Josh Allen and the Buffalo Payments stored their Tremendous Bowl dream alive as they beat the Denver Broncos 31-7 to arrange a blockbuster Divisional Spherical matchup in opposition to Lamar Jackson’s Baltimore Ravens.
It beckons as a gathering of the NFL’s two MVP frontrunners in Allen and Jackson, the latter of whom threw for 175 yards and two touchdowns whereas dashing for 81 yards to steer Baltimore to a 28-14 wild-card win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday evening.
Allen was equally dominant on Sunday as he completed 20 of 26 for 272 yards and two scoring strikes to Ty Johnson and Curtis Samuel. James Prepare dinner, in the meantime, starred on the bottom as he accounted for 120 of Buffalo’s 200 complete dashing yards because the Payments steamrollered Sean Payton’s ahead-of-schedule Broncos with 31 unanswered factors after surrendering a landing on the opening drive of the sport.
For Bo Nix it marked the top to an in any other case glittering rookie marketing campaign for the first-round decide, who led the Broncos to a 10-7 end and their first playoff berth since successful Tremendous Bowl 50 on the finish of the 2015 marketing campaign.
The Payments and Ravens will now meet once more after Baltimore had been dominant 35-10 winners in Week 4 of the common season, with Derrick Henry dashing for 199 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries.
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Josh Allen and the Buffalo Payments lengthen their lead with a landing caught simply inside the finish zone by Ty Johnson
Stats leaders
Denver Broncos
- Passing: Bo Nix, 13/22, 144 yards, 1 TD
- Dashing: Javonte Williams, 7 carries, 29 yards
- Receiving: Courtland Sutton, 5 catches, 75 yards
Buffalo Payments
- Passing: Josh Allen, 20/26, 272 yards, 2 TDs
- Dashing: James Prepare dinner, 23 carries, 120 yards, 1 TD
- Receiving: Curtis Samuel, 3 catches, 68 yards, 1 TD
Nix, the primary rookie quarterback to start out a playoff sport in Broncos historical past, delivered an emphatic assertion on the opening drive when he unleashed a dime to attach with Troy Franklin on a submit route for a 43-yard landing to place Denver on high.
Amid some nervous power within the early exchanges the Payments responded with an emphasis on their floor sport however have been restricted to only a 26-yard subject purpose from Tyler Bass on the finish of their ensuing 12-play drive.
A swift three-and-out adopted for Denver earlier than Prepare dinner scurried in for a five-yard go-ahead landing to cap a 13-play, 81-yard drive lasting seven-and-a-half minutes, throughout which eight performs have been runs to carry Buffalo to 100 dashing yards two minutes into the second quarter.
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The Denver Broncos strike first in opposition to the Buffalo Payments with an early 43-yard landing which was caught by Troy Franklin
Payton rolled the cube moments later as he dialled up a faux punt to transform on fourth-and-eight from the Broncos 43, Riley Dixon feinting the kick and as an alternative winding as much as float a 15-yard strike to Marvin Mims Jr. They elected in opposition to following swimsuit 4 performs later, although did see Dixon and Mims hyperlink up impressively once more to down a punt on the Payments’ one-yard line.
The Broncos might have gone into the half degree however have been denied when Wil Lutz’s 50-yard field-goal try struck the goalpost as time expired.
Bass added to Buffalo’s lead at the beginning of the third quarter with a 27-yard subject purpose, Allen, although, bemused after officers missed what appeared a transparent cross interference penalty in opposition to Patrick Surtain II behind the top zone on the earlier third-and-goal alternative.
It might not matter for lengthy, the Payments’ protection forcing one other three-and-out to pave the way in which for Johnson’s 24-yard landing catch.
Allen had considered taking off on the run on fourth-and-one, sliding to his proper earlier than firing a cross downfield with Johnson available to make a shocking seize whereas contorting his physique and managing to maintain his ft in-bounds on the slide. The Payments then made it a 14-point lead at 21-7 as Allen picked out Keon Coleman for the two-point conversion.
It was two touchdowns within the area of three-and-a-half minutes when Samuel zig-zagged downfield for a 55-yard landing catch-and-run originally of the fourth quarter, Buffalo’s speedy receiver making the seize on a deep over earlier than chopping again inside and racing to the home.
Bass iced the sport with a 34-yard subject purpose to cap a seven-minute 14-play clock-chewing drive with 5 minutes to play, permitting the Payments to take out Allen for Mitchell Trubisky in view of subsequent weekend’s Ravens showdown.
Allen braced for Jackson conflict
Payments quarterback Josh Allen: “They [the Ravens] received after us earlier this yr. We have got a whole lot of movie to observe. It is a good time, with an important quarterback. What Lamar is ready to do, he is probably the most dynamic quarterbacks within the league – if not essentially the most dynamic. He is so enjoyable to observe. However I will be watching their protection this week… that is our focus.”
Sky Sports activities NFL’s Ndamukong Suh: “We’re actually going to see who the MVP is. That is what it comes right down to. Which quarterback will step up, or which considered one of these defenses will step up.”
Sky Sports activities NFL’s Jason Bell: “I really like watching this man [Allen]. It simply does not matter with him. He was off to an aggressive begin, after which he struggled a bit of bit, earlier than he simply took over the sport. That is why we have fun him.
“Nice quarterbacks establish what you are making an attempt to do and so they capitalise on it. Then after they’ve received to make a play, they clear you up. And that is what he did – when issues have been breaking down, he made a play.
“You knew he had command of issues. We felt it, and you understand Denver felt it taking part in protection. He made it occur.”
Sky Sports activities NFL’s Phoebe Schecter: “You need to have the ability to put all of the items of the puzzle collectively. What’s nice to see with this Payments workforce is that they did not let the Broncos again in, they ran the ball and let their identification be identified.”
What subsequent?
The Payments will now host the Ravens within the Divisional Spherical subsequent weekend, whereas CJ Stroud’s Houston Texans will tackle the defending champion and No 1-seeded Kansas Metropolis Chiefs because the lowest remaining seed within the AFC.
Wild Card Weekend concludes Monday evening when the Minnesota Vikings face the Los Angeles Rams from 1am within the early hours of Tuesday.
Tremendous Bowl LIX takes place on Sunday February 9 on the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, stay on Sky Sports activities NFL.
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