The Denver Broncos finally have their long-awaited playoff breakthrough — and now face the cruelest twist imaginable.
Bo Nix led Denver to its biggest postseason win in a decade, but the second-year quarterback will miss the rest of the season after breaking his right ankle in the Broncos’ dramatic 33-30 overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills in Saturday’s AFC Divisional Playoff.
About an hour after Wil Lutz drilled a 23-yard field goal in overtime to send the top-seeded Broncos (15-3) to the AFC Championship Game, coach Sean Payton returned to the postgame podium with sobering news. Nix had suffered a season-ending ankle fracture just a few plays before the game-winner and will undergo surgery Tuesday in Birmingham, Alabama.
Backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham will now take over as Denver prepares to face either New England or Houston for a trip to the Super Bowl.
Before the injury revelation, the mood inside the Broncos’ locker room was pure jubilation. Denver captured its first playoff victory in 10 years and avenged last season’s 31-7 postseason loss in Buffalo, doing so by forcing five turnovers after finishing the regular season minus-3 in turnover differential.
The decisive moment came early in overtime when nickel back Ja’Quan McMillian intercepted Josh Allen’s deep pass intended for Brandin Cooks at the Denver 20-yard line — a play that denied Buffalo a potential game-winning field goal.
Cooks believed he had secured the catch, but referee Carl Cheffers explained in a pool report that McMillian completed the process after the receiver lost control while going to the ground.
“The receiver has to complete the process of a catch,” Cheffers said. “He lost possession of the ball when he hit the ground. The defender gained possession and completed the process.”
Cooks said afterward he needed to make sure next time not to leave it in the “officials’ hands — or McMillian’s.”
Nix was injured on a quarterback keeper that lost two yards when he was tackled by safety Cole Bishop. He limped afterward, but there was no immediate indication the injury was serious.
On the very next play, Nix delivered one of the throws of the night — a deep shot to Marvin Mims Jr. that drew a 30-yard pass interference penalty and moved Denver into field-goal range. Nix then took a knee to center the ball for Lutz’s walk-off kick.
He never mentioned the injury during his CBS postgame interview and spoke as if he would be preparing for the next round.
Instead, Denver must now move forward without the quarterback who tied Russell Wilson’s NFL record with 24 wins in his first two seasons and earned his first career playoff victory. Nix also guided the Broncos to the AFC’s top seed after a year ago’s postseason defeat in Buffalo.
Allen, who had gone six playoff games without a turnover, had four Saturday — two interceptions and two lost fumbles — and Buffalo once again fell short of the Super Bowl with him under center.
Denver capitalized early, building a 23-10 lead behind Allen’s mistakes. The Broncos struck quickly before halftime, scoring 10 points in the final 22 seconds to take a 20-10 advantage into the locker room.
Just two plays into the second half, Nik Bonitto strip-sacked Allen, with Malcolm Roach recovering at the Bills’ 17-yard line to set up another Denver field goal.
Buffalo surged back in the fourth quarter, though. Allen threw touchdown passes of 10 yards to Keon Coleman and 14 yards to Dalton Kincaid to give the Bills a 24-23 lead early in the final period.
Nix answered with a 26-yard touchdown strike to Mims with 55 seconds left, putting Denver ahead 30-27. Former Broncos kicker Matt Prater then forced overtime with a 50-yard field goal as time expired in regulation.
Stidham, who has appeared in 20 games across six NFL seasons and owns one career win as a starter, took just one snap all year — a kneel-down in a Week 8 blowout of Dallas. Now he’ll be asked to steer the Broncos one win from the Super Bowl.
Denver’s long-awaited playoff triumph came at a steep cost, but for one unforgettable night, the Broncos finally wrangled a defining victory — surviving Josh Allen, Buffalo, and their own heartbreak to keep a championship dream alive.
