Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - While winning their fifth-straight game in the AFC Wild Card Round (all at home), the Buffalo Bills recorded the third-largest margin of victory in the franchise's postseason history. Only wins over the, then, Los Angeles Raiders (51-3) and New England Patriots (47-17) were decided by more points.
But Sunday's 31-7 triumph over the Denver Broncos was far more stressful than the other two games.
I don't think I exhaled until the amazing touchdown pass from Josh Allen and catch by Ty Johnson that gave the Bills a two-score lead with three minutes remaining in the third quarter.
If you were nervous before the game (and who wasn't?), it didn't get any better for you when the Broncos got the ball first and went 70 yards in five plays. A 43-yard bomb from Bo Nix, playing in his first NFL postseason game, put the visitors up 7-0, and quieted the Highmark Stadium crowd.
By halftime, it was still a close game with the Bills up 10-7, thanks to the Broncos missing on a 50-yard field goal attempt right before the intermission.
When the Bills got the ball with 8:40 left in the third quarter, they led by just six points, 13-7. There wasn't a single moment where I thought they might actually lose this game, but I didn't anticipate sweating this one out as long as I did either.
The Johnson touchdown catch was the biggest play of the day, and came on a 4th-and-1 at the Broncos' 24-yard line.
It was also an example of how Bills head coach Sean McDermott has evolved. There was absolutely no doubt in my mind he would opt to go for it, rather than attempt a field goal, which would have made it a two-score game at that point.
When you have Allen and one of the best offenses in the league, you trust them to do the job. McDermott did, and Allen and company rewarded their head coach.
It wasn't an easy day for Allen, though.
Denver's strong defensive front and solid secondary kept the Bills' passing game in check for the first half, although they didn't really throw the ball that much. The Bills leaned on their running game in the first 30 minutes, and that carried the offense.
The offensive line won the battle at the line of scrimmage, and the Bills rolled up 210 yards rushing on 44 carries against the NFL's third-best run defense.
James Cook had a big day with 120 yards and a touchdown on a season-high 23 carries. Cook became the first Bills running back to top 100 yards in a playoff game since Hall-of-Famer Thurman Thomas did it in 1995.
Meanwhile, Allen was 9-of-12 for just 69 yards in the first half, but the passing game came through with some key plays in the second half, which allowed the Bills to pull away and record a ninth home win in as many games on their turf this season.
Allen was 11-of-14 in the second half for 203 yards and a pair of touchdown passes. The one to Johnson preceded a 55-yard touchdown throw to Curtis Samuel.
When all was said and done, Allen ended the day with 318 total yards and the two touchdowns. He also broke Hall-of-Famer Jim Kelly's franchise record for most career touchdown passes in the postseason. Kelly had 21, and Allen now has 23.
Allen was also money when it came to third down passing, completing 7-of-8 pass attempts for 143 yards and one of the two touchdowns.
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The Bills scored points on six of the seven drives with Allen on the field. Mitch Trubisky came out for the Bills' final possession.
Buffalo had three touchdowns and three field goals against a Broncos defense that gave up the third-fewest points in the league during the regular season.
The Bills had 471 total yards of offense, converted 53% on third down, had 26 first downs and had the ball for more than 41 minutes.
The only negative was their 1-for-5 showing in the red zone.
It has become very stressful (for me anyway) any time the Bills defense takes the field, but that unit more than recovered after the initial Broncos scoring drive. Denver didn't score a single point on their next seven possessions. There were four punts, two turnovers on downs and the missed field goal attempt at the end of the first half.
The defense forced back-to-back three-and-outs on the Broncos' first two possessions of the second half, which were huge. While they were doing that, the offense was able to add to the lead.
Third down defense has been a real problem for the Bills, who ended the regular season ranked 29th in that area, but held Denver to 2-for-9. The Broncos got inside the Bills' 20-yard line just one time all day, and they failed to score any points in that lone red zone trip.
Special teams were a mixed bag.
Tyler Bass had a perfect game, connecting on field goal attempts of 26, 27 and 34 yards. He was also 2-for-2 on extra point attempts.
Khalil Shakir, who filled in for the injured Brandon Codrington, had a 25-yard punt return, while Ty Johnson had a 33-yard kick return.
But for the second-straight game, the Bills special teams gave up a fake punt for a first down. The defense bailed them out by coming up with a stop.
One down, and three to go.
But there will be a big step up, in terms of competition on Sunday when the Baltimore Ravens come to Orchard Park for the AFC Divisional Round.
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