The Denver Broncos made it into the playoffs as the No. 7 seed in the AFC playoff structure. Head coach Sean Payton's team exceeded expectations throughout the season and earned its postseason spot with a 10-7 record. The Broncos won 5 of their final 7 regular season games to gain that playoff spot for the first time since the 2015 season.

The Broncos were longshots to advance past the Wild Card round, and they were unable to get past the powerful Buffalo Bills. They scored the opening touchdown of the game, but couldn't stop the Bills after that and dropped a 31-7 decision.

There was not much Payton could have done to get his team into a more competitive position because Josh Allen and the Bills had too much talent and momentum. However, Payton made a strange move before the game when he activated running back Tyler Badie over rookie Audric Estime.

During the regular season, Estime carried the ball 76 times for 310 yards and scored 2 touchdowns. Badie had 11 carries for 86 yards and did not score in the regular season. Badie was not a featured part of the Broncos' game plan against the Bills. He was held to 8 yards on 2 carries.

Payton addressed the move briefly after the game. “We felt like for this game it was something we wanted to do,” Payton said.

Broncos were depending on defense to slow down Bills

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton watches play downfield during the first quarter against the Buffalo Bills in an AFC wild card game at Highmark Stadium.
Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

The experienced Bills had a brilliant 13-4 regular season and were 2-0 against the Kansas City Chiefs and the Detroit Lions, the top seeds in the AFC and NFC, respectively. The Bills were 7.5-point favorites over the Broncos in the Wild Card game.

If the Broncos were going to pull off the upset they would have needed their defense to contain Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen. That did not happen as the remarkable signal caller completed 20 of 26 passes for 272 yards with 2 touchdowns and he did not throw an interception.

Allen got a big assist from running back James Cook, who carried the ball 23 times for 120 yards and 1 touchdown. Speedy wide receiver Curtis Samuel caught 3 passes for 68 yards and had an eye-catching 55-yard TD reception in the 4th quarter that basically clinched the game for the Bills.

Broncos quarterback Bo Nix came into the game on a roll after leading Denver to a 38-0 victory over the Chiefs in Week 18. He opened the game with a 43-yard TD pass to Troy Franklin on Denver's first possession. He completed 13 of 22 passes for 144 yards and he did not throw an interception. Nix ran 4 time for 43 yards and was the Broncos' leading ground gainer.