The Buffalo Bills put together an impressive performance in their dominant 31-7 Wild Card victory over the Denver Broncos.
Outside of the opening drive, one in which Denver quieted a raucous Highmark Stadium with a 43-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Bo Nix to Troy Franklin, the Bills dominated the game.
The Bills scored the game’s next 31 points to completely overwhelm the Broncos.
Here is the Bills Wire’s report card following the Wild Card win:
Pass offense: A
Josh Allen once again put on a stellar showing, going 20-of-26 for 272 passing yards and two touchdown tosses. Allen extended plays and threw passes with pinpoint accuracy. Allen’s receivers helped make the most of the afternoon, finding holes in the Broncos’ secondary.
Both touchdowns were tremendous plays by the Bills receiver. Ty Johnson skirted the back of the end zone to make a diving catch. Curtis Samuel outran the entire Denver defense on the way to a 55-yard touchdown. Eight different receivers caught passes from Allen.
Rush offense: A
James Cook was the focal point of the Bills offense in the first quarter. He rushed 13 times for 78 yards and a touchdown. The offensive line created solid seams for runners. When the backs were bottled up, the line helped push the pile for additional yards.
Cook ended the day with 23 carries for 120 yards. Ty Johnson had a good day on the ground as well, rushing nine times for 44 yards. It wouldn’t be a complete day without Josh Allen contributing with his legs, and the signal caller ran eight times for 46 yards.
Pass defense: A-
Let’s get the less-than-stellar moment out of the way first: the opening drive put some concern into the hearts of Buffalo. Denver moved down the field with ease on their opening drive. During the series, both of Bo Nix’s pass completions were chunk plays. Troy Franklin ran past Taylor Rapp on his way to a 43-yard touchdown completion.
After that drive, the Bills defense shut things down. Nix ended the day with a paltry 144 passing yards on a 14-of-23 passing day. Buffalo was aided by multiple Denver drops.
Nevertheless, as the game progressed, the Bills gave up minimal space to Denver receivers. The scheme became more complex, and Nix struggled to get his receivers involved in a meaningful manner.
Rush defense: A-
Jan 12, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Denver Imagn
The game became one-dimensional for Buffalo’s defense. They did not have to stress a great deal about the Broncos rushing attack. Javonte Williams led the way with seven carries for 29 yards. Bo Nix scrambled four times for 43 yards. Buffalo allowed a total of 79 rushing yards on 17 carries.
The 4.6 yards allowed per carry wasn’t awesome for the Bills, but it’s far from worrisome based on how well Buffalo kept the Broncos under wraps.
Special teams: A-
Tyler Bass made all five of his kicks on the afternoon (three PATs and two field goals). Sam Martin was solid in his only punt, a 45-yard attempt. Ty Johnson and Khalil Shakir each had solid returns for Buffalo.
Buffalo, however, did allow a fake punt to ruin this unit’s solid day. Riley Dixon completed a 15-yard pass to Marvin Mims to extend a drive. Buffalo’s defense bailed out this attempt, as they forced a Broncos punt on this drive.
Coaching: A
The first half was a little lethargic for the Bills. They gave up a touchdown on the first drive, and they allowed a fake punt attempt.
The second half was impressive for Buffalo. The coaching staff was aggressive on both offense and defense. Defensively, Bo Nix had issues diagnosing the Bills coverage schemes. Offensively, the Bills kept their foot on the gas. The touchdown pass to Samuel was the ultimate exclamation point from a great game.
