The Buffalo Bills locked-up the AFC East in style and with relative ease on Saturday, downing the Broncos 48-19 in Denver to clinch a first-place finish in the division for the first time since 1995.
Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs and the Buffalo offense put up a season-high 48 points (with some help from the defense and Jerry Hughes), the most the Bills have scored in a game since 2010. Meanwhile, the defense shut down a young, promising Denver offense that has picked up some steam as the season has gone on.
Allen finished the afternoon 28-for-40, throwing for 359 yards and two touchdowns, while also running for two scores. Diggs led all receivers with 11 catches for 147 yards, while Cole Beasley finished with over 100 reception yards as well, going for 112 on eight catches.
The Broncos were held to a field goal attempt after a nice opening drive to start the game. With Denver's usual kicker, Brandon McManus, out due to COVID-19, 31-year old rookie kicker Taylor Russolino made his NFL debut against Buffalo. Russolino's 51-yard attempt, the first of his career, missed far to the right, leaving Denver empty-handed after its opening series.
Buffalo put together an impressive first drive of its own as the Bills successfully converted on third down three times on the 13-play drive. The drive ended with Buffalo finding the end zone on a nine-yard pass from Allen to tight end Dawson Knox. For Knox, it was his third touchdown of the season and third in the last four games, as the Bills took an early 7-0 lead.
On the opening drive, Allen completed seven passes on 10 attempts, racking up 49 yards to go with his touchdown throw to Knox. Allen also didn't waste any time going to Diggs, his top wide receiver. Diggs caught his 101st pass of the year, a new Bills single-season record, on the first play of the drive, and finished the series with three receptions.
Buffalo added to its lead early in the second quarter with another double-digit play scoring drive that featured multiple third-down conversions.
Starting the drive from its own five-yard line, Allen and the Buffalo offense went 95 yards down the field in a little over five minutes, with Allen himself capping the possession with a 24-yard touchdown run, making the score 14-0 with 10:30 to play until halftime.
The Bills defense forced another three-and-out from Denver on the drive following Allen's touchdown run. However, the Broncos caught a break when punt returner Andre Roberts muffed the punt, allowing Denver to recover the ball on the Bills' 35-yard line.
Denver quickly capitalized on Buffalo's dependable return man's error. A 10-yard touchdown run from Melvin Gordon III cut the Bills' lead in half with 6:28 to go in the second quarter.
Buffalo quickly went back up by two scores thanks to a 22-yard touchdown pass from Allen to wide receiver Jake Kumerow. Kumerow became the 13th Bills player to catch a touchdown this season, tying an NFL record. The touchdown pass was also Allen's 30th of the year, making him just the second quarterback in Bills history to throw for 30 touchdowns in a season.
Denver managed to make it a one-score game before heading into the locker room for halftime. Drew Lock and the Broncos' passing game found some rhythm on its final drive in the second quarter, with receivers getting involved for the first time all afternoon.
Lock found tight end Noah Fant in the end zone for a six-yard passing touchdown with five seconds to go in the half. However, kicking hurt the Broncos again, as Russolino missed the extra point, giving Buffalo a 21-13 lead at the break.
Roberts redeemed himself for his muffed punt earlier in the game with a nice 53-yard kick return to open the third quarter. That gave the Buffalo offense a short field, and the unit used it to regain a two-score lead.
Allen ran for his second rushing score of the afternoon to make it 28-13 early in the third quarter. The rushing touchdown was the 25th of Allen's career, tying him with Jack Kemp for most career rushing scores by a quarterback in franchise history.
Just 17 seconds of game time later, the Bills took full control when cornerback Tre'Davious White knocked the ball out of Lock's hands while wrapping him up for a tackle. Defensive end Jerry Hughes scooped up the loose ball and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown, making it 35-13.
With Hughes' score, the Bills defense has registered a return touchdown in each of the last two games.
A pair of penalties in the red zone negated two Bills touchdowns that could've stretched the lead even more late in the third quarter. Buffalo had to settle for a field goal after the defense forced a second-consecutive three-and-out from Denver. Tyler Bass' successful 27-yard attempt gave the Bills a 38-13 lead heading into the final frame.
Bass made another 27-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter to make it 41-13 after a long Buffalo drive used to run time off the clock.
Gordon III rushed for his second score of the game late in the fourth quarter to make it 41-19 in Buffalo's favor. However, Bills running back Devin Singletary responded with a 51-yard rushing touchdown of his own on the very next play, putting a nice bow on the division-clinching win.
With the victory, the Bills improve to 11-3 and have only playoff seeding/matchups to worry about over the final two regular season games. The team heads home to celebrate its first division title in 25 years and will begin to look towards a Week 16 matchup with the New England Patriots.
GAME SUMMARY
First Quarter:
- 7-0 BUFFALO – Bills touchdown (4:05) – Josh Allen passes to Dawson Knox for a nine-yard touchdown (Tyler Bass’ extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 13 plays, 59 yards, 6:05
Second Quarter:
- 14-0 BUFFALO – Bills touchdown (10:30) – Josh Allen rushes for a 24-yard touchdown (Tyler Bass’ extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 11 plays, 95 yards, 5:09
- 14-7 BUFFALO – Broncos touchdown (6:28) – Melvin Gordon III rushes for a 10-yard touchdown (Taylor Russolino’s extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 6 plays, 35 yards, 3:01
- 21-7 BUFFALO – Bills touchdown (1:49) – Josh Allen passes to Jake Kumerow for a 22-yard touchdown (Tyler Bass’ extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 5 plays, 59 yards, 2:26
- 21-13 BUFFALO – Broncos touchdown (0:05) – Drew Lock passes to Noah Fant for a six-yard touchdown (Taylor Russolino’s extra point attempt is no good)
Drive info: 9 plays, 75 yards, 1:44
Third Quarter:
- 28-13 BUFFALO – Bills touchdown (10:58) – Josh Allen rushes for a one-yard touchdown (Tyler Bass’ extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 7 plays, 43 yards, 4:02
- 35-13 BUFFALO – Bills touchdown (10:41) – Jerry Hughes returns a fumble recovery for a 21-yard touchdown (Tyler Bass’ extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 1 plays, -4 yards, 0:17
- 38-13 BUFFALO – Bills field goal (0:44) – Tyler Bass’ 27-yard field goal attempt is good
Drive info: 10 plays, 49 yards, 4:48
Fourth Quarter:
- 41-13 BUFFALO – Bills field goal (5:50) – Tyler Bass’ 27-yard field goal attempt is good
Drive info: 12 plays, 86 yards, 7:46
- 41-19 BUFFALO – Broncos touchdown (1:52) – Melvin Gordon III rushes for an eight-yard touchdown (Taylor Russolino’s extra point attempt is no good)
Drive info: 12 plays, 75 yards, 3:54
- 48-19 BUFFALO – Bills touchdown (1:40) – Devin Singletary rushes for a 51-yard touchdown (Tyler Bass’ extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 1 play, 51 yards, 0:12
SKYWORKS EQUIPMENT RENTAL STATS OF THE GAME:
The Bills will travel to New England for a Week 16 matchup with the Patriots at Gillette Stadium on ESPN's Monday Night Football. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. EST on Monday, Dec. 28. Be sure to tune in to WGR to hear John Murphy, Steve Tasker and Sal Capaccio on the call.