Bills dominate the clock, stymie Denver offense to win playoff opener 31-7 and end Broncos’ season

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills racked up over 200 rushing yards and possessed the ball for more than two-thirds of the game to cruise to a 31-7 win in the Denver Broncos’ long-awaited return to the playoffs.

Running back James Cook led the way for Buffalo with 120 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Josh Allen, a frontrunner for league MVP, was an efficient 20-of-26 for 272 yards and a pair of scores through the air – including a 55-yard strike to Curtis Samuel to put the game on ice in the fourth quarter – and rushed for another 46 yards.

Buffalo logged 41 minutes in time of possession to the Broncos’ 18. The Bills ran 30 more plays (72) and recorded twice as many first downs (26) as the Broncos.

Denver got on the scoreboard first with a five-play, 70-yard burst on its opening drive that ended with a 43-yard touchdown pass from Bo Nix to Troy Franklin. Buffalo led 10-7 after a methodical first half, with Broncos kicker Wil Lutz missing a game-tying field goal attempt in the closing seconds of the second quarter.

Bo Nix completed 13 of 22 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown and was Denver’s leading rusher in the game with 43 yards on four carries. He led a textbook 8-play, 60-yard drive to set up the Lutz field goal attempt at the end of the first half.

Denver converted a fake punt early in the second quarter in what looked like a momentum-shifting play but would be forced to punt later in the drive.

The Bills would pull away in the second half, scoring on four straight possessions to start the half before kneeling out the clock deep in Denver territory on the final drive.

The Bills will host Lamar Jackson – Allen's stiffest competition for MVP – and the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional Round.

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