The Bills are heading to the second round of the playoffs. They're faced with a challenging defense again as they head to Denver to take on the Broncos. It's the second year in a row these two have played each other in the postseason.
Here are five storylines to follow ahead of Saturday's matchup.
1. Bills have a playoff rematch with Broncos
The Bills draw a familiar opponent in the Divisional Round this weekend. The last time Buffalo faced Denver was in the AFC Wild Card Round in the 2024-25 season. Saturday marks the second consecutive postseason meeting between the two teams, and the Bills look to come out on top again. They beat the Broncos, 31-7, in their last matchup.
"We know we're obviously a different team than we were last year and so are they," offensive coordinator Joe Brady said.
In the Wild Card game last year, running back James Cook III had 120 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries. Buffalo put up a total 210 rushing yards and 272 passing yards. Quarterback Josh Allen also threw two touchdown passes. Three players caught 100 percent of their targets--wide receivers Khalil Shakir and Curtis Samuel, and tight end Dalton Kincaid. The three put up 176 receiving yards combined.
The Bills held the Broncos to 79 rushing yards and forced a 59.1 completion percentage out of then rookie quarterback Bo Nix. Nix completed 13 of 22 passes for 144 yards and one touchdown.
Buffalo was the No. 2 seed in 2024, hosting the No. 7 Broncos for that previous matchup. This time around, the Bills are the No. 6 seed and head to the No. 1 seeded Broncos who had a bye in the Wild Card Round.
"I'm sure that feels good for them, getting that rest, getting that number one seed, and they've earned it. They've got a great team, all three phases," head coach Sean McDermott said. "We're going to go out there and have to make sure we're rested through the week as we try and prepare as well in the short week here; and we're going to have to play better than we did this past weekend in order to win."
On Saturday, Nix has another chance in the playoffs for his second NFL season as he lead Denver to a 14-3 record during the regular season.
Buffalo faces a similar quarterback it saw in 2024-25 in terms of numbers. In the 2024 regular season, Nix finished with a 66.3 completion rate. He completed 376 passes for 3,775 yards and 29 touchdowns. Nix also threw 12 interceptions as a rookie. In the 2025 regular season, Nix finished with a 63.4 completion percentage. On 388 completions, he threw for 3,931 yards and 25 touchdowns with 11 interceptions.
"Evolution-wise, you see how Nix is more comfortable in their offense," defensive coordinator Bobby Babich said. "He knows when to use his legs, he knows when to tuck it and go and all that. He's certainly really dangerous in that manner. But you see a maturation of the offense in general."
2. "Find ways to win" is more important than ever
In the Wild Card Round, Buffalo faced a top run defense from the Jaguars. The Bills No. 1 rushing offense was limited on Sunday, meaning they turned to their tight ends and receivers to get the job done.
"As long as we can stay two-dimensional, we're going to be at our best," offensive coordinator Joe Brady said.
Allen finished with an 80 percent completion rate on 28-of-30 passes for 273 yards and one touchdown. Nine pass catchers got in the mix on Sunday and Shakir led the group. The WR caught all 12 passes sent his way for 82 yards.
Wide receiver Brandin Cooks was behind him with three catches for 58 yards, including a 36-yard-long reception right before the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter that ultimately led to Buffalo's game-winning touchdown. Tight ends Dawson Knox and Kincaid also got involved, putting up 58 yards combined and one score from Kincaid.
The Bills have a similar matchup against the Broncos on Saturday, but also face a leading pass defense in the NFL on top of it.
Denver has the second-best rush defense in yards allowed per game (91) and is also third in yards allowed per rush (3.9) in the NFL. In the pass game, the Broncos are seventh in yards allowed per game (159.6) and second in yards allowed per pass (6.1).
In terms of finding ways to beat Denver's top-ranked defense, ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky thinks the running backs and tight ends can help in the passing game. The Bills were without running back Ty Johnson in the Wild Card Round due to an ankle injury and did not participate in Tuesday's practice. During the beginning of the week, head coach Sean McDermott did say Johnson was improving.
"Is Ty Johnson available? I think that's a huge, huge part of this game," Orlovsky told One Bills Live. "Whoever plays Denver, you have to have your tight ends and your backs be the pass catching threats in that game. Unironically, here comes Buffalo who that's the strength of their offense. I think if Ty Johnson plays, you're going to be in this mix if you're Buffalo where you kind of want to have this grouping of Kincaid, Knox, Shakir, Johnson and Cook. In whatever combinations, you want those guys on the field a ton."
On the ground, Buffalo has the top rushing offense. It's first in yards per game (159.6) and second in yards per rush (5.0). In the air, the Bills are 15th in pass yards per game (216.6) and third in yards per pass (8.0).
Offensive coordinator Joe Brady emphasized the importance of finding ways to win. Against the Jaguars, they proved they can do so. On Saturday, they'll have to prove it again.
"As long as there's time on the clock," Brady said. "We have a chance."
3. Protecting Josh Allen
Denver's defense is top-notch across the board. They pressure the quarterback better than any team in the league. Protecting quarterback Josh Allen is always a priority for Buffalo, but it is especially so heading into Saturday.
"It's a very good defense," ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky said on One Bills Live. "They put five defensive linemen across the field. They're all fantastic, Pro Bowl, All-Pro caliber players. Linebackers are really good players, active. (The) secondary is fantastic."
While he was only sacked once against Jacksonville, Allen's felt the effects of the long regular season and the physical Wild Card battle. In the locker room, the Bills said Allen will play through anything and that he'll never let on if he's hurt or not.
"He's a warrior," head coach Sean McDermott said of Allen after Sunday's game. "You've got a quarterback; they're going to want to hit the quarterback. They're going to want to affect the quarterback."
The Broncos are No. 1 in the NFL in sacks (68), quarterback hurries (149) and pressure percentage (9.8 percent). They are fifth in blitz percentage (33.9 percent) as well. In 2025, Allen took 40 sacks in the regular season, 26 more than he did in the 2024 regular season.
Denver linebacker Nik Bonitto is fifth in the league in sacks and leads his team in that stat with 14. Four Broncos have seven or more sacks in 2025, including Bonitto, defensive end Zach Allen, defensive end John Franklin-Myers and linebacker Jonathan Cooper.
In terms of how the quarterback is feeling after a physical game, McDermott updated the media on Monday afternoon.
"Allen is certainly sore," McDermott said on Monday. "And as you know, he's going to do whatever it takes to play."
Allen (foot, knee, right finger) was listed as a limited participant for Tuesday's walkthrough practice.
4. How Denver has got it done on offense
Denver finished out the season picking up wins without needed to have the highest offensive output. They didn't score more than 20 points in their final three games but went 2-1 in the last three weeks.
The Broncos have been one of the toughest teams to beat winning 13 of their last 14 matchups. In those games, they've scored more than 25 points just five times. On the season, they averaged 23.6 points per game (14th) and 342.6 total yards per game (10th).
They're points per game average is the lowest of the eight teams still alive in the playoffs. One of the reasons why they're averaging under 25 points per game is because they've struggled to keep drives alive. The Broncos have the seventh most 3 & out percentage in the league at 37.8%. They're also scoring on only 37.8% of their drives, which ranks 20th in the league.
ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky says the inconsistencies stem from quarterback play.
"There's been inconsistency in their offensive performance. It's a tie to Bo Nix," Orlovsky told One Bills Live. "Bo has been inconsistent throughout the season and very much so in the first three quarters of football games. He's been inconsistent with his accuracy, he's been inconsistent with his feet, he's been very frantic in the pocket. A lot of times it happens when you change the coverage against him. Show one, throw another … If I'm being honest, that's advantage Buffalo."
Even though they haven't been a top 10 scoring offense, second-year quarterback Bo Nix has still put up impressive numbers. His 30 total touchdowns and 3,931 passing yards both rank top 10 amongst the league's quarterbacks.
While the Broncos haven't been an offense that's consistently beating teams by large margins and putting up 30 points a game, they have found a way to win the close ones. Denver has won 11 one-score games this season.
Nix turns it on when the game is on the line. His 10 touchdowns in the fourth quarter are tied for second most in the league. Orlovsky loves the QB's play in the final quarter.
"You can't let this young man have the ball with the chance to win it," Orlovsky said. "He's the No. 1 quarterback in the NFL in the fourth quarter this year when losing, both in touchdown-to-interception and by QBR … Bo Nix plays his best football when it matters the most."
5. Trusting the defense to finish it
The Bills trusted the defense to end the game and secure the victory over the Jaguars in the Wild Card round last week.
With just over a minute left on the clock, faced with a 1st & goal situation and down by four, the Bills opted to score right away and take the three-point lead knowing there would be time on the clock for one last Jaguars drive. Bills head coach Sean McDermott believed his defense would get the job done.
"I wanted to make sure that we didn't get too cute," McDermott said of their decision. "When it's a little gray, you say, 'Hey, let's trust our defense.' And they did a phenomenal job."
The Jaguars got the ball with 59 seconds left. On the first play of the drive, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw a pass over the middle of the field. Cornerback Tre'Davious White was in a great position to tip the throw and safety Cole Bishop had his eyes to the football and came up with the interception. Game over.
As the Bills move forward in the playoffs, the defense wants to have an opportunity to end the game again.
"We want that defensively, put the game on us," defensive coordinator Bobby Babich said. "Josh (Allen) has certainly done plenty for us over my nine years here to where, every once in a while, we need to go ahead and take care of things for him and the offense."
One of the defensive player's that's been taking care of things lately and certainly was in on the last play is White. The nine-year veteran has played some of his best football in the second half of this season. From Weeks 6-18, White has allowed the lowest completion percentage in the NFL at 32.1% and the second-lowest passer rating at 43.2.
"Tre White's playing pretty good football right now," Babich said. "Pretty dang good football…He's been able in this season to get himself into a rhythm because he hasn't had to deal with a whole lot of things and that's a credit to him…He can really worry about football…It's really cool to see."
As they get ready to take on the No. 1 seeded Denver Broncos, Babich said being in a position to close out a game is something the defense has talked about all season, even dating back to training camp.
"We're prepared," Babich said. "We talk about having closers. We need closers and certainly we had a closer (against Jacksonville). We celebrate that…We've trained ourselves throughout the course of training camp, OTAs, even practice. We work quite a bit at two-minute…Whatever we need to do to win, we're on board."
