The six-seeded Buffalo Bills (12-5) face the one-seeded Denver Broncos (14-3) at 4:30 p.m. EST Saturday afternoon at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium in the Divisional round of the AFC playoffs, and this will be the third time these two franchises have squared off in the postseason.
This is a matchup of founding members of the American Football League, as both the Bills and Broncos began play in the upstart league during the 1960 season. Buffalo brings a 7-9 all-time record in the Divisional Round,
while Denver is 10-6 in previous Divisional Round games.
Before this playoff showdown, let’s revisit the series history, relive some of the more memorable matchups, break down those common connections, and go through the list of players who played for both teams. Hint: there are 85 players who saw action for both the Bills and Broncos.
Bills vs. Broncos series history
Saturday’s game will mark the 43rd meeting all time, with Buffalo holding a 24-17-1 edge in the series. The Bills are 22-17-1 against the Broncos in the regular season, including winning five of the last seven games, and 2-0 versus the Broncos in the playoffs.
The first-ever postseason matchup was a defensive slugfest in the 1992 AFC Championship, played at Rich Stadium. The Bills advanced to their second-straight Super Bowl thanks to a relentless defense that held quarterback John Elway and the high-octane Broncos offense scoreless until late in the fourth quarter of an eventual 10-7 victory. David Treadwell, the Broncos’ normally accurate kicker, misfired on three first-half field goals, with two of his kicks clanging off the right upright, as Denver’s offense squandered one scoring chance after another.
On a day where quarterback Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas, wide receiver Andre Reed and the high-flying K-Gun Bills were held scoreless by a stout Broncos defense until the fourth quarter, it was an unheralded member of Buffalo’s defense who came up with the game’s biggest play that led to the first points. Linebacker Carlton Bailey intercepted an Elway pass that was tipped by nose tackle Jeff Wright and returned the interception 11 yards for a 7-0 Bills lead with 5:28 remaining in the third quarter.
Scott Norwood then booted a 44-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead five minutes into the fourth. Buffalo’s defense, which sacked Elway three times and held him to only 121 passing yards, eventually knocked the future Pro Football Hall of Famer out of the game with a deep thigh bruise early in the fourth. Backup quarterback Gary Kubiak came on and engineered the Broncos’ only scoring drive when he capped an eight-play, 85-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run with 1:43 remaining.
Denver recovered the ensuing onside kick, but on the first offensive play, defensive back Kirby Jackson delivered a punishing hit on running back Steve Sewell after a short completion, knocked the ball loose and fell on the fumble to seal the win and send the sellout crowd into a state of Fandemonium.
The Bills won despite Kelly throwing a pair of interceptions and completing only 13-of-25 passes for 117 yards, and despite Thomas rushing for only 72 yards on 26 carries. Buffalo failed to score an offensive touchdown at home for the first time in more than three years, but did just enough to advance into Super Bowl XXVI.
Last postseason matchup: The Bills earned a 31-7 win over Sean Payton, Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos in the Wild Card round of the 2024 NFL season playoffs.
Denver struck first as Nix found wide receiver Troy Franklin for a 43-yard touchdown pass just 2:24 into the contest, but from there it was all Josh Allen and the Bills. Buffalo scored on six of its first seven drives, beginning with a 26-yard field goal from Tyler Bass and a five-yard touchdown run from running back James Cook III early in the second quarter as the Bills led 10-7 at halftime.
In the second half, following another Bass field goal, Allen stepped up his game, passing for two touchdowns, including completing a 24-yard touchdown pass to sliding running back Ty Johnson on fourth down late in the third to give the Bills a 21-7 lead after Allen hooked up with rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman on the two-point try.
The final blow was delivered on the opening snap of the fourth quarter, when Allen threw a dime to wide receiver Curtis Samuel, who went 55 yards for the score and a 28-7 Bills lead. Allen completed 20-of-26 passes for 272 yards, Cook ran for 120 yards, and Buffalo’s ground game finished with 210 yards on the day as the Bills held a 23-minute advantage in time of possession.
Cook became the first Bill to eclipse 100 yards rushing in a playoff game since Thomas ran for 158 yards in a Wild Card win over Miami in the 1995 season, and Allen (23) surpassed Kelly for most playoff passing touchdowns in franchise history in the victory.
While the Bills didn’t force a turnover, they sacked Nix twice and applied constant pressure. Nix completed only 13-of-22 passes for 144 yards while directing a Denver offense that punted four times and turned the ball over on downs twice.
The Bills would defeat the Baltimore Ravens the following week in the AFC Divisional Round before falling at the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game.
Last regular season matchup: The loss that ended the Ken Dorsey era as Buffalo’s offensive coordinator was a painful one during Week 10 of the 2023 season. The Bills turned the ball over four times, but appeared to hang on for a primetime win on Monday Night Football when Will Lutz pushed a game-winning field goal wide right. But the Bills were flagged for too many men on the field and, given a second chance, Lutz drilled a 36-yard field goal as time expired to send the Bills to their fourth loss in six games.
Allen overcame a sloppy game (he had two interceptions and lost a fumble) to engineer a go-ahead drive late in the fourth, rushing for a six-yard touchdown with 1:55 remaining to put Buffalo up 24-22. But quarterback Russell Wilson responded with a 10-play, 57-yard drive, highlighted by a pass interference call on an all-out blitz that set Denver up at the Buffalo 17-yard line and led to Lutz’s game-winning field goal.
Allen completed 15-of-26 passes for 177 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown to then-rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid, James Cook rushed 12 times for 109 yards (but fumbled twice and lost one fumble), and veteran running back Latavius Murray ran nine times for 68 yards and a touchdown. Led by defensive end A.J. Epenesa (1.5 sacks), the Bills sacked Wilson four times in the loss.
It was the sixth-straight game where Allen and the offense failed to score at least 26 points, matching the worst stretch since Allen’s 2018 rookie season. The next day, Dorsey was fired as offensive coordinator and current offensive coordinator Joe Brady took over.
Franchise Comparison
Who has played for both the Bills and Broncos?
There are a total of 85 players who appeared in a game for both the Bills and Broncos, including defensive back Butch Byrd (1964-1970 with the Bills, 1971 with the Broncos), defensive back Booker Edgerson (1962-69 with the Bills, 1970 with the Broncos), running back Cookie Gilchrist (1962-64 with the Bills, 1965-67 with the Broncos), defensive lineman Mike Lodish (1990-94 with the Bills, 19995-2000 with the Broncos), running back Willis McGahee (2004-06 with the Bills, 2011-12 with the Broncos), linebacker Von Miller (2011-2021 with the Broncos, 2022-24 with the Bills), wide receiver Haven Moses (1968-1972 with the Bills, 1972-1981 with the Broncos), and defensive lineman Ted Washington (1994 with the Broncos, 1995-2000 with the Bills).
Among the other notable players with ties to both the Bills and Broncos:
- Defensive lineman Sam Adams (2003-05 with the Bills, 2007 with the Broncos)
- Defensive tackle Justin Bannan (2002-05 with the Bills, 2010-12 with the Broncos)
- Quarterback/wide receiver Marlin Briscoe (1968 with the Broncos, 1969-1971 with the Bills)
- Defensive lineman Dave Costa (1966-1974 with the Bills, 1967-1971 with the Broncos)
- Running back Travis Henry (2001-04 with the Bills, 2007 with the Broncos)
- Defensive back Tom Janik (1963-64 with the Broncos, 1965-68 with the Bills)
- Punter Sam Martin (2020-21 with the Broncos, 2022-24 with the Bills)
- Wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie (2017-18 with the Broncos, 2018-2022 with the Bills)
- Quarterback Kyle Orton (2009-2011 with the Broncos, 2014 with the Bills)
- Offensive tackle Erik Pears (2006-07 with the Broncos, 2010-14 with the Bills)
- Kicker Matt Prater (2007-13 with the Broncos, 2025 with the Bills)
- Defensive back George Saimes (1963-69 with the Bills, 1970-72 with the Broncos)
- Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders (2014-19 with the Broncos, 2021 with the Bills)
- Offensive lineman Trey Teague (1999-2001 with the Broncos, 2002-05 with the Bills)
- Linebacker Dave Washington (1970-71 with the Broncos, 1972-74 with the Bills)
Fun fact: There have been four players to throw a pass in both a Bills and Broncos uniform:
Marlin Briscoe
Case Keenum
Kyle Orton
Matt Robinson
