The Buffalo Bills kicked off their playoff run by winning the coin toss and deferring to the second half, sending rookie quarterback Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos offense out to start the game. And right out of the gate, things got physical - and concerning.
On the opening kickoff, Marvin Mims Jr. absorbed a helmet-to-helmet collision with a Bills defender that left both players shaken. No flag was thrown, but both went into the medical tent for concussion evaluations. That’s the kind of hit that can change the tone of a game - and potentially a season - in an instant.
Nix opened up in an empty set and wasted no time, hitting Pat Bryant for a crisp 14-yard gain. Then Jaleel McLaughlin made something out of nothing, turning what looked like a loss into a six-yard pickup. Nix, still settling in, floated a wobbly pass off his back foot, but Bryant bailed him out with a tough catch at the Buffalo 41.
Bryant, though, wouldn’t stay on the field long. On the very next play - a modest five-yard gain - he took a hit that sent him to the medical tent for a concussion check.
That’s two Broncos receivers under evaluation before the first quarter’s halfway mark. Meanwhile, Nix kept the offense moving, finding Lil’Jordan Humphrey on the outside to set up a third-and-short.
Facing third and one, the Broncos dialed up a designed quarterback keeper, and Nix delivered, moving the chains and putting Denver in field goal range. He followed that with a dump-off to RJ Harvey for six yards, and then took another keeper himself, setting up a third-and-inches at the Buffalo 18. Nix tried to sneak it but came up just shy - two inches, to be exact.
On fourth down, Denver didn’t hesitate. Nix snuck it again, this time getting the push he needed to move the sticks at the 13-yard line.
Then came a near disaster. McLaughlin put the ball on the turf, and the Bills pounced on it at the four-yard line. But a costly offsides penalty wiped away the turnover and gave the Broncos a fresh set of downs inside the 10.
Still, Denver couldn’t cash in. A broken play on a quarterback keeper lost yardage, and then Humphrey dropped a wide-open pass in the end zone that would’ve been six.
On third down, Nix sailed a throw over Evan Engram’s head, and the drive stalled. Wil Lutz came on to salvage it with a short field goal.
Broncos 3, Bills 0.
Josh Allen and the Buffalo offense took the field at their own 33 and immediately went to work. James Cook burst through a gaping hole for a 24-yard gain that had the crowd roaring and the Broncos defense reeling. The noise forced Denver to burn a timeout - not what you want after just one play.
Cook kept the pressure on with another 10-yard run, but the gain came at a price: star corner Pat Surtain II went down with an injury. For Denver, it was quickly turning into a nightmare start on both sides of the ball.
Allen kept the tempo high, firing a quick strike over the middle to move the chains again. In just three plays, the Bills were in the red zone. Surtain returned to the field to try to steady the defense, but Allen wasn’t slowing down.
On third down from the seven, Allen powered forward on a QB sneak to set up first-and-goal inside the two. Cook was stuffed for a two-yard loss on the next play, but Allen made up for it immediately, finding a wide-open target in the end zone for the touchdown.
As the first quarter came to a close, the Bills had flipped the momentum and taken control.
Bills 7, Broncos 3.