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Sean Payton calls it "re-entry." It's the adjustment period of transitioning from the daily grind of an NFL season to a normal schedule. That period began this week for Denver's head coach following the Broncos' season-ending 31-7 loss at Buffalo in the wild-card round of the playoffs. "Obviously it's always difficult. It's hard because there's something addicting to preparing each week, especially when you get into the postseason," Payton said on Wednesday. "So we'll go through the next, call it the next 2 1/2 weeks where we'll evaluate our team, which I think is very important (for) our staff. Then eventually move on to free agency and the league schedule." There will be a distinct difference when the Broncos embark on that evaluation process this offseason. Instead of an impending -- and messy -- divorce with his quarterback, Payton is now confident he has identified his signal-caller of the future. After deciding to eat an $85 million cap hit and informing Russell Wilson of his imminent release last March, Payton and general manager George Paton used the No. 12 overall pick on Bo Nix the following month. Nix went on to start all 17 games as a rookie, rebounding from an 0-2 start to lead the Broncos to a 10-7 record and a playoff berth. He completed 66.3 percent of his passes while throwing for 3,775 yards and 29 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. Payton saw enough on and off the field to convince him that Nix is the franchise quarterback he has been seeking since his years with Drew Brees at the helm in New Orleans. "I think there were a lot of things to be encouraged about," Payton said of Nix's rookie season. "His movement skills, some of the things, maybe, that we didn't even see or forecast coming. His decision-making. He's extremely accurate. I've said this before -- he's hard to sack. That's a good trait to have in our league. "Then there are things that he's going to look at and grow from and build on, whether it's third-down snaps, whether it's pressure snaps. I'm really encouraged, and I'm glad that he's with us and that it worked out the way it did. "I know this: He's very conscientious. He comes in. He spends a lot of time here. He was here in my office for half an hour yesterday. I think it's all in front of him. I think we've found that player that can lead us and be what we need relative to having the success we're used to having. I think we've found it." The Broncos finished third in the AFC West and earned the seventh seed in the conference. That pitted them against the No. 2-seeded Bills in the wild-card round. Despite the final score, the game was 10-7 entering the third quarter before Buffalo steadily imposed its will. Denver will now watch Buffalo, top-seeded Kansas City, No. 3 Baltimore and No. 5 Houston -- all division winners -- battle it out for a trip to the Super Bowl. Even so, Payton is confident the Broncos took a major step toward closing the distance to the AFC's elite this season. "I'm telling you what, I didn't see a gap last weekend until the second half. Then you see a gap because you're losing, but I felt really confident we could go in there and play well and win," Payton said. "We obviously didn't play well enough. Those lines are much finer than we think. I use that term, 'There's a fine line between a groove and a rut.' It's a player, it's two players, it's the line of scrimmage, it's the kicking game. "We're not looking backwards. We're looking ahead, and it starts with the division. There was a lot of confidence in this team that if we could get past that game, the next game we had to play, we felt real good about. "Obviously, we're still not there yet, and yet we're a lot closer than we were at this time (at the end of the 2023 season). That was misery, sorrow, drudgery -- give me some other adjectives there. That was brutal. Let's say that." --Field Level Media

Broncos QB Bo Nix played part of season with broken back

T.J. Watt, Russell Wilson raise questions about Steelers' future

James Cook rushed for a season-high 120 yards and a touchdown, Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes in the second half and the host Buffalo Bills won in the AFC wild-card round for the fifth straight year, beating the Denver Broncos 31-7 on Sunday in Orchard Park, N.Y. Allen was 20-for-26 passing for 272 yards and added 46 rushing yards as Buffalo improved to 9-0 at home between regular season and playoffs. The second-seeded Bills will host the third-seeded Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round next Sunday. It will be a matchup between the top two contenders for NFL Most Valuable Player, Allen and Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. "They got after us earlier this year, so we got a lot of film to watch," said Allen, whose Bills lost 35-10 at Baltimore in Week 4. The seventh-seeded Broncos scored on the game's opening drive, but it was all Buffalo the rest of the way. Running back Ty Johnson (24-yarder) and receiver Curtis Samuel (55) caught long touchdowns to put the game out of reach. Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix completed 13 of 22 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown. He also guided the rushing attack with 43 yards. Courtland Sutton was the game's leading receiver with five catches for 75 yards. Tyler Bass made a 27-yard field goal for a 13-7 Bills lead to begin the second half, and Buffalo regained possession after a quick three-and-out. On fourth-and-1 at Denver's 24, Allen avoided the pass rush and tossed a deep ball to the back of the end zone. Johnson dove to the ground and corralled the pass while staying inbounds, and it was upheld as a touchdown upon review. Allen made it 21-7 by finding Keon Coleman for a two-point conversion. "Ty Johnson's the best third-down back in football," Allen said. "... He made a heck of a play. It was fourth down. No point in holding it, taking a sack there. They played man and I just gave him a chance." The Bills piled on with Samuel's touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter. He caught a deep ball near the right sideline, changed direction to get around two defenders and sprinted home. Buffalo added Bass' third field goal of the day, from 34 yards, with 4:37 to go. The Bills dominated the Broncos in the second half, outgaining them 282-63 after halftime and 471-224 overall. Denver struck first when Nix connected with his former college teammate Troy Franklin. He hauled in Nix's 43-yard bomb in the end zone just 2:24 into the game. The Bills settled for a 26-yard field goal on their first possession before traveling 81 yards in 13 plays their next time out. Allen's 9-yard rush on third-and-3 set up Cook for a 5-yard touchdown run on the following play, putting Buffalo ahead early in the second quarter. Denver punter Riley Dixon completed a 15-yard pass to Marvin Mims Jr. on a fake, but the Broncos' drive still fizzled out. Before halftime, Nix led them 60 yards in 1:52 before Wil Lutz's 50-yard field goal attempt resounded off the right upright as time expired. "The things we felt we needed to do on the road to win, we didn't do nearly well enough," Broncos coach Sean Payton said. "Time of possession was heavily tilted in their favor. We struggled consistently, whether it was third downs (2-for-9) or running the football, and then we never really had an answer to stop their running game." --Field Level Media

Bills pull away from Broncos, face Ravens in divisional round

With Sean McDermott and Josh Allen in charge, the Buffalo Bills have churned out one great regular season after another. And year after year, the franchise's first Super Bowl title has eluded them. Buffalo, the No. 2 seed in the AFC for the third year running, begins its latest playoff journey against the seventh-seeded Denver Broncos on Sunday afternoon in Orchard Park, N.Y. The Broncos (10-7) made the postseason for the first time since Peyton Manning guided them to the Super Bowl 50 title. In the nine years since, the Bills (13-4) have become a playoff staple: They've qualified for the sixth year in a row, and they won their wild-card game each of the past four postseasons. Of course, they've managed just one AFC Championship Game appearance in that stretch. McDermott said that adversity has become part of the Bills' identity. "I would say yes and no," the coach said. "I would say yes because it is in our history, of not getting to accomplish our ultimate goal year to year. But at the end of the day, we've had a lot of success and it's a hard thing to win in this league. And you're looking at an AFC that is loaded with high-level teams, and it starts right from the start with Week 1 for us with a really good football team in the Denver Broncos." Allen has thrown 13 touchdown passes in five appearances in the wild-card round (4-1 record). Only Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers have totaled more wild-card TDs in their careers. One major difference this time around for Buffalo: The architect of the offense is Joe Brady. In his first full season as the coordinator following two years as quarterbacks coach, the Bills have the No. 2 scoring offense (30.9 points per game) and rank ninth in both passing and rushing yardage. Asked Wednesday what Brady has done for the unit -- as franchises in need of a head coach snoop around -- Allen quipped, "Nothing. Teams should stay away from him." The key battle will be whether Buffalo can play mistake-free football against Denver's disruptive defense. The Bills gave up the fewest sacks (14) and fewest turnovers (eight) in the league. The Broncos racked up 63 sacks, nine more than any other team, and generated 25 takeaways. Broncos coach Sean Payton explained the many benefits a sack-happy defense provides. "It goes against trying to stay on schedule. It goes against getting to the third-down numbers that are manageable," said Payton, a Super Bowl champion with New Orleans 15 years ago. "And then, there's this emotional and psychological toll with a sack that you have to overcome." Nik Bonitto had a breakout season, leading Denver with 13.5 sacks among his 16 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. Jonathon Cooper added 10.5 sacks. While the defense has been stellar, the Broncos also found their long-sought franchise quarterback in first-round draft pick Bo Nix. He finished the regular season with 3,775 passing yards, 29 passing touchdowns and four rushing scores. Last week, Nix threw for 321 yards and four touchdowns in a 38-0 win over a resting Kansas City Chiefs team to clinch Denver's playoff bid. "It means a lot. (The playoffs are) where I want to be," the 24-year-old rookie said. "This is the moments that matter, these are the moments that people remember you by. We just got to go out there and cut it loose and go out there and play." These teams last met in November 2023, when the Broncos went to Buffalo and pulled out a 24-22 victory. Allen threw two picks and lost a fumble that day. The Broncos ruled out backup offensive tackle Frank Crum (illness), who did not practice all week. He was placed on the non-football injury list on Saturday. Denver activated running back Tyler Badie, who hasn't played since Sept. 29 due to a back injury. Badie was listed as questionable on Friday. Buffalo's only uncertainty is defensive back/kick returner Brandon Codrington, who hurt his hamstring in Week 18. He was limited in practice Thursday and Friday after missing Wednesday's session and is considered questionable. --Field Level Media

Josh Allen, Bills begin Super Bowl quest against upstart Broncos