The Denver Broncos were knocked out of the NFL playoffs on Sunday following a 31-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills on the road.
“Obviously, we’re disappointed in the finish to the season,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said after the game. “We tip our hats to Buffalo. The things we felt we needed to do on the road to win, we didn’t do nearly well enough. Time of possession was heavily tilted in their favor. We struggled consistently whether it was third downs or running the football. We never really had an answer to stop their running game.”
The Bills dominated the time of possession 41:43 to 18:17, and Buffalo was better on third down (53% to 22%) and on the ground (210 yards to 79 yards).
“When you play in a game like that — you’re not rushing the passer nearly as much as you’ve been accustomed to,” Payton said. “Now it’s run [and] play action. I thought we struggled on first-down defense. Offensively, I thought we struggled on third down. Kicking game, I thought we lost that field position battle. It starts with me. It’s always a tough pill to swallow, especially when it’s a postseason game.
“I’m proud of the fight. There are a lot of disappointed guys in that locker room. At half time, I was comfortable with where things were. You’re on the road and… We played pretty well red-zone defense. [We] forced field goals but [in] the second half, we just didn’t play well enough.”
Starting a rookie quarterback with limited salary cap space, Denver made the playoffs with a 10-7 record in 2024. That’s an impressive accomplishment given the team’s circumstances, but Sunday demonstrated that the Broncos are not yet ready to compete with the true contenders in the AFC. Now the offseason work begins to make the team a contender in 2025.
