DENVER — The Broncos are moving on.
In a back-and-forth instant classic, the Broncos gutted out a 33-30 overtime win over the NFL's reigning MVP in Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.
Keyed by five takeaways and a pair of go-ahead scoring drives across the fourth quarter and overtime, the Broncos earned their first playoff win in a decade and now stand a game away from Super Bowl LX.
"We obviously weren't ready last year, but we were ready today," Head Coach Sean Payton said.
Quarterback Bo Nix — who will miss the rest of the postseason after fracturing his ankle — became just the second quarterback in franchise history to throw three touchdown passes in a postseason win, and he led the Broncos back after the Bills evaporated a 13-point deficit to take a fourth-quarter lead.
"He was fantastic when we needed him," Payton said of Nix.
Denver's defense, meanwhile, forced the second-most turnovers in franchise postseason history — including Ja'Quan McMillian's overtime interception that kept the Broncos' chances of a win alive.
"You'll go five, 10 years before you see a turnover like that one," Payton said, "and that ended up being a game-changer."
The Broncos sealed the game in overtime as the Bills were whistled for pass interference on a deep pass to Marvin Mims Jr. and Wil Lutz drilled a 23-yarder.
Denver now moves on to face either the Patriots or Texans in the AFC Championship Game.
These are the players and plays that made the difference in the win:
GAME-CHANGING MOMENT
There's an argument this should be McMillian's interception — more on that in a moment — or one of the late pass-interference calls. But we're going to go with an end-of-half sequence that changed the complexion of the game. Denver took over in a 10-10 game with 2:06 to play in the first half and converted a pair of third downs — including a third-and-10 — to work the ball down to the Buffalo 29-yard line with 29 seconds left. Nix launched a perfect deep pass to Lil'Jordan Humphrey, who hauled in the throw to put the Broncos up 17-10. Moments earlier, it seemed like the Broncos might simply try for a long field goal before the half, but getting seven points was significant with Buffalo to receive the second-half kickoff. That advantage then only magnified as Bonitto knocked the ball away from Allen as the Bills looked to get into field-goal range. Devon Key recovered at the Buffalo 35-yard line, and Denver pushed its lead to 10 with a 50-yard field goal from Lutz. Instead of a 10-10 tie or a 13-10 advantage at the break, Denver ended up with a 10-point lead. That proved significant in what became a close game.
"That probably was the difference in the game," Payton said.
DEFINING STATISTIC
5 takeaways.
The Broncos have talked for weeks about the need to force more takeaways, and they did that in a big way in Saturday's win. Denver forced three fumbles and notched a pair of interceptions en route to the second most takeaways in franchise postseason history. The Bills had not turned the ball over five times in a game since Allen's rookie season in 2018, and it also marked Allen's first turnovers in a playoff game since 2022. Denver's plus-four turnover margin was also the second-highest mark in franchise history. The big plays led to 16 points for Denver.
"It helped us win today," outside linebacker Nik Bonitto said. "Takeaways are such a big part of a football game and the way we did it today — how we were able to capitalize off of them offensively — and us just playing complementary football is a big reason why we won today"
MEMORABLE HIGHLIGHT
Tackle Frank Crum's touchdown deserved serious consideration here, but we have to go with McMillian's game-saving interception. If Brandin Cooks hauled in the pass, Denver almost certainly would've lost the football game. Instead, McMillian made a miraculous play to record the Broncos' fifth and final takeaway of the afternoon.
"I just made a play and basically took it out of his hands and came up with it," McMillian said.
BOX-SCORE STANDOUTS
Quarterback Bo Nix became just the second quarterback in franchise history to throw three touchdown passes in a postseason win. Nix finished 3-of-4 for 84 yards and two touchdowns on passes of at least 20 yards, and his late pass to Marvin Mims Jr. drew a pass interference call that set up the game-winning kick.
Wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. caught eight passes for 93 yards and a touchdown, which marked season highs in receptions and receiving yards.
Wide receiver Courtland Sutton didn't catch a pass until the late stages of the fourth quarter, but he hauled in four catches for 53 yards — and drew another key pass interference call — to help the Broncos to a win.
Tackle Frank Crum caught a touchdown, becoming the sixth offensive lineman since 2021 to catch a touchdown pass in the playoffs. He's also the first Broncos offensive lineman with a touchdown since 2003.
Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto recorded a pair of forced fumbles, including a strip sack. He also had a quarterback hit and a tackle for loss.
Inside linebacker Alex Singleton led all players with 14 tackles and forced a critical first-half fumble to set up a Broncos touchdown drive.
Cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian had one of the better interceptions you'll ever see, while P.J. Locke also ended a Bills drive with a pick.
Kicker Wil Lutz made all four of his field-goal attempts, including a 50-yarder before halftime and the game-winning kick.
