{"id":263111,"date":"2026-01-18T09:00:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T14:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=263111"},"modified":"2026-01-18T08:28:55","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T13:28:55","slug":"three-takeaways-from-the-broncos-divisional-round-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/01\/18\/three-takeaways-from-the-broncos-divisional-round-win\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Takeaways From The Broncos Divisional Round Win"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Denver Broncos had a hard-fought playoff battle against the Buffalo Bills<\/a> on Saturday. They won 33-30 in overtime. They now set their sights on playing in the AFC Championship<\/a> Game.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are three takeaways from the Broncos’ breathtaking divisional-round win, with more detail on where they stand as they inch closer to the Super Bowl.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Broncos’ defense is capable of overcoming adversity<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Denver\u2019s defense allowed 466 total yards but forced turnovers that ultimately kept the Broncos in the game. The Broncos ended the game with five turnovers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Buffalo made big plays with Josh Allen<\/a> and James Cook<\/a>, but Denver never lost hope. Nik Bonitto<\/a> delivered a huge performance, forcing two fumbles on Allen, further proving why he should have made this season\u2019s All-Pro team.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Linebacker Alex Singleton<\/a> also made a big play for the Broncos, as it looked like the Bills were going to drive down the field. Singleton made a great tackle and forced Cook to cough up the football.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Allen found success running at times, but Denver sacked him three times and forced him into interceptions by safety P.J. Locke and cornerback Ja\u2019Quan McMillian<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Locke intercepted Allen shortly after Deone Walker<\/a> picked off Bo Nix<\/a>, stopping Buffalo from expanding its lead. The defense had its back against the wall, but never quit<\/span>In overtime, Buffalo looked ready to drive down the field after Denver failed to score on its first possession, but McMillian had a crazy interception. Brandin Cooks<\/a> tried to make a catch that could have put the Bills in field goal range, but McMillian ripped the ball away before he could secure it.<\/span><\/p>\n

No matter what challenges the Broncos’ defense faced and how many times they got punched in the mouth on Saturday, they made sure to do whatever it took to make it easier for the offense to get back on the field and score points.<\/span><\/p>\n

Marvin Mims Jr. is one of the team’s best wide receivers<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Marvin Mims Jr.<\/a> led the Broncos in receiving yards, catching 8 receptions for 93 yards and a touchdown. Even though it marked his best game of the season, Mims Jr. has always been a playmaker since he arrived in Denver.<\/span><\/p>\n

He hasn\u2019t regressed, but the Broncos haven’t maximized his potential. Mims Jr. didn\u2019t heat up until injuries sidelined Pat Bryant<\/a> and Troy Franklin<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mims Jr. filled many roles as he further proved he\u2019s always been more than a special teams player. Courtland Sutton<\/a> struggled and couldn\u2019t get on the same page with Nix while also having multiple drops, but Mims Jr. was the target Nix trusted the most.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If the Broncos want to continue their success on offense, they must continue using Mims Jr.,<\/a> whether the receiving corps is fully healthy or not, for the AFC Championship Game, since he\u2019s so skilled at making spectacular plays.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, after faking the hand off, runs with the ball during first-half action at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado, on Jan. 17, 2026.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The running back room needs to be more consistent\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Broncos abandoned the run game, while Nix not only threw the ball almost 50 times but also led the team in rushing yards. Jaleel McLaughlin<\/a> and RJ Harvey<\/a> combined for 10 carries for 41 yards.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Bills didn\u2019t even have to try super hard to stop Denver’s run game, as they stopped using their backs, possibly because the coaching staff lacked trust in the backs. McLaughlin and Harvey both fumbled the ball early in the game, but the Broncos recovered both times.<\/span><\/p>\n

Without J.K. Dobbins<\/a>, the Broncos have struggled to maintain consistency in the run game, as he still leads the team this season with 772 rushing yards, even after the team placed him on injured reserve in week 10.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since Nix is out for the season, the running backs will likely have to play an even bigger role now. Denver may need to rely more on the run, especially if things don\u2019t go well for Jarrett Stidham<\/a> in the passing game.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A return from Dobbins would give the Broncos a significant boost. If he doesn\u2019t return, McLaughlin, Harvey, and Tyler Badie<\/a> will all need to play disciplined, motivated football, as the Broncos will need to perform much better in this area to win a Super Bowl.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here are three things to consider after the Broncos’ most recent win against the Bills in the Divisional Round.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5728,"featured_media":263122,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15,1],"tags":[32094,3588,9200,10340,4068,9672,9156,32986],"class_list":["post-263111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-broncos","category-uncategorized","tag-bo-nix","tag-courtland-sutton","tag-jaquan-mcmillian","tag-jaleel-mclaughlin","tag-jarrett-stidham","tag-marvin-mims","tag-nik-bonitto","tag-rj-harvey"],"modified_by":"Sue Levine","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5728"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263111"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":263121,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263111\/revisions\/263121"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}