DENVER — Bo Nix Denver Broncos took care of business Saturday in their biggest test yet, beating Josh Allen and the Bills 33-30 in an absolute thriller.
Nix threw for 279 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Broncos defense picked off Allen twice. In an overtime classic, the Broncos prevailed.
Here’s what stood out throughout the game.
Mile High Magic
No one in the NFL has more fourth-quarter comebacks and game-winning drives since he entered the NFL than Bo Nix.
On Saturday, he had his biggest one yet. Trailing 27-23 with under five minutes left, Nix led the Broncos’ offense down the field
Blew a 13-point lead
With 11 minutes left in the third quarter, the Broncos had a commanding 23-10 lead on the Bills. All of the momentum was on Denver’s side.
But then the offense sputtered, going scoreless for over a quarter. To start the second half, the Broncos’ four drives went two yards, five yards, 22 yards and three yards.
On the other side of the ball, Josh Allen started to figure out Denver’s defense.
Allen and the Bills put together a 73-yard touchdown drive and an 85-yard touchdown drive to take the 24-23 lead.
Run Bo Run
In last year’s Broncos-Bill playoff game, Bo Nix was Denver’s leading rusher. Sean Payton apparently wanted to follow that game plan again this year.
On the Broncos’ opening drive, Nix ran the ball a whopping five times. RJ Harvey and Jaleel McLaughlin ran the ball a total of one time.
Nix’s legs were a key part of the game.
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The hits that changed the game
Early in the second quarter, down 7-3, the Bills were in scoring range with an opportunity to extend their lead. Alex Singleton had other plans.
On a run to the left, James Cook got drilled by Singleton, forcing him to fumble the ball. Talanoa Hufanga jumped on it. Broncos ball.
Broncos ball! Alex Singleton forces the fumble
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Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/msSHg9AKXj— NFL (@NFL) January 17, 2026
Instead of going down by two scores, the Broncos got the ball back and drove the field to take the lead.
With seconds left in the first half, Nik Bonitto delivered a hit on Josh Allen that got the Broncos’ the ball back.
Broncos ball!
What a break before the half
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Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/317eodiE90— NFL (@NFL) January 17, 2026
With two seconds left in the first half, Lutz hit a 50-yard field goal to extend Denver’s lead to 20-10.
Bonitto wasn’t done.
On the second play of the second half, Bonitto flew off the edge and crushed Josh Allen for a strip sack. The Broncos recovered.
HERE HE COMES!@nikkkkbonitto |
: CBS pic.twitter.com/A8AnHH0wR4
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) January 17, 2026
In less than two minutes of game time, Bonitto forced two fumbles, earning the Broncos six points.
Sean Payton in his bag… in the first half
On Thursday, 48 hours before the game kicked off, Sean Payton sent a message to himself about remaining aggressive as a play caller.
“When I was younger, we’d run a reverse on the eight-yard line, and I think nothing of it. As you get older, you think about all the ramifications. So I have to also remove that,” Payton said. “It was said as you get older, maybe you don’t drive in the rain at night. You begin to… I can’t let that happen as a play caller. That’s something that I have to mentally make sure it’s quick. It’s quick and decisive, and it’s daring at the right time. Not reckless.”
Payton listened to his own advice and came out of the gate firing as a play caller. The first play of the game was a completion to Pat Bryant with a beautiful design.
A couple of designed quarterbacks runs helped the Broncos get into the red zone on the first drive.
On Denver’s third drive, Payton drew up a touchdown pass to backup offensive tackle Frank Crum.
Right before halftime, Payton got in his bag again.
With 29 seconds left, on the Bills 29-yard line, Bo rolled to the right and Lil’Jordan Humphrey snuck out to the left. Nix threw a bomb to Humphrey in the end zone for a touchdown. Payton’s play design helped dial up Denver’s second touchdown.
In the second half, however, the offense sputtered. In a major way. In Denver’s first four drives, they had 32 yards of offense and a single first down.
Brutal injury
Pat Bryant was targeted on the Broncos’ first three passes of the game. He caught all three passes.
But after catching his third, he was hit hard and suffered a concussion.
After being the focal point of the offense to start the game, his absence the rest of the game was felt. Just later that drive, Nix hit Lil’Jordan Humphrey right in the hands in the end zone, but the ball slipped right through. There’s a chance that would have been Bryant in that position if he hadn’t suffered the concussion earlier.
Bryant’s injury opened the door for Marvin Mims Jr, who took advantage of it. At halftime, Mims had three catches for 48 yards.
Bo beats the reigning MVP
Entering the Divisional Round, Josh Allen was widely regarded as the best remaining quarterback in the AFC playoffs, if not the entire playoff bracket. Not anymore.
Saturday’s win wasn’t just historic from Nix (read below), it will go a long way in changing the narrative around him. Denver’s franchise quarterback can no longer be doubted.
In just his second year in the NFL, he earned the No. 1 seed, took down Allen in the playoffs and earned a trip to the AFC Championship Game. Patrick Mahomes made his first AFC Championship game his second season in the NFL. So did Bo Nix.
This win will put a significant amount of deserved and earned respect on Bo’s name.
Historic win
Denver’s win on Sunday was the Broncos’ first playoff win since Super Bowl 50. It was also the first playoff victory for Bo Nix and the first playoff win for Sean Payton in Denver.
With Nix and Payton clearly the future of the Broncos for many years to come, this win marks a significant time in Denver’s history books.
After having made the playoffs in 2024, earning the No. 1 seed in the AFC and now winning a playoff game, there’s only two more feats for Nix and Payton to accomplish. Next week, the Broncos can accomplish one of the two. Then two weeks later, they can accomplish the second.
AFC Championship Game Bound
Just like that, the Broncos are halfway to making it to the Super Bowl in their playoff journey.
And just like Sunday’s win, AFC Championship Game will be in the Mile high City.
On Sunday, the Broncos will host the winner of the New England Patriots and Houston Texans game for the Lamar Hunt Trophy. But the real reward of next week’s game is making it to the Super Bowl.
History repeating itself
When the Broncos take the field next Sunday, it will be exactly 10 years and one day since the Broncos played in and hosted an AFC Championship game.
On Jan. 24, 2016, Peyton Manning and the No Fly Zone took down Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and Rob Gronkowski by a score of 20-18 amongst a sea of orange in the Mile High City.
On Jan. 25, 2026, Nix and Payton will welcome in either the Patriots or the Jaguars to Denver for the Broncos’ first AFC Championship game since 2016.
History will continue to repeat itself the following game as well. After Manning beat Brady, the Broncos played the Panthers in Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara, California. Super Bowl 60 will also be held in Santa Clara.