Going into divisional weekend, there were seven games remaining. Now, we’re down to six.
On Saturday, the Bills and Broncos played an instant classic in Denver, with the home side winning 33–30 in overtime. Josh Allen committed four turnovers including two interceptions, one of which proved the final play of his 2025 season. The Broncos now advance to the AFC championship game for the first time since 2015, when they went on to win Super Bowl 50.
However, they will be doing it without quarterback Bo Nix, who stunningly broke his ankle in the final moments of overtime. With Nix sidelined for the rest of the season, Jarrett Stidham is in line to start.
“On the second-to-last play in overtime, Bo fractured a bone in his right ankle,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said after the game. “He’s scheduled to have surgery Tuesday of this week, which will put him out for the rest of the season. (Backup Jarrett) Stidham is ready to go.”
In the nightcap, an injured Sam Darnold and the top-seeded Seahawks will host the 49ers, who beat them in the season opener at Lumen Field. However, San Francisco is far more short-handed this time around without Nick Bosa, Fred Warner and George Kittle.
On Sunday, the Patriots will host the Texans, who scored more points on defense than they gave up a week ago. In the late game, the Rams go to frigid Chicago to take on the Bears with the final spot on championship weekend on the line.
But we start with the overtime thriller in Denver, led by the Broncos’ defense making the big plays in the big moments.
Good: Broncos’ defense thrives in massive moments
The Broncos struggled to stop the Bills all night. They didn’t force a punt. They allowed 449 yards on 5.8 yards per play. Josh Allen accounted for 349 yards while James Cook II ran wild with 117 yards on 24 carries.
And yet, Denver found a way to win primarily because its defense continually gave the offense advantageous positions. The Broncos forced five turnovers, all of which were massive.
The first came with Buffalo driving for a score already leading 7–3, when Cook fumbled deep in Denver territory. The next was a Josh Allen interception, which led to a field goal. Then, on the penultimate play of the first half, Allen fumbled on a reckless scramble, resulting in three more points for the Broncos.
The final takeaway was a brilliant interception in overtime by Ja’Quan McMillian, turning an easy Bills field goal attempt for the win into a possession for the Broncos. From there, Bo Nix drove Denver 75 yards in six plays for Lutz’s game-winner.
In a game when the Broncos’ defense was a sieve on so many plays, they made the biggest plays when it mattered most.
Bad: The feeling in Buffalo after another gut-punch postseason loss
Everyone in Buffalo has to be sick. If they aren’t, they don’t know the score of the game yet.
For the seventh consecutive year, the Bills made the playoffs. For the seventh consecutive year, they failed to reach the Super Bowl. This failure is especially galling as Buffalo’s bogeyman, Patrick Mahomes, didn’t make the playoffs. Instead of having to beat Mahomes and a team that knocked Buffalo out in four of the past five seasons, the Bills needed to beat Bo Nix and a slightly favored Broncos team to reach the conference title game. They failed to do it.
At some point, one wonders what Buffalo has to do. The Bills have been so close for so long with a generational talent at quarterback, and the results haven’t been there in January. The offseason brings a host of questions, including how general manager Brandon Beane can add some perimeter weapons and fix Buffalo’s 28th-ranked run defense.
But for now, the feeling in Buffalo is despair, which has become all too familiar with this version of the Bills come playoff time.
Ugly: Josh Allen needed to be much better for the Bills
Allen passed for 283 yards and three touchdowns, along with 66 rushing yards, but his miscues cost the Bills a chance to move on.
The reigning MVP had four turnovers, including one of the more confounding ones in recent memory when he fumbled at the end of the first half with no upside to note. In a game where Buffalo’s defense gave the Bills a chance to win, Allen and the offense made too many errors to get it done.
For Buffalo, things will only get more challenging. The Chiefs will likely bounce back. The same is true for the Ravens and their next coach. The Patriots look like they could be AFC East contenders for the foreseeable future under Mike Vrabel. Then there’s Buffalo’s roster, which is projected to be $11.6 million over the cap this winter, with the only likely, big-savings cut to be tight end Dawson Knox.
Next season, Allen will be 30. He’s entering the conversation for the greatest quarterback never to win the Super Bowl. At this point, he’s already toward the top of any list naming greats to never reach Super Sunday, alongside Lamar Jackson, Dan Fouts, Warren Moon and others.
It’s not a list Allen wants to be on. And if both he and the Bills are ever going to reach their ultimate goal, his mistakes have to be far more limited.
More NFL on Sports Illustrated
- Broncos’ Defense Gives Them a Chance Even Without Bo Nix
- Lead Referee Carl Cheffers Explains Reasoning Behind Controversial Interception Call in Bills-Broncos
- Falcons to Hire Ex-Browns Boss Kevin Stefanski As Next Coach
- Sean McDermott Didn’t Hold Back Frustration With Refs Over Tight Interception Call
This article was originally published on www.si.com as 2025 NFL Divisional Good, Bad and Ugly: Broncos One Step Closer to Super Bowl.
