The 2026 rematch of last season’s Wild Card Playoff, the Bills and the Broncos, kicked things off with an injury scare. 

On the very first drive, with the Broncos’ Marvin Mims and the Bills’ Dorian Williams colliding at the Denver 26. 

The Broncos have struggled to have a good start this season, but they made it count this time. Bo Nix went five for five, but the team struggled in the end zone. They had to settle for a field goal after two consecutive misses from Nix. 

The Bills took over as James Cook continued his explosive form, moving the chain effectively with a couple of consecutive first downs. Allen registered his first touchdown of the day with a 4-yard pass to Mecole Hardman, right at the end of the first quarter, to make it 10-7 in favor of the Bills. 

Starting the second quarter, James Cook made a costly fumble at 14:10 (recovered by Talanoa Hufanga). Denver moved the ball downfield, and at 9:33, Bo Nix fired a 7-yard pass to the offensive tackle Frank Crum to give Denver a three-point lead. 

In the following drive for the Bills, Allen had a massive moment to take the lead. However, Denver sacked him twice in three minutes to take their tally to all-season 70. At the end, kicker Matt Prater tied the score 10-10 at 2:13. 

And what looked like a close game flipped in the final few minutes. Nix scored his second touchdown of the game with a 29-yard pass to Lil’Jordan Humprey. Moreover, Denver also converted a field goal thanks to Allen’s fumble at 0:16, giving the Broncos a 10-point lead. The first half ended with a 20-10 score in favor of the Broncos.

Bo Nix Has Already Improved on His Post-Season Numbers

In just his second year in the NFL, Bo Nix’s first half was good enough to break his personal best. He scored two touchdowns in the first half, passing for 150 yards, surpassing his last season’s performance against the Bills, where he threw for 144 yards and scored only one touchdown. 

Meanwhile, Cook has started this game on fire. He could surpass his best performance, which came last year against the Broncos. In the first half, the league-leading rusher has already rushed for 57 yards, along with a 24-yard reception. If the Bills rely on a run-heavy game, we could see Cook going past his playoff best of 120 yards and 1 touchdown.

Denver continued to prove why they have been the most successful sacking side this season. They sacked Allen twice and are just a couple of sacks away from breaking the Bears’ all-time sack record of 72.

Both Teams Are Battling Concerning Injuries

In the very first play of the game itself, the Bills’ Linebacker Dorian Williams suffered a neck injury and was taken out of the game.

Two Broncos players, Pat Surtain II and Pat Bryant, suffered a collision but managed to recover and continue the game.

Written by

Kalp Thaker

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar