohner off the practice squad for this game to potentially make his NFL debut, but they have called up veteran wide receiver Elijah Moore for the first time since signing him as well. And the timing could not be more perfect.
Moore started the 2025 season as a member of the Buffalo Bills, but they cut him in the middle of the year and might be regretting that right about now with all of the injuries they are currently dealing with at the receiver position.
Broncos playing mind games with the Bills by calling up WR Elijah Moore from the practice squad
Bills, decimated with WR injuries, could use Elijah Moore now but they waived him Nov. 26. He's now on Denver's practice squad and providing plenty of info. on Bills to #Broncos. “I did all I can in meetings. They asked me questions. Whatever they asked, I gave it to them.”
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) January 16, 2026
The call up to the gameday roster has little to do with the intel Elijah Moore gave to the Broncos in the week they've had to prepare for this opponent. It has a lot more to do with the idea of playing mind games with Buffalo overall.
The Bills have likely spent the entire week preparing for the likes of Courtland Sutton, Troy Franklin, Marvin Mims, Pat Bryant, and even Lil'Jordan Humphrey. And now the Broncos can throw the curveball of personnel groupings with Elijah Moore out there, a guy who has produced at an extremely high level in the NFL.
He's had time over the past couple of months to really digest the Sean Payton offense. He's always had the talent to contribute in a big game like this, but if the Broncos throw that wrinkle into the offense now, it will be a new wrinkle that nobody has prepared for all season, including the Bills.
And if nothing else, it plays the mind game with the Bills of having someone who was in their locker room for half the season now on the other side of it for the playoffs. Moore had a rushing touchdown for the Bills early in the season, and just couldn't find his footing within that offense.
Then again, what receiver really has over the past couple of years?
We'll see if Moore is part of the roster that will actually dress for the game, because the Broncos will still have to declare a handful of inactives despite having an almost completely healthy roster at this point. Practice squad elevations aren't guaranteed to play, but they are guaranteed to get a bigger game check.
If the Broncos do incorporate Moore, he adds an element of playmaking ability that will have to be accounted for even if it wasn't planned for. And that's how you play 4-D chess.