In the wake of the AFC Championship Game, both the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos should look at Super Bowl LX as the one that got away.
The Broncos fell to the New England Patriots at home in a Rocky Mountain blizzard. The Buffalo Bills were eliminated at Mile High a week earlier and have since spiraled.
Neither team had a satisfying end to their seasons.
Missed ‘Mile High’ Opportunities
Both the Broncos and Bills could’ve gotten by New England and moved on to Santa Clara at their best. Denver lost its quarterback, and Buffalo couldn’t force a rematch. These two teams in particular should feel the sting of playoff defeat the most.
The Bills found themselves in a playoff field that was theirs to lose. Lamar Jackson‘s Ravens, Patrick Mahomes‘ Chiefs, and Joe Burrow‘s Bengals were all missing. The best teams consisted of an unproven Patriots team, an inconsistent Broncos squad, and a Jags team that might’ve been the best out of all of them. Buffalo dispelled the Jags in the Wild Card round and had a questionable Patriots squad on deck should they make it there.
There might not be a more winnable field in Allen’s career.
The Allen-McDermott Bills have endured many painful playoff losses, which is saying a lot for a franchise like the Bills. The 13-second game, the 2025 AFC Championship, and the Burrow snow game all hurt, but this Broncos loss in the Divisional Round might sting most of all. Bo Nix outdueling Josh Allen was not what anyone expected, but it happened.
The calls against Buffalo in overtime sting, but Buffalo put themselves in that position by gifting Denver 16 points off turnovers to make it to overtime. The penalties just underscore the fact that if Buffalo and Josh Allen played a cleaner game, they might still be playing.
In the game’s biggest moments, Nix, not Allen, was the one who came through. Allen had a careless fumble to gift the Broncos three points to end the half. He missed TE Dawson Knox on a crosser that would’ve given Buffalo a great shot to end the game in regulation.
After a Broncos three-and-out to start OT, Allen and the Bills got the ball back to end the game on a score, and turned it over again on the Ja’Quan McMillan interception. When Allen and the Bills could’ve gone and won the game, they didn’t.
The AFC representative Patriots won the championship game, where their QB threw for a 51.1 Total QBR in the playoffs. Costly mistakes against Denver could’ve cost Buffalo a Super Bowl.
If Buffalo and Allen couldn’t at least make a Super Bowl appearance this season, one wonders when they ever will.
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Un-Bo-Lievable News
Before this fruitless outing against New England, Broncos Country already felt the pain of defeat.
HC Sean Payton came back for an unexpected media briefing and delivered the shocking news that QB Bo Nix would be having surgery to repair a fractured ankle, and his season was over. Backup QB Jarrett Stidham would take Nix’s place in the AFC Championship. The NFL world reacted with similar shock, knowing that Denver’s Super Bowl hopes rest in Jarrett Stidham.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton showed the utmost confidence in his abilities, but the lights were just too bright for the backup. After a beautiful deep ball to Marvin Mims and a touchdown to Courtland Sutton, he lost a backwards pass that gifted the Patriots their only touchdown. Stidham never truly rallied, and once the snow really set in, the game was settled. The interception to Christian Gonzales was just the final bell to toll.
Stidham hadn’t thrown a pass in an NFL game since 2023. It’s the first time since Roger Staubach in 1972 that a QB will make their first start of the season in the conference championship.
It’s a lot to ask of a backup QB. Adding in the snowstorm and the quality of NE’s run defense makes it even more of a brutal draw for Stidham.
Having Denver’s season shake out this way should feel like a missed opportunity of their own. They had made it past arguably the best QB in the NFL in the playoffs. They possessed home-field advantage at altitude. Denver showed every trait of a true Super Bowl winner. Like the Bills, Denver had as good a chance as anyone of breaking through these parity-filled playoffs. Even in the AFC Championship, the path was there for them to come out on top. A failed fourth-down play instead of a field goal was the deciding three points. Drake Maye won the game with 89 yards passing. This game was in reach, even without Nix.
Even still, losing Nix was a crushing blow that will have Denver fans asking ‘what if’ all offseason.
Missing Nix
If there’s a silver lining for Denver, it’s the validation of Bo Nix as their long-term QB.
He had a shaky sophomore season but continued to grow. It culminated in outplaying the reigning MVP and this platform’s top-ranked passer. He was throwing all over the field, using his legs, and was highly accurate, throwing an extraordinary touchdown to go ahead in the final moments of the fourth quarter.
In the AFC championship, his presence was missed. Nix’s mobility is a huge asset that Denver needed. His legs get the offense out of tight spots, and it was apparent when that aspect of the offense was absent. Another Nix superpower is avoiding negative plays. Nix had the lowest sack percentage of any player and was tied-for least sacks taken. When a play goes south, he has great peace of mind to extend, wait, and if it’s not there, throw it away. That was Stidham’s biggest problem in this game, and one can’t help but wonder what it could’ve been like if Nix had played.
Both the Buffalo and New England matchups were massive for Nix’s case as a true franchise player and guy in this league.
If Not Now, Then When?
On the other hand, Josh Allen is at a crucial crossroads in his career.
The AFC Divisional in Denver was nowhere near Allen’s best outing. He was too careless with the football and made too many mistakes that Buffalo couldn’t overcome. There is no doubt about Josh Allen’s ability or standing in the league, but he keeps sliding down the playoff mountain when he’s close to the top.
Allen is the modern John Elway: the league’s most physically gifted and absurdly talented QB that always comes up short when the stakes are raised.
This might have been Allen’s best chance in his prime. The AFC East was weak during Josh Allen’s Bills tenure. His arch-rivals are retooling their teams, and new obstacles have arrived with Denver and New England. The NFC is still a gauntlet, should Allen make it to the big game. There will be more to overcome than there already was.
Head Coach Sean McDermott was fired and General Manager Brandon Beane was promoted. Owner Terry Pegula and Bean gave a disconcerting press conference that shouldn’t ease Allen’s mind. Buffalo’s organizational stability is now a concern.
The presser featured Pegula arguing that officiating led to them losing the game, but McDermott was fired because of the result. Pegula added he made the choice in the locker room directly following the game. The conference also featured an especially jarring moment. Pegula and Bean attempted to explain and clarify whose decision it was to draft WR Keon Coleman. Pegula attributed the pick to McDermott, while Bean defended Coleman as his choice.
The front office making public statements about who is more to blame for drafting a player who is still on the roster and under contract is a horrible look, regardless of production.
If the game itself wasn’t tough enough for Allen to stomach, the presser likely didn’t help. As New England heads for Levi Stadium, the Buffalo Bills and Josh Allen face a tough road ahead while looking back at what could’ve been.
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