Bills steamroll Broncos to set up Josh Allen-Lamar Jackson NFL playoff clash
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Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes, James Cook finished with 120 yards rushing, and the Buffalo Bills leaned on a balanced offense in their 31-7 wildcard playoff win over the Denver Broncos on Sunday. The Bills methodically wore down the Broncos by scoring on six of their first seven drives in an outing in which they finished with a 23-minute edge in time of possession.
Denver took an early lead but Buffalo didn’t flinch after rookie Bo Nix capped Denver’s five-play game-opening drive with a 43-yard touchdown pass to Troy Franklin. Josh Allen to Ty Johnson on 4th down -- when there was NOTHING open. Call stands after review.
UNREAL.pic.twitter.com/YAqAm3fJvo. Then, with Buffalo leading 13-7, Allen broke the game open with a 24-yard touchdown pass to sliding running back Ty Johnson in the back of the end zone on fourth-and-one with 3:06 left in the third quarter. “I’ve been saying it all year long that Ty Johnson’s the best third down back in football,” Allen said. “The things that he’s able to do for us, the way we communicate, him in the pass game, blocking and running the ball. He does it all. I’m so happy for him, so proud of him. He made a heck of a play. It was fourth down, no point in holding it and taking a sack there. They played man [coverage] and I just gave him a chance.”.
On Buffalo’s next possession, Allen completed a 55-yard pass to Curtis Samuel on the first snap of the fourth quarter. The five-time defending AFC East champion Bills advance to the divisional round for a fifth straight postseason, and will face the third-seeded Baltimore Ravens next weekend. The Ravens, coming off a 28-14 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday, routed Buffalo 35-10 at Baltimore in Week 4 this season. The outing will mark the second playoff meeting between Allen and Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson after Buffalo defeated the Ravens 17-3 in the 2020 divisional round. Jackson and Allen are the leading contenders for this season’s MVP award but the Bills quarterback said after Sunday’s game that his attention will be on the Ravens defense this week.
