Bo Nix and the Bronco's Defense - the Toughest Out for the Bills?

[somnus00]

5 hours ago, Kelly to Allen said:

 

Houston is the toughest matchup, but I still think buffalo would gut it out at home... On the road would be very difficult 

 

I believe we can run on Denver and I don't trust Bo nix in the playoffs 

 

Denver is a little bit inflated 

Houston is getting hot at the right time. They look dangerous right now.

[dhgold]

I live in Colorado and have watched most of the Broncos games this year and probably all of the more competive ones. For most of the season I've felt that one thing the Broncos are really good at is generating consistent pressure with a four man pass rush. IIRC, Bill Wash was quoted as saying that the key to winning in the NFL is 4th quarter pass rush and the Broncos have had that all season. The offense on the other hand has been a do the bare minimum with a game manager quarterback operation. However, as Nick Wright fairly observed on First Things First today, Bo Nix's three best games as a pro have been his last three games. He was pretty darn good in the second of yesterday's game. Consequently the prospect of the Bills having to go to Denver for a playoff games worries me considerably more than it did a month ago; however, I'd rather that than a road game in Houston against that savage defense, especially with an improving CJ Stroud at QB.

[gonzo1105]

I know this is a lot of assuming but the Bills most likely spot is the 5 seed. If we can get Pittsburgh in round 1 I think anyone would say that’s the best road game we can in the first round. 
 

An opponent we’ve had a lot of success with, minimal travel , and a team we match up with. 
 

There is going to be an upset in the WC round between New England/Houston or Jacksonville/Chargers. Those teams are all so closely matched you would think one comes through. That means Buffalo would avoid Denver in round 2 as LA/Houston would go to Denver and Buffalo would head to NE/Jacksonville. I mean that’s a hell of a good path and if somehow Houston was there at the end we would get them at home vs having to go back to that nightmare in Houston 

[HappyDays]

Ravens are still the team that scares me the most (now that KC is out). I know their season has been rocky to say the least but they are still very talented on both sides of the ball, and if Lamar continues to ramp up and get healthy they could be dangerous in the playoffs right when everyone has given up on them. For me they're the only AFC team I look at as a true 50/50 matchup. Any other team in the conference I feel we would be clear favorites.

 

Pittsburgh winning tonight was big. It pains me to do this but I'll be rooting for New England next week. Give me a playoff picture with no Lamar, Burrow, or Mahomes and dare any of these other QBs to match points with Superman.

[Sojourner]

Don’t think it’s as much of their defense but rather their offense. 
 

Josh can make things happen and strain that defense enough to put us in a position to win the game. 
 

The Broncos skill players, specifically Sutton/Harvey/Franklin/Engram (in that order) are more of a daunting task to face than their defense. 
 

That’s just me though. 

[HappyDays]

Surprised how many people are picking Denver. It's a matchup league and I think we match up well with them. They're basically the same team we blew out in the wildcard round last year. Ultimately I just don't think a QB like Bo Nix can out duel a QB like Allen in sudden death.

 

This is my ranking from most worried to least worried, with lines denoting significant gaps between teams:

 

Baltimore

---

Houston

Jacksonville

New England

Denver

---

---

---

LA

Pittsburgh

 

Edited December 16, 2025 by HappyDays

[gonzo1105]

36 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

Ravens are still the team that scares me the most (now that KC is out). I know their season has been rocky to say the least but they are still very talented on both sides of the ball, and if Lamar continues to ramp up and get healthy they could be dangerous in the playoffs right when everyone has given up on them. For me they're the only AFC team I look at as a true 50/50 matchup. Any other team in the conference I feel we would be clear favorites.

 

Pittsburgh winning tonight was big. It pains me to do this but I'll be rooting for New England next week. Give me a playoff picture with no Lamar, Burrow, or Mahomes and dare any of these other QBs to match points with Superman.

The thing that gives me hope for the Steelers is the schedule for the Ravens is very tough to finish the season. 
 

New England

@Green Bay

@ Pittsburgh 

 

Thats about as tough as it gets. If Pittsburgh has a 1 game lead and beat the Browns the Ravens can’t win the division in week 18 so I’m kind of with you. I’ve hemmed and hawed on it and I think I’m okay either way being a WC road team this year if the matchups are right 

[HappyDays]

4 minutes ago, gonzo1105 said:

I’ve hemmed and hawed on it and I think I’m okay either way being a WC road team this year if the matchups are right 

 

I've already made my peace that we lost the division. Yesterday's game was awesome but mainly it just keeps us in the driver's seat for the #5 seed. I have zero faith that Tua is going to lead a deflated Miami team into snowy cold Foxborough and win that game. In fact I'm more confident in the Jets upsetting them if Tyrod can get healthy, but that is obviously also a very low probability outcome.

 

So yeah I'm all about making the road path as easy as possible. Something like @ Pittsburgh, @ New England, vs Houston? I mean that's a dream and it's entirely realistic if we win out and Pittsburgh wins the AFCN.

[BigDingus]

I'd say both the Broncos & Texans are the scariest opponents.

 

The Texans made Josh look like crap for 2 straight years & sacked him 8 times this year. 

 

The Broncos aren't a fluke. That D is making everyone look bad. 

 

Broncos managed to beat the Texans when we couldn't. They beat the Packers, Eagles & Cowboys (who have a good offense). They did struggle against some weaker teams, but the Bills lost to the Falcons & Dolphins, so nobody is perfect.

 

I also don't like the idea of playing the Broncos in Mile High. That's a tough place for any team to play. Even Brady was 0-3 vs the Broncos at Mile High in the playoffs. 

 

Maybe they're still too inexperienced, but man it sucks that we blew our chances for the 1 seed early on. 

[BeyondTheProcess]

9 hours ago, SoonerBillsFan said:

Houston and Denver.  No one gets after the QB like those 2 teams.  I wish we could do that.

If we had Oliver and Hoecht, plus Bosa on field at the same time, we would be.   Injuries matter.   Go re-watch the Chiefs game.  That is what we had.   Houston and Denver have healthy defensive stars.   Ours are sidelined.   Its really that simple.  

[Pete]

11 hours ago, HansLanda said:

 

Just look at this box score with their WRs alone...

 

https://www.espn.com/nfl/boxscore/_/gameId/401772800

very Bills like WR line

[PatsFanNH]

11 hours ago, jethro_tull said:

Have to admit they convincingly stifled the Packers yesterday and their O looks clean and systematic.  They did beat the Eagles and Texans, but not much else.  They don't score many points but give up even fewer.  Best in the league at stops on third down. 

Are they the biggest threat to get past?  

Scare anyone?  

The scariest team in the AFC right now are the Texans that D just takes over games.. but if I am honest outside of Houston any other playoff team can beat the other no matter where it is played.. Denver home advantage is the thin air… 

5 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

I've already made my peace that we lost the division. Yesterday's game was awesome but mainly it just keeps us in the driver's seat for the #5 seed. I have zero faith that Tua is going to lead a deflated Miami team into snowy cold Foxborough and win that game. In fact I'm more confident in the Jets upsetting them if Tyrod can get healthy, but that is obviously also a very low probability outcome.

 

So yeah I'm all about making the road path as easy as possible. Something like @ Pittsburgh, @ New England, vs Houston? I mean that's a dream and it's entirely realistic if we win out and Pittsburgh wins the AFCN.

Houston can still win their division.. so that could be @Houston

[Sweats]

I'm just going to go ahead and say it, but it looks like championship caliber D's are the worst matchups for us.........now imagine if we actually had a whole 4 quarter D that showed up the whole game and spread fear into teams like they do to us.

 

Our D's not scaring anyone and our O only shows up for 2 quarters a game.

There's nothing championship about what our team is doing, except pulling wins out of their *** every game........it's not sustainable every week and teams like Houston and Denver will feast.

[harmonkillebrew]

Didn't we crush them less than a year ago? 31-7.

I don't see that playoff team as much better than this year's. They have a good D, but they did last year too. If we play the right strategy we run it down their throats and mix in a lot of play action.

Nix is one year more mature, but he's not exactly lighting it on fire and their run O has not been great. 

 

1 hour ago, PatsFanNH said:

The scariest team in the AFC right now are the Texans that D just takes over games.. but if I am honest outside of Houston any other playoff team can beat the other no matter where it is played.. Denver home advantage is the thin air… 

Houston can still win their division.. so that could be @Houston

in Denver would be tougher, that's true.

 

Texans at home again would also be tough. 

But this playoff landscape is looking more Bills friendly than ever

[BuffaloBill]

12 hours ago, atlbillsfan1975 said:

The version of the Bills that showed up yesterday can beat anyone. 

 

The second half Bills - yes. It would be nice if the Bills stop spotting teams multiple scores.

[GolfandBills]

12 hours ago, bills6969 said:

Sorry I’m way more scared of the Ravens. Ravens are playoff tested and are now getting hot again. They will be a tough out, especially if we have to go on the road.

How are they getting hot again?  By losing to Pittsburgh and beating a horrible Bengals team?

[Kelly to Allen]

8 hours ago, dhgold said:

I live in Colorado and have watched most of the Broncos games this year and probably all of the more competive ones. For most of the season I've felt that one thing the Broncos are really good at is generating consistent pressure with a four man pass rush. IIRC, Bill Wash was quoted as saying that the key to winning in the NFL is 4th quarter pass rush and the Broncos have had that all season. The offense on the other hand has been a do the bare minimum with a game manager quarterback operation. However, as Nick Wright fairly observed on First Things First today, Bo Nix's three best games as a pro have been his last three games. He was pretty darn good in the second of yesterday's game. Consequently the prospect of the Bills having to go to Denver for a playoff games worries me considerably more than it did a month ago; however, I'd rather that than a road game in Houston against that savage defense, especially with an improving CJ Stroud at QB.

 

I agree with everything here. I have a lot of respect for Houston. Excellent defense 

 

I still think buffalo would surprise some and outclass them in the playoffs. Similar to what KC did on the road vs Baltimore in the AFC championship...

 

Our tackles were both hurt and I believe we would live that game in 2-3 te sets.

 

I do believe we would pull it out and Allen would play at a much higher level in that particular playoff matchup 

 

Montana did the same thing in 1988, where they lost in similar fashion to the bears in the regular season 10-9 I believe. 

 

But won in Chicago in the nfc championship 28-3

 

I believe the Kelly Bills did the same thing to Miami in 1992

Edited December 16, 2025 by Kelly to Allen

[thenorthremembers]

It's odd to me how narrative works in the NFL.   Drake Maye is the next Tom Brady according to NFL media and fans.  Meanwhile no one is scared of Bo Nix, and he's just average.      They have almost the exact per game stats, and Nix has won more.   Kind of wild. 

[PatsFanNH]

1 hour ago, BuffaloBill said:

 

The second half Bills - yes. It would be nice if the Bills stop spotting teams multiple scores.

IMO that will cost them in the playoffs… you can’t expect the other team to only get 1 score in the second half all the time..  Allen is a HOFer for sure IMO but you can’t expect Superman magic every week in the playoffs it will bite any team in the butt..  Also IF the Bills don’t fix their run defense it can be a fast playoffs…  I say this because any team with an IQ is going to wanna run the ball and control the clock to keep Allen and Cook on the sideline..

[DrDawkinstein]

Maybe I'm naive but the Broncos dont worry me one bit.

 

I've watched a LOT of Bo Nix through his extensive journeyman college career and into the NFL, and he simply isnt one of those dudes who is going to command and win a game at QB. On his best day, he is basically Payton's robot. But get him off script, make him do anything else, and its over.

 

I've been hearing about their pass rush for years. The Bills shut them down.

 

Remember, we played essentially this same team just last year to open the playoffs... and beat them 31-7 in the playoffs. 31-7 IN THE PLAYOFFS.

 

Nix was ineffective. We shut down their run game. Their vaunted pass rush had all of 2 sacks, Bonito had 0 sacks with 2 tackles.

 

If we face Denver again, even on their home turf, it will be closer to that 31-7 score than anything worrisome for the Bills.