Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Nothing like a little stress-free football before we all hunker down for "win or go home" season.
All we had to worry about Sunday during the meaningless regular season finale against the New England Patriots was the Buffalo Bills staying healthy. It appears they came out of Foxboro with no further injury issues.
The Bills did what everyone thought they would (thank goodness) with Josh Allen.
The Buffalo quarterback was on the field for their first snap of the first offensive drive so Allen could extend his consecutive games started streak to 115, which is more than double the second-longest active streak in the NFL. After Allen handed off to James Cook, he promptly jogged to the sideline, where he would watch the rest of the game.
Allen's final stat line for the regular season is 4,262 total yards, 41 total touchdown, and a career-low six interceptions. His numbers would have been higher had this game meant anything, in addition to a number of other contests where Allen didn't finish the fourth quarter because the outcome was no longer in doubt.
There were some regulars who played for either a shot at a statistical milestone, or an incentive-based bonus.
Cook was in long enough to get the rushing yards he needed to top 1,000 for a second-straight season. He actually returned later in the game for a chance to tie a Bills record, recording his 16th rushing touchdown of the season to equal O.J. Simpson for the most touchdowns on the ground in a single season.
Von Miller got a sack on the Patriots' first drive of the game, which allowed him to earn a $1.5 million bonus. He ended up playing just three snaps in the game.
Mack Hollins' second catch of the game meant he hit a $50,000 incentive.
Sam Martin had one of his punts downed inside the 20-yard line, which triggered an extra $100,000 coming his way.
The Bills tried, but were not able to set an NFL record by getting a 14th different player to record a touchdown catch. The plan was to get one from fullback Reggie Gilliam, but they didn't succeed.
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Once the Bills' game ended, it was time to see who would earn the right to come to Highmark Stadium for the AFC Wild Card Round of the playoffs.
There ended up being no drama whatsoever there.
The Denver Broncos, needing a win to clinch their first postseason berth in nine seasons, played a Kansas City Chiefs team that rested all of their most important players on both sides of the ball. The Broncos took advantage of that, and put that game away by the end of the first quarter when they led 21-0.
There was no way I wanted the Bills to have to deal with the Cincinnati Bengals and their red-hot quarterback Joe Burrow. So thank you, Broncos, for taking care of business.
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I do like this matchup for the Bills, but there are some things to be aware of when it comes to the 10-7 Broncos.
Quarterback Bo Nix has had a very good rookie campaign, and is playing his best ball of the season. Nix, who started every game, has shown poise in the pocket and a good command of head coach Sean Payton's offense.
There are a lot of shorter, high-percentage passes for Nix, but he definitely has a strong enough arm to hit on the deep throws. Nix has shown good accuracy, including his passes on roll outs.
Nix can also use his legs as a weapon. He has the second-most quarterback scrambles for a first down in the NFL. Only fellow rookie Jayden Daniels has more.
I'll have more about the Broncos in a preview article on Friday, but the Bills' offensive line will face a huge challenge in this game from a very strong Broncos defensive front/pass rush. Denver led the NFL in sacks, and had a franchise record six different players record five-or-more sacks.
There is some "but look who they beat", in terms of Denver's 10 victories. They went 8-0 against teams that ended up with a losing record. The Broncos were just 2-7 against teams with a winning record, and one of those triumphs came in the finale when the Chiefs were mailing in the game. The other victory over a winning team came back in Week 3 in Tampa Bay over the Buccaneers.
Denver's strength of victory (.340) is the lowest among all 14 teams that made the playoffs.