The Buffalo Bills advanced to the AFC Divisional Round with a win over the Jaguars on Sunday. Buffalo heads to Denver, the No. 1 seed in the AFC, for its next postseason stop. The last time the Bills and Broncos met was at Highmark Stadium in the 2024-25 Wild Card Round. Buffalo advanced, winning 31-7 in that game.
On Saturday, the Bills head to Denver for the postseason rematch. Buffalo leads the all-time series 24-17-1.
Here's what the players and coaches said ahead of the 4:30 p.m. ET matchup:
Injury updates from first practice of Divisional Round week
Head coach Sean McDermott gave an injury report on Tuesday. Buffalo held a walk-through for the first day of practice.
At Jacksonville, wide receiver Tyrell Shavers tore his ACL mid-game. He will be out for the remainder of the season.
"He embodies what we're all about," McDermott said of Shavers. "I believe [the injury] happened somewhere in the second quarter when we went out there to look at him, and for him to then come back into the game – and then for it to turn out to be what it was – is remarkable. Remarkable toughness, remarkable commitment to the team."
Safety Jordan Poyer, cornerback Maxwell Hairston, running back Ty Johnson and kicker Matt Prater did not practice on Tuesday. McDermott said Prater should kick on Wednesday in preparation for the game.
Quarterback Josh Allen, tight end Dalton Kincaid, linebacker Terrel Bernard, defensive end Greg Rousseau, linebacker Matt Milano and defensive end A.J. Epenesa were limited.
"Same as what he went through last week," McDermott said of Allen's practice designation. "Sore coming out of the game more than anything."
Safety Damar Hamlin practiced in full.
Buffalo opened defensive tackle Ed Oliver's and wide receiver Curtis Samuel's 21-day practice windows on Tuesday among other roster moves. This included placing wide receiver Gabe Davis on Injured Reserve due to a torn ACL injury he sustained during the Wild Card matchup on Sunday.
"What we need to focus on is what's in front of us … and that's handling the things that we can handle and control," McDermott said. "It's next man up. That's pretty stone cold what it is and what has to happen here for us."
'We're going to need everyone'
The Bills' wide receiver room slimmed down after Wild Card week with Shavers and Davis tearing their ACL. Overcoming injuries isn't new to Buffalo, but McDermott emphasized that there's no other choice but to have the next man up mentality. He said on Tuesday that he's confident in his wide receivers to do just that.
"Another guy's got to step up. That's point blank what it means. And I don't mean to be short, it's just right now it's full confidence in the guys in that room," McDermott said.
From that room, Khalil Shakir had a huge game in the first round of the playoffs. He had 12 receptions, not dropping a single pass that went his way, and also acted as an extension of the run game in some regard. While others had explosive, chunk plays, Shakir was a player Allen and offensive coordinator Joe Brady relied on when the run game slowed.
After an up-and-down season on and off the field, McDermott expressed his confidence in Keon Coleman. Coleman had one reception for 36 yards on Sunday. Throughout the season, Coleman popped in and out of the lineup. Slowly, he worked his way back on his coaches' radars in terms of maturity and consistency.
"He, along with others, need to step up and [I'm] confident he will," McDermott said of the second-year wide receiver. "He's moving in the right direction. You saw the production he had last week, the big play down the sideline. He continues to work on the other areas of the game as well that matter just as much as catching balls. So, his growth is going to be important for us down the stretch here."
Everyone playing their best ball doesn't just apply to the wide receiver room. It applies to every position group and all three phases of the game.
"We're going to need everyone. I mean, that's the short answer and is the simple truth. We're going to need everyone," McDermott said. "It's a great team, No. 1 seed in the AFC and they've earned that [and] we're at their place. It's that type of game and you've got to be able to do your 1/11th at a very high level. If we don't make the adjustments this week and the improvements we need to make, it's going to be really hard – awfully hard for us to get a win out there."
Bills assess Denver's top defense
Buffalo has another tough defense in front of them for the second consecutive postseason week. This time around, the Bills face a good run and pass defense.
"They've got great players, interior and their edge guys. It's just a great defense, great scheme," offensive lineman David Edwards said. "We're going to look at that film just to identify what they're doing versus combinations and maybe blitzes or whatever, just to get an idea. But it could be a scheme different, different game. So, we'll have to see when we're out there."
Allen also commended Denver's defensive line. Linebacker Nik Bonitto and defensive end John Franklin-Myers rank in the top 10 in the NFL in pass rush win rate.
"They've got some absolute studs over there. Obviously, they rush the passer extremely well," Allen said. "Interior there, some big, stout guys that can really push the pocket, and they can stop the run in the backend too … Understand the game plan, get to the right checks, get to the right calls, execute and play for each other because we can't give [Denver] any help. That's a good team over there, and anytime you're facing a really good defense and you got to go out there and do your part."
The Bills are third in the league in red zone efficiency at 66.2 percent. Despite being one of the best in the NFL, though, they face the No. 1 red zone defense (allows 42.6 percent).
"The space, obviously, shortens down there. But when you've got speed and pass rushers, that's a pretty good combination," McDermott said. "Those pass rushes are longer type of guys and twitchy at the same time. Their roster speaks for itself, and the way that they play also is extremely impressive."
