After a successful regular season, the Denver Broncos have earned a lot of praise for their efforts during their 2025 campaign. The Broncos delivered fans the franchise’s first AFC West title in a decade. Some would say that would signify a successful season. Others may contend there is still unfinished business to take care of.
On Saturday, Denver hopes to avert being one-and-done in the postseason and continue their magical year by defeating the Buffalo Bills in their AFC Divisional Round matchup.
In order to do so, they will have to run the ball and control the clock. The passing offense will need to be much more consistent with Bo Nix’s supporting cast having to step up and put together their best games to date.
Seeing improvements on offense will be necessary to achieve victory. They’ve struggled being efficient for a large portion of the year. Nevertheless, ensuring Josh Allen doesn’t have a monumental performance like we are accustomed to seeing will be priority number one for the Broncos’ top-notch defense on Saturday.
That’s their biggest key to the game. Doing whatever it takes to limit Allen. Everything else, in my humble opinion, comes secondary. He is the type of player who can take over a game at a moment’s notice. while Denver’s defense has been stellar in most aspects this season, facing off against the reigning MVP will be their toughest challenge thus far. Head Coach Sean Payton offered high praise for Allen earlier this week and talked about what makes him so special and hard to defend.
“He’s hard to bring down. He’s powerful. He’s probably first in the league in second-act explosives where he climbs, moves and then tracks somebody. There’s a lot that goes into that relative to defending him. He has tremendous legs. He’s a fantastic competitor,” Payton stated.
The eighth-year pro accounted for over 4,000 all-purpose yards and 39 touchdowns in the regular season. Not many quarterbacks performed much better. He also sported four fourth quarter comebacks and game winning drives. Whenever the Bills’ defense seemed to let them down, the former Wyoming prospect would find a way to rally the offense and get Buffalo back in the win column.
He might not have the best supporting cast in the NFL. Even so, Allen can elevate the play of those around him. While lack of accuracy was an issue for his during his collegiate days in Laramie, he has become one of the most accurate passers in the league. He has been extremely efficient divvying up his targets and having his teammates make the most of the looks they are given.
“He was the difference when that game that was close last weekend, and here it is the final drive. It’s been a while since I saw someone gain seven yards on a sneak. He’s one of the stars of our league, and you see it year-in and year-out,” added Payton.
Limiting Allen’s star power is mission critical for the Broncos to advance in the playoffs. Denver led the league in sacks in ‘25 with 68. This past season was the most Allen had ever been sacked in his career—40 times. Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph and his players have performed at a high level most games this year.
In order to continue their chase for a Lombardi Trophy, they will have to come up big once more in the toughest matchup of the season. It’s time to dial up the heat and bring the noise on Saturday. Everything is on the line for Denver in front of a hometown crowd at Empower Field at Mile High. If they can limit Allen’s star power on the field, I love Denver’s chances to advance.
As always, thank you for reading. Here is today’s slate of articles for Horse Tracks.
