The Denver Broncos did the hard work during the regular season to come away with the No. 1 seed in the AFC Playoffs, earn a bye for the opening weekend of the postseason and home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
As the top seed, they’ll also get the benefit of playing the lowest seed remaining after the AFC Wild Card Round, which Vegas oddsmakers predict will be the No. 6 seed Buffalo Bills in the AFC Divisional Round.
The Bills are 1.5-point favorites as they travel to face the No. 3 seed Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, January 11 at 1 p.m. EST on CBS.
The Bills finished 12-5 and were the runner-up to the New England Patriots in the AFC East. The Jaguars went 14-3 and won the AFC South under first year head coach Liam Coen just one year after going 4-13.
The Bills are one of just 2 road teams who are favorites in the first round, along with the NFC No. 5 seed Los Angeles Rams, who are 10-point favorites against the No. 4 seed Carolina Panthers.
The AFC Divisional Round will be held on Saturday, January 17, and Sunday, January 18.
Broncos-Bills Would Be Rematch From Last Season
The Broncos are in the playoffs for the second consecutive season after an 8-year drought, with the Bills ending their season with a 31-7 rout in the AFC Wild Card Round lat year in Buffalo.
In that game, the Broncos actually took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 43-yard touchdown pass from Bo Nix to Troy Franklin — the first time 2 rookies connected for a touchdown pass in NFL playoff history.
From the NFL on CBS official X account: “INCREDIBLE, but true Bo Nix to Troy Franklin is the FIRST rookie to rookie TD in NFL PLAYOFF HISTORY.”
The only problem after that was the pesky, 31 unanswered points the Bills scored following the Nix-to-Franklin connection.
The Bills racked up 471 yards of total offense that day, led by 318 yards of offense — 272 rushing and 46 rushing — and 2 touchdowns from NFL MVP quarterback Josh Allen along with 120 rushing yards from running back James Cook.
Biggest Question for Broncos in Playoffs
While the Broncos have firmly established themselves as one of the NFL’s best defenses over the last 2 seasons, we can’t really say the same thing about the offense.
How that unit and Nix might perform in the playoffs is the biggest question surrounding Denver headed into the playoffs. They didn’t exactly get a vote of confidence following a 19-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers in the regular season finale in which the Charger sat starting quarterback Justin Herbert and several key defensive starters.
“Sean Payton & everyone within the Broncos said this week was treated exactly like a playoff game with the #1 seed on the line,” The Drive host Zach Bye wrote on X following the win over the Chargers. “If today’s offense vs Chargers backups is an indication of what to expect in the postseason the Broncos won’t be playing very long.”
“The Broncos won’t beat anyone in playoffs with THAT offense,” Denver Gazette sports columnist Woody Paige wrote on X.
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