Bills continue postseason push by handling Broncos
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – No matter what happened Sunday afternoon at New Era Field, a quarterback with the surname Allen was going to be in pretty good mood at around 4 o’clock.
That ended up being Buffalo’s Josh Allen, who outdueled Denver’s Brandon Allen during a 20-3 Bills victory that further solidified the push to the postseason.
At 8-3, the Bills are two games clear of their closest pursuers in the AFC wild-card race as the Raiders and Colts, both losers this week, are now 6-5.
This was a game the Bills knew they needed given the tough finish they face the rest of the way. Beating the now 3-8 Broncos was absolutely imperative, and the Bills got it done thanks mainly to a dominant defensive performance that throttled Denver all afternoon.
Denver managed only 134 yards of total offense and nine first downs.
Buffalo led from start to finish and pulled away from a 6-0 halftime lead with a pair of second-half Josh Allen TD passes, one to Cole Beasley in the third quarter, the other a beauty of a deep ball to John Brown that put the game out of reach with 11:08 left to play.
You figured this was going to be an ugly game given the struggles both offenses have had, the strength that both teams possess on defense, and then some gusty November wind mixed into the equation. And it was as ugly as can be during the first 30 minutes.
The Bills managed a couple of Stephen Hauschka field goals and made those six points stand up thanks to a Tre’Davious White interception of Brandon Allen with 57 seconds to go before intermission. It was a huge play, similar to the pick White made against Miami a month ago, because had the Broncos gone on to score a touchdown, this could have been an entirely different result.
The Bills’ first possession of the day, with the wind at their backs, was a thing of beauty as they started from their own 10 after a Denver punt and marched 69 yards in 17 plays to Hauschka’s 39-yard field goal. They went 3-for-4 on third downs, including a third-and-9 conversion where Beasley caught a 12-yard pass, and a third-and-12 where Allen scrambled for a 14-yard gain.
Early in the second quarter, the first of two special teams penalties on Lorenzo Alexander created a drive start at the 8, but again, the Bills moved effectively, 87 yards in 12 plays to Hauschka’s 23-yard field goal.
However, that one didn’t feel quite as good because a holding penalty on center Jon Feliciano – who took over when Mitch Morse went out with a finger injury – was nailed for holding on a play where Frank Gore had carried to the 1. The penalty pushed the Bills back to the 14, and they couldn’t punch it in.
With 4:03 left in the half, the Broncos were given life as Allen misfired on a pass over the middle and Justin Simmons picked it off. However, after starting at the Denver 47 and then pushing down to the Buffalo 25, Brandon Allen and Courtland Sutton weren’t on the same page and Allen was picked off by White to kill the threat.
Third quarters have generally been a problem for the Bills this season, but this time they came out after the break and put together a 59-yard drive to Allen’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Beasley.
It all began with a 25-yard kick return by Andre Roberts to the 41, and it stayed alive when Allen converted a third-and-11 by hitting Robert Foster for a 24-yard gain, though Foster pulled up with a hamstring injury at the end of the play.
From there, Devin Singletary ripped off a pair of nice gains of 8 and 10 yards before Allen, on third-and-10 from the 18, diagnosed a blitz, Beasley ran a quick route over the middle, and Allen delivered for an easy walk-in touchdown.
The Broncos responded with a 45-yard Brandon McManus field goal into the wind to cut the deficit to 13-3, but that proved to be the highlight of their day.
After a slew of punts to close the third that eventually gave the Bills excellent field position at Denver’s 31, it took them only two plays to ice the game as Josh Allen threw a gorgeous deep ball to Brown for a 34-yard touchdown. It was the first pass Allen has completed all season that traveled at least 30 yards in the air.
The only things left to determine thereafter were when Gore would finally move past Barry Sanders and into third place on the NFL’s all-time rushing list, and that came midway through the final period. And when Singletary would get to enjoy his first 100-yard game in the NFL, and that happened a couple minutes later.
The Bills now have a quick turnaround as they head to Dallas for a Thanksgiving Day showdown with the Dallas Cowboys. And heading to Big D with eight wins is sure more comfortable than with seven.
MAIORANA@Gannett.com