The Denver Broncos are through to the AFC Championship for the first time since the 2015 season, but Saturday's dramatic 33-30 overtime win over the visiting Buffalo Bills came at a cost.
Broncos coach Sean Payton announced shortly after the win that second-year quarterback Bo Nix broke a bone in his right ankle late in overtime and will miss the rest of the season.
Jarrett Stidham will start next Sunday in the AFC Championship Game when Denver hosts the winner of Sunday's game between the New England Patriots and Houston Texans, with a spot in the Super Bowl at stake.
"It just is what it is," Payton said. "We felt like it would be best to just tell everyone now."
It's a brutal ending to a strong home playoff debut for Nix, who completed 26 of 46 passes for 279 yards, three touchdowns and one interception while rushing for a team-high 29 yards. He threw a go-ahead 26-yard touchdown to Marvin Mims with 55 seconds left in regulation.
Denver's stifling defense turned opportunistic in the win over the Bills with five forced turnovers, including four by reigning MVP Josh Allen. It will need to rise to the occasion in a major way with Nix sidelined.
Denver's defense finished the regular season second in the league in total defense (278.2 yards) and third in scoring defense (18.3 points) but tied for 19th in turnover margin (-3).
All four turnovers in regulation, along with the fifth, most crucial one in overtime, were essential to the win.
After Denver's opening drive of OT stalled out, a leaping interception by Ja'Quan McMillian, who ripped the ball away from Brandin Cooks in the air, halted a promising Buffalo drive.
"We weren't good enough in the red zone. That concerned me," Payton said of the defensive performance. "But we were good enough when it counted."
The Broncos' second OT drive was aided by a pair of pass interference penalties on the Bills, which accounted for 47 yards and moved Denver into the red zone to set up the game-winning 23-yard field goal by Wil Lutz, his fourth of the game, with 4:44 remaining in overtime.
After the Bills scored 17 straight points to take a 27-23 lead with 4:11 left in regulation, Nix led an eight-play, 73-yard drive to reclaim a late lead. He converted a third-and-11 with a 25-yard pass and a third-and-4 with a 6-yard run before his go-ahead touchdown pass to Mims.
Mims caught eight passes for 93 yards.
Buffalo drove down the field on the ensuing drive and Matt Prater, a former Bronco, drilled a 50-yard field goal, his third of the game, with five seconds left in regulation to force overtime.
Allen was 25-of-39 passing for 283 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 66 yards but threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles, tying his career high with four turnovers.
"I feel like I let my teammates down tonight," an emotional Allen said after the loss. "Just missed opportunities throughout the game. It's been a long season. I hate how it ended. That's going to stick with me for a long time."
The Bills outgained the Broncos 449-349 and converted 10 of 15 third downs. They never punted, with their five turnovers marking the only drives that didn't result in points. But their most turnovers in a game since October 2018 proved to be their undoing.
With the loss, Allen falls to 0-7 in overtime games and 0-3 in playoff overtime games in his career. Bills coach Sean McDermott, though, wasn't hearing any talk of him being the problem.
"It's not on him. We had opportunities, all of us. I'm extremely proud of him," McDermott said. "He's a tremendous person, tremendous leader, tremendous quarterback. There are plays we all want back."
After an opening Denver field goal, Buffalo took a 7-0 lead with 5 seconds left in the first quarter on a 4-yard pass from Allen to Mecole Hardman, his first catch as a Bill.
Denver reclaimed the lead on a 7-yard catch by eligible offensive lineman Frank Crum before Buffalo tied it at 10 with 2:13 left in the half on a 33-yard Prater field goal.
The Broncos scored 10 points in the final 22 seconds of the first half to take a 20-10 halftime advantage. After Nix found Lil'Jordan Humphrey for a 29-yard score to cap off a two-minute drill, Devon Key recovered an Allen fumble on a keeper with 2 seconds left, setting up Lutz's 50-yard field goal as time expired.
That lead was extended to 23-10 early in the third after Nick Bonitto forced another fumble with a sack of Allen, leading to another field goal.
But Allen bounced back, giving the Bills a late lead with 17 points on their next four drives. He delivered touchdown passes to Keon Coleman and Dalton Kincaid, and another drive set up a Prater 31-yard field goal that made it 27-23 with 4:11 left.
--Field Level Media
