ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills’ spread-the-wealth approach on offense, which was so productive in the regular season, proved unstoppable in their playoff opener.
Whether it was quarterback Josh Allen completing a 24-yard touchdown pass to sliding running back Ty Johnson on fourth down, or James Cook racking up 120 rushing yards that included a 5-yard touchdown, the second-seeded Bills leaned on a balanced attack in a 31-7 win over the seventh-seeded Denver Broncos in an AFC wild-card matchup Sunday.
“I don’t think there was one certain thing over another. We just wanted to come out and execute well,” Allen said. “At the end of the day, we just wanted to come out and play our best football, and I feel like we did that today.”
With Allen completing 20 of 26 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns, and the running game producing 210 yards, Buffalo (14-4) methodically wore down the Broncos (10-8) by scoring on six of its first seven possessions in a game where the Bills finished with a 23-minute edge in time of possession.
Allen completed passes to eight players, including getting receiver Curtis Samuel involved by essentially sealing the win with a 55-yard touchdown catch on the opening snap of the fourth quarter.
“I’ll speak on behalf of Curtis. He probably didn’t have the season that he wanted to have,” Allen said of the eighth-year player who was limited to 31 catches for 253 yards and a touchdown during the regular season. “But he just continued to work hard, and that’s kind of the mentality we’ve had all year, is ‘Everybody eats’. And today was his day.”
The five-time reigning AFC East Division champions, who became the NFL’s first team to score 30 touchdowns rushing and passing in a season, advanced to the divisional round for a fifth straight postseason. Next weekend they will host the third-seeded Baltimore Ravens (13-5), the AFC North champions who beat a division rival, the sixth-seeded Pittsburgh Steelers, 28-14 on Saturday night.
The Ravens routed Buffalo 35-10 in Baltimore in the fourth week of the regular season. Buffalo defeated the Ravens 17-3 in the divisional round four years ago.
“This is what everyone’s been waiting for, right?” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “So it’ll be a nice week, and everyone will be looking forward to it, and they’re a great football team. I mean they handled us pretty good the first go-around, and they’re certainly playing well.”
The Broncos were outclassed in their first playoff appearance since winning Super Bowl 50 to cap the 2015 season.
Denver’s offense essentially stalled after rookie quarterback Bo Nix capped a five-play opening drive with a 43-yard touchdown pass to former University of Oregon teammate Troy Franklin. Nix finished 13-of-22 for 144 yards in an outing in which Denver punted four times and turned the ball over on downs twice.
The game served as a lesson in how much further the first-round pick and the Broncos still have to go after a promising season in which Nix threw 29 touchdown passes — two short of the NFL rookie record.
“I’m really proud of these guys. We’ve overcome a lot and not really been counted in many games,” Nix said. “But to make the playoffs was a special moment for this group. It’s something we can build off of. … Our goals are changing.”
Meanwhile, Denver’s attacking defense was kept at bay by an Allen-led attack that was more than content in gaining small chunks of yards on lengthy time-consuming drives. The Broncos, who had an NFL-leading 63 sacks this seasons, sacked Allen just twice in an game where the Bills punted once.
“Who got punched in the mouth?” Bills edge rusher Greg Rousseau asked, dismissively, regarding the Broncos scoring 2:24 into the game.
“It really was just a message to ourselves,” Rousseau said. “We know who we are week after week, and what we’re capable of and what we’re supposed to do out there. That’s what it’s all about.”
Though the Bills didn’t force a takeaway, they made impactful plays in limiting the Broncos to convert just two of nine third-down opportunities.
And then there was Cam Lewis’ diving tackle in shoving running back Jaleel McLaughlin out of bounds for no gain on fourth-and-2 at the Buffalo 14 early in the fourth quarter.
With Buffalo leading 13-7, Allen broke the game open with his touchdown pass to Johnson with 3:06 left in the third quarter. The score held up after a replay review, which showed Johnson’s foot touching out of bounds but after he secured the ball.
“You tell me it’s complete, I’m going to sign up for it every week,” McDermott said of placing his faith in Allen to convert on fourth down. “You guys know that. I trust him and I believe in him.”
Allen’s touchdown pass to Samuel came on Buffalo’s next possession.
Allen increased his playoff total to 23 touchdown passes, breaking the franchise record of 21 held by Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly.