The Denver Broncos were knocked out of the NFL playoffs with a 31-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round on Sunday afternoon.
The Broncos took an early 7-0 lead when rookie quarterback Bo Nix hit fellow rookie Troy Franklin on a 43-touchdown pass in the first quarter. That score marked the first time in NFL history that rookies connected for a touchdown in a playoff game.
T AS IN TOUCHDOWN.
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/1UZYcSS7aZ
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) January 12, 2025
That ended up being Denver’s only score of the game.
The Bills later settled for a 26-yard Tyler Bass field goal on their opening drive to make it 7-3. Following a Denver punt, Buffalo took a 10-7 lead in the second quarter on a five-yard James Cook touchdown run.
The Broncos converted a fake punt on their next drive when Riley Dixon completed a 15-yard pass to Marvin Mims, but the trickery did not lead to any points for Denver. On a later punt, though, Dixon and Mims pinned Buffalo down at the one-yard line.
Following a Buffalo punt, Nix led an eight-play, 55-yard drive just before halftime to put the Broncos within field goal range, but kicker Wil Lutz hit the right upright on his 50-yard attempt. After that missed kick, Denver went into halftime trailing 10-7.
The Bills went 55 yards on the first drive of the third quarter before stalling and settling for a 27-yard field goal to make it 13-7. After another Broncos punt, Allen made it 21-7 with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Ty Johnson followed by a successful two-point conversion.
Buffalo opened the fourth quarter with Allen’s 55-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Samuel to extend the lead to 28-7. Buffalo later added a 34-yard field goal to make it 31-7, which ended up being the final score.
On the injury front, Denver outside linebacker Jonah Ellis (shoulder) left in the second quarter and was later ruled out.
Up next for several Broncos players is the Pro Bowl in February. Attention will then turn to the NFL combine, followed by NFL free agency in March.
