The Buffalo Bills knew coming into the postseason, it’d be a tough hill to climb to Super Bowl LX, having to go on the road the whole way with a 33-year streak without a playoff road victory strapped to their back. Nonetheless, they handled their first challenge by beating the Jacksonville Jaguars in their house.
The next challenge in Denver isn’t any easier. The Broncos are 18-5 at home in the postseason all-time. That’s thanks in large part to the underrated environment Empower Field at Mile High brings to the table.
Ahead of the Bills-Broncos Divisional Round matchup, Denver head coach Sean Payton called on the fans to turn up the volume on Josh Allen and the Bills’ offense this Saturday.
Broncos HC Sean Payton asks for a little help to slow down Buffalo Bills, Josh Allen
“Yeah, absolutely, they can,” Payton said about the Broncos fans at Mile High impacting the game. “I think, I keep saying this, for years we were conditioned to raise the noise level when they broke the huddle. The noise level needs to be loudest when they enter the huddle…
“I just need it for half the snaps, right? Say, 65 snaps,10 seconds. That’s a huge advantage.”
Jags fans were plenty loud for the Wild Card game last week, but it didn’t deter Allen one bit, as he put on another dominant postseason performance in the win. Payton knows the best quarterback in the AFC is coming to his house, and it’s understandable that he recognizes that even his defense needs all the help it can get.
That goes double if Allen can rely on his receivers as well as he did last week. Khalil Shakir caught all 12 of his targets in Jacksonville, and Brandin Cooks came up with another deep-shot to bring some explosion to the Bills’ offense. Those two, as well as Keon Coleman, will be under the spotlight in this game with Josh Palmer and Gabe Davis out the rest of the way.
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Of course, the Broncos carry one of the league’s best defensive units. Denver finished the 2025 regular season ranked 2nd in yards allowed, 3rd in points, and led the league in sacks with 11 more than the next team. Contending with Denver’s unofficial 12th man this weekend certainly won’t make things any easier on Allen and his offense.
Although, Payton did ask for his fans to raise the volume publicly, which means the Bills are aware. Surely, Allen and offensive coordinator Joe Brady will come prepared to deal with the noise to make sure they continue to climb that hill to Super Bowl LX.