Stick here for live updates and analysis as Denver takes on the Bills in Orchard Park, N.Y.
Live updates
Pre-game updates
Scouting report (8:30 a.m.): Check out how the Broncos match up with the Bills in Ryan McFadden’s scouting report.
Game predictions
Parker Gabriel, beat writer: Bills 27, Broncos 17
The Broncos won in Buffalo last year and they’ve got a team that believes it can go toe-to-toe with anybody. That’s certainly possible Sunday, but it’s just tough to bet against Josh Allen, at home, in the elements at this time of year. A successful run comes to an end and sets the stage for a bright future in Denver.
Ryan McFadden, beat writer: Bills 28, Broncos 20
The Broncos will get off to a good start and have many wondering if an upset is possible. However, they will fall flat down the stretch. Denver won’t achieve the outcome it hoped for but the franchise will have something to build on going into the offseason.
Troy Renck, columnist: Bills 27, Broncos 20
If Russ can beat the Bills, of course Bo Nix can do it. The Broncos will benefit from the recent success at Buffalo last season. They will benefit from their inspirational rookie quarterback and their sack-happy defense. All of these reasons will be why they are in the game, but not why they win the game. Sunday will be a learning experience that will put the Broncos in position to win playoff games next season.
Sean Keeler, columnist: Broncos 24, Bills 23
Upside? The football gods hate Buffalo, so anything’s possible. Downside? Josh Allen and Joe Brady, on paper, take Vance Joseph out of his comfort zone. What the Broncos have done so well to get here (man coverage, wicked pass rush) actually plays into Allen’s strengths: Extending plays and dumping the rock off to a bevy of quick backs or tight ends. Remember how VJ and company handled Baltimore? That was ugly. Hopefully, this one won’t be.
Broncos-Bills AFC wild-card game: Must-reads
Broncos don’t mind underdog moniker Sunday vs. Bills: “We’ve been overlooked all year”
The Broncos are playing with house money Sunday at Buffalo. Just don’t tell them that.
Sean Payton’s team took the NFL by surprise this year, winning 10 games and ending an eight-year playoff drought in the process. They’ll be widely expected to lose to potential NFL MVP Bills quarterback Josh Allen and company at Highmark Stadium.
Nobody in Denver’s building, though, is taking the approach that they’re just happy to be back in the playoffs for the first time since Super Bowl 50. Touchdown-plus underdogs? That’s OK. Read Parker Gabriel’s full story.
The Von Miller trade brought Nik Bonitto to Denver. Now Broncos’ pass-rush past and future will collide in Buffalo.
As the second round drew to a close, San Francisco took USC outside linebacker Drake Jackson. Three picks later, the Broncos took Bonitto with the 64th overall pick.
Fitting, given what Bonitto has become — and where that pick came from in the first place.
In November 2021, the Broncos traded franchise icon and future Hall of Fame edge rusher Von Miller to the Los Angeles Rams for second- and third-round picks in the following spring’s draft. The second-rounder — No. 64 overall — was then used to usher in a new era of Broncos pass rushers six months later. It just took three years for that destiny to be realized. Read Ryan McFadden’s full story.
Keeler: Broncos’ Bo Nix is ready for playoff battles with Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes in brutal AFC. “He’s built for this moment.”
John Elway had Kelly, Marino and Esiason. Peyton Manning had Brady, Roethlisberger and Flacco. Nix has the Squid Game, presented by Gatorade.
Pull the upset in Buffalo against Allen, and you land a date with Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City. Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, Houston’s C.J. Stroud and the Chargers’ Justin Herbert are slugging it out on the other side of the bracket. Runway Joe Burrow in Cincinnati just missed making the dance. Read Sean Keeler’s column.
Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.
