The Denver Broncos enjoyed having a first-round bye during the entertaining slate of AFC Wildcard games, and now they know who they’ll face next week to open up the NFL Divisional Round of the playoffs.
Denver Broncos to host Buffalo Bills in NFL Divisional Round
The Denver Broncos held an impromptu competitive practice on Friday before the Saturday and Sunday slate of NFL Wildcard games as they got back to work despite not knowing who they’d play.
After the conclusion of Sunday’s games, the Broncos will host the Buffalo Bills to open up the NFL Divisional Round of the playoffs at Empower Field at Mile High on Saturday, with kickoff either at 2:30 p.m. MT or 6:00 p.m. MT. The official time and broadcast will be announced after the conclusion of Monday Night Football’s playoff matchup between the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers.
This will be a rematch from last year’s Wildcard round that saw the Broncos lose on the road against Buffalo in a cold environment — a loss that has sat in the minds of so many players throughout the season. One that Broncos head coach Sean Payton reflected on after Friday’s practice.
Last year’s loss created the goal of hosting a home playoff game, and Denver’s 14-3 regular season campaign was the start of them achieving that goal.
“I think it’s short,” Payton said. “It’s a three-hour game. When you play the games, you want to get out, start fast. You lose a game like last year in Buffalo, and it’s cold, and you’re up there and you’re like, ‘We have to figure out how to play this game at home.’ That’s one of the things that went through my mind in Chicago in 2006. [With New Orleans] we lost the NFC Championship game. It was like -20 degrees. We were beyond that dome-tag team. We had won on the road in a number of cold weather games. Nonethless, how do you play these important ones at home, and you guys have been a part of it. Knock on wood, we’ve been able to put ourselves in a position to play these real important games in a tough environment for our opponent. It’s a quick game. It’s three hours. Ball security, all the things that we harp on can be the difference between winning and losing.”
The Bills have playoff experience — they’re battle-tested, but this Broncos team, while young, is a resilient group. Hopefully, the bye week pays off for them as they look to be the healthiest they can be going into the postseason.