Hopes are high in Buffalo as they head to Mile High City to face the top-seed Denver Broncos for the right to play in the AFC Championship for the third time since 2020.
A lot of that hope is placed at the feet of Josh Allen, who will face arguably the best defense he’s faced all season for the second week in a row in these playoffs. Allen played about as perfectly in the Wild Card round as Bills Mafia has come to expect, leaving no doubts that he can do it again.
He’ll need some help from his friends to get the job done, though. And that’s where we begin with three bold predictions for the Bills’ Divisional Round matchup with against the Broncos.
3 Bold predictions that could push the Buffalo Bills to the AFC Championship
Brandin Cooks catches at least 5 passes for 100+ yards
There’s no reason in the world Denver should be worried about the Bills’ wide receivers. Half of them landed on Injured Reserve over the past week. Plus, Keon Coleman has been largely ineffective all season. Also, Khalil Shakir isn’t a true No. 1 option. Finally, Brandin Cooks is a 32-year-old deep threat.
However, Cooks has begun to make believers out of Bills fans in recent weeks. In his last two meaningful outings, Cooks hauled in seven of his 11 targets for 159 yards, including receptions of 36, 38, and 50 yards.
Of course, most look at this bold prediction and say there’s no shot Cooks can fly by Riley Moss or Patrick Surtain II on the outside, and they’re probably right. However, the Broncos play a ton of man coverage, and the middle of the field is the weak spot in the Broncos’ pass defense. Some quick crossers, where Cooks is designed to be in a favorable matchup, could lead to some opportunities for him to rack up some volume stats.
That said, I’m not discounting that Allen won’t rip the seam for a deep shot to Cooks either. Either way, with limited options at receiver, I expect Cooks to continue to step up for this offense as he has in recent weeks.
Bills force two takeaways on Bo Nix
Bo Nix has earned every ounce of respect he’s gained in his two seasons in the NFL. While he had first-round grades, many thought Sean Payton and the Broncos were out of their minds for drafting him as highly as they did. But it’s paid off, especially with the No. 1 seed in hand.
Still, he’s a second-year quarterback who can be prone to some head-scratching mistakes at times. Last year, when he and the Broncos met the Bills in the postseason, Nix didn’t turn the ball over, but he didn’t exactly make up for it with big plays.
This year, I expect Nix will be more aggressive, trying to ensure that his offense is productive enough to flip the pressure onto Allen and the Bills. While that will certainly lead to more explosive plays in a well-balanced and much-improved Denver offense, I think it opens Nix up to make a couple of costly mistakes.
Whether it’s a strip sack or an interception, who knows? The Bills have playmakers at each level capable of capitalizing on whatever mistakes Nix may make in just his second postseason start.
Josh Allen does it again, sends Bills to AFC Championship
Despite expecting Nix to make some mistakes, I don’t for one second think the Bills will march into Denver and steamroll the top team in the AFC. It’s not out of the realm of possibilities, but it’s too bold for a bold predictions piece from me.
Still, if this game is as competitive to the very end as football fans would hope and expect, there’s no one else worthy of more trust to push the Bills over the edge to reach the AFC Championship than Josh Allen.
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Allen doesn’t have everything he needs to even be in the spot he’s carried the Bills to so far. The run game was nonexistent against the Jaguars, his receiving corps has been depleted by injuries and inefficiency, and the defense has struggled to play the run consistently all season long. Nonetheless, despite each of the last five meaningful games the Bills have played have come down to the wire, and Allen only came up one yard short once.
This postseason has been tightly contested as every team feels the window is wide open with every recent contender out of the way. But they seem to forget the one contender who pushed the Chiefs and Bengals to their limit. The Bills may have more weaknesses than in years past, but they still have Josh Allen, and the rest of the field doesn’t.
I expect this game will come down to the wire again, and whether the Bills have the ball last or not, Allen is going to leave the field with the lead as he has so often in the past.