Josh Allen and the Buffalo Payments stored their Tremendous Bowl dream alive as they beat the Denver Broncos 31-7 to arrange a blockbuster Divisional Spherical matchup in opposition to Lamar Jackson’s Baltimore Ravens.
It beckons as a gathering of the NFL’s two MVP frontrunners in Allen and Jackson, the latter of whom threw for 175 yards and two touchdowns whereas speeding for 81 yards to steer Baltimore to a 28-14 wild-card win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday evening.
Allen was equally dominant on Sunday as he completed 20 of 26 for 272 yards and two scoring strikes to Ty Johnson and Curtis Samuel. James Prepare dinner, in the meantime, starred on the bottom as he accounted for 120 of Buffalo’s 200 complete speeding yards because the Payments steamrollered Sean Payton’s ahead-of-schedule Broncos with 31 unanswered factors after surrendering a landing on the opening drive of the sport.
For Bo Nix it marked the top to an in any other case glittering rookie marketing campaign for the first-round decide, who led the Broncos to a 10-7 end and their first playoff berth since successful Tremendous Bowl 50 on the finish of the 2015 marketing campaign.
The Payments and Ravens will now meet once more after Baltimore had been dominant 35-10 winners in Week 4 of the common season, with Derrick Henry speeding for 199 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries.
Stats leaders
Denver Broncos
- Passing: Bo Nix, 13/22, 144 yards, 1 TD
- Dashing: Javonte Williams, 7 carries, 29 yards
- Receiving: Courtland Sutton, 5 catches, 75 yards
Buffalo Payments
- Passing: Josh Allen, 20/26, 272 yards, 2 TDs
- Dashing: James Prepare dinner, 23 carries, 120 yards, 1 TD
- Receiving: Curtis Samuel, 3 catches, 68 yards, 1 TD
Nix, the primary rookie quarterback to start out a playoff sport in Broncos historical past, delivered an emphatic assertion on the opening drive when he unleashed a dime to attach with Troy Franklin on a submit route for a 43-yard landing to place Denver on prime.
Amid some nervous power within the early exchanges the Payments responded with an emphasis on their floor sport however have been restricted to only a 26-yard area objective from Tyler Bass on the finish of their ensuing 12-play drive.
A swift three-and-out adopted for Denver earlier than Prepare dinner scurried in for a five-yard go-ahead landing to cap a 13-play, 81-yard drive lasting seven-and-a-half minutes, throughout which eight performs have been runs to carry Buffalo to 100 speeding yards two minutes into the second quarter.
Please use Chrome browser for a extra accessible video participant
The Denver Broncos strike first in opposition to the Buffalo Payments with an early 43-yard landing which was caught by Troy Franklin
Payton rolled the cube moments later as he dialled up a pretend punt to transform on fourth-and-eight from the Broncos 43, Riley Dixon feinting the kick and as an alternative winding as much as float a 15-yard strike to Marvin Mims Jr. They elected in opposition to following swimsuit 4 performs later, although did see Dixon and Mims hyperlink up impressively once more to down a punt on the Payments’ one-yard line.
The Broncos may have gone into the half degree however have been denied when Wil Lutz’s 50-yard field-goal try struck the goalpost as time expired.
Bass added to Buffalo’s lead in the beginning of the third quarter with a 27-yard area objective, Allen, although, bemused after officers missed what appeared a transparent go interference penalty in opposition to Patrick Surtain II behind the top zone on the earlier third-and-goal alternative.
It will not matter for lengthy, the Payments’ protection forcing one other three-and-out to pave the best way for Johnson’s 24-yard landing catch.
Allen had thought of taking off on the run on fourth-and-one, sliding to his proper earlier than firing a go downfield with Johnson available to make a surprising seize whereas contorting his physique and managing to maintain his ft in-bounds on the slide. The Payments then made it a 14-point lead at 21-7 as Allen picked out Keon Coleman for the two-point conversion.
It was two touchdowns within the house of three-and-a-half minutes when Samuel zig-zagged downfield for a 55-yard landing catch-and-run in the beginning of the fourth quarter, Buffalo’s speedy receiver making the seize on a deep over earlier than chopping again inside and racing to the home.
Bass iced the sport with a 34-yard area objective to cap a seven-minute 14-play clock-chewing drive with 5 minutes to play, permitting the Payments to take out Allen for Mitchell Trubisky in view of subsequent weekend’s Ravens showdown.
Allen braced for Jackson conflict
Payments quarterback Josh Allen: “They [the Ravens] got after us earlier this year. We’ve got a lot of film to watch. It’s a great time, with a great quarterback. What Lamar is able to do, he’s one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the league – if not the most dynamic. He’s so fun to watch. But I’ll be watching their defense this week… that’s our focus.”
Sky Sports activities NFL’s Ndamukong Suh: “We are really going to see who the MVP is. That’s what it comes down to. Which quarterback will step up, or which one of these defenses will step up.”
Sky Sports activities NFL’s Jason Bell: “I love watching this guy [Allen]. It just doesn’t matter with him. He was off to an aggressive start, and then he struggled a little bit, before he just took over the game. That’s why we celebrate him.
“Nice quarterbacks establish what you are attempting to do they usually capitalise on it. Then once they’ve received to make a play, they clear you up. And that is what he did – when issues have been breaking down, he made a play.
“You knew he had command of things. We felt it, and you know Denver felt it playing defense. He made it happen.”
Sky Sports activities NFL’s Phoebe Schecter: “You want to be able to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. What’s great to see with this Bills team is they didn’t let the Broncos back in, they ran the ball and let their identity be known.”
What subsequent?
The Payments will now host the Ravens within the Divisional Spherical subsequent weekend, whereas CJ Stroud’s Houston Texans will tackle the defending champion and No 1-seeded Kansas Metropolis Chiefs because the lowest remaining seed within the AFC.
Wild Card Weekend concludes Monday evening when the Minnesota Vikings face the Los Angeles Rams from 1am within the early hours of Tuesday.
Tremendous Bowl LIX takes place on Sunday February 9 on the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, stay on Sky Sports activities NFL.
