By CHUCK POLLOCK, Wellsville Sun Senior Sports Columnist
Talk about instant results.
For three straight seasons, the Broncos had losing records … a dubious mark for a team that had made it to eight Super Bowls and won a trio of them.
A change was in order and Denver’s management opted to roll the dice with a new coach … Sean Payton, fresh from a successful 15-year run as coach of the Saints.
The results were rapid from 8-9 and 10-7 seasons, the Broncos went to 14-3 this year and earned the No.1 seed in the AFC.
And Saturday afternoon at Empower Field at Mile High, Denver will host the Bills (13-5) in a game that will determine one of two conference finalists, the other being Houston at New England.
Buffalo and the Broncos are the first of four quarterfinals (CBS-TV, Bills Radio Network, 4:30 Saturday afternoon).
Denver is favored by only a point because the perception is that the Bills Josh Allen is more a difference-maker, even on the road, than the Broncos youthful Bo Nix. Allen has led his team to the divisional round of the playoffs again, joining Tom Brady (eight times) and Patrick Mahomes (seven times) as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to win at least one playoff game in six straight seasons.
The Bills also catch a break as the weather will be friendly, temperatures in the upper 30s, no precipation and light winds.
WHEN IT comes to Nix, it’s worth noting the Broncos have won 13 of their last 14 games and he’s thrown for 20 touchdowns with eight interceptions over that span.
INJURIES
Pro coaches hate to use that excuse for their teams’ travails especially if it’s a star player.
And the reality is, the Bills are a mess at two critical positions: wide receiver and defensive secondary.
Buffalo’s issues at wideout have been obvious since training camp and they’ve only gotten worse. Heading into the Broncos game, the Bills have three healthy wide receivers: Khalil Shakir, Brandin Cooks and Keon Coleman who has not been a paragon of consistency or dependability. Curtis Samuel’s status (elbow) remains uncertain while Tyrell Shavers (knee), Gabe Davis (knee) and Joshua Palmer (ankle) have a gone on injured reserve.
But, the Bills are also a bit short at defensive tackle as Ed Oliver (left arm and leg) isn’t quite ready to return and middle linebacker Terrel Bernard is unlikely to play due to ankle and neck injuries. Outside linebacker Matt Milano may play though he’s dealing with an ankle injury while linebacker Shaq Thompson, edge rusher Greg Rousseau and Dalton Kincaid have been limited at practice due to neck, back., knee and calf problems, respectively.
Finally, cornerback Maxwell Hairston (knee), the team’s first-round draft choice has gone on injured reserve while running back Ty Johnson (ankle) and safety Jordan Poyer (hamstring) didn’t practice Friday.
The best news for the Bills was that Allen (ankle) and place-kicker Matt Prater (quad) both practiced fully.
By contrast to that list, Denver listed only four players on its injury report, the only starter linebacker Dre Greenlaw (hamstring).
POLLOCK’S PICK: Broncos 27, Bills 20
