The Denver Broncos spent the last week since the end of the regular season waiting and anticipating who they would face when they host the AFC Divisional Round — now they know.
The No. 1 seed Broncos will face the lowest remaining seed in the AFC Playoffs, which will be the No. 6 seed Buffalo Bills on Saturday, January 17.
The Broncos earned the No. 1 seed by going 14-3 in the regular season, tying the franchise record for most regular-season wins. The Bills advanced to the AFC Divisional Round with a thrilling, 27-24 road win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Wild Card Round on Sunday, January 11.
It’s a rematch of last year’s playoffs, when the Broncos traveled to Buffalo and lost, 31-7, in the AFC Wild Card Round. After missing the playoffs for 8 consecutive seasons from 2016 to 2023, the Broncos are in the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
The Bills are in the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season, with 2 appearances in the AFC Championship Game in that stretch.
“I’m telling you what: As a No. 1 seed and having a bye in the wildcard, you don’t want the Bills coming into your building off a performance like that from Josh Allen and how the defense made timely plays,” Trainwreck Sports’ Ajay Cybulski wrote on X. “Doesn’t really feel like a reward for the Broncos.”
Key details (quick answers)
- Divisional Round Weekend: Saturday, January 17 & Sunday, January 18
- Broncos seed: The Broncos are the AFC’s No. 1 seed and will have home field advantage through the playoffs
- Why it matters: If the Broncos defeat the Bills, they will host the AFC Championship Game
- Official game time: TBD
Most Important Things to Watch for Broncos
The biggest question surrounding the Broncos headed into the playoffs is how their up-and-down offense will perform after only scoring 19 points against the Chargers and dealing with a smattering of boos in the home win.
If you want to boil that concern down to one player, it’s quarterback Bo Nix.
After Nix averaged 296.4 yards passing over the previous 5 games, Nix averaged 160.1 yards passing over the final 2 games and only had 1 touchdown pass in wins over the Kansas City Chiefs and Chargers.
Most Important Things to Watch for Bills
There is just one thing people will pay attention to when it comes to the Bills as they approach kickoff with the Broncos — the health of quarterback and reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen.
Allen went full Gladiator mode in the win over the Jaguars, playing through a knee injury that looked like it might have ended most people’s careers along with an injury to his hand and a possible concussion.
In the end, Allen still found a way to put up 306 yards of total offense and 3 total touchdowns — 1 passing and 2 rushing — as the Bills won their first road playoff game since 1992 and Allen won a playoff game with a game-winning drive for the first time in his his career.
The Bills haven’t played in the Super Bowl since losing 4 consecutive Super Bowls from 1990 to 1993.
“Josh Allen’s legacy was never on the line during these playoffs despite Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow not being in the playoffs,” former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III wrote on his official X account. “But 100% anyone out there who said that it was doesn’t know ball. Glad the Buffalo Bills shut up those clowns.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Broncos Playoff Schedule: Next Opponent, Date & Game appeared first on Heavy Sports.