THE Buffalo Bills will face the Denver Broncos at home at Highmark Stadium in the Wild Card round.
The Bills (13-4) won 10 of 11 games before their Week 18 loss to the New England Patriots, while the Broncos (10-7) are victorious in five of their last seven.
The Bills are favored by 8.5 points and play at home where they were undefeated this season (8-0). Even though the Bills are favored by multiple scores, nothing is guaranteed in the NFL, especially against playoff teams.
There are always certain things that make it difficult to win every week. The Bills will have to be wary of this.
Here are three areas of concern for the Bills against the Broncos:
QB Bo Nix’s breakout
What rookie quarterback Bo Nix lacks in experience, he makes up for in creativity and mobility. Nix had the eighth-most rushing yards by a QB in the 2024 regular season (430 yards).
His off-script ability is what has taken the Broncos offense to the next level. The Bills defensive line will need to be disruptive and take away his ability to get out of the pocket, otherwise he might start making plays and give the team some momentum on the outside.
Although he is a rookie, he has not played like a rookie this year. If the Bills want to take control of the game, they will have to mix things up and confuse the young signal-caller. Otherwise, it might harm you.
The best pass rush in the NFL
The Broncos lead the league in sacks (63), quarterback pressures (265) and were third in pressure rate (37.4%). They have been the most productive passing unit in the NFL by a pretty good margin.
The good thing for the Bills is that they have allowed the fewest sacks in the NFL this year (14). This is the fewest sacks in a season since the 2009 Indianapolis Colts finished as Super Bowl champions that year.
It will be a matchup of force against force in the trenches when the Bills are on offense. If the Bills do what they’ve been doing all year and Josh Allen provides his normal dose of off-script magic, then they shouldn’t have a problem. If they mess up, Denver can go home quickly.
Patrick Surtain II
Patrick Surtain II may be the best cornerback in the NFL. He was rewarded for his outstanding play Friday with a first-team All-Pro selection.
Surtain II received the highest coverage grade of any cornerback in Focus on professional football in 2024 (87.4) among those who played 100 snaps.
If there’s a downside to the Bills’ offense this year, it’s that they haven’t had a wide receiver who consistently beat coverage on the outside. This part of the field will likely be picked up even more than usual with Surtain II on the sidelines.
It will be interesting to see how the Bills approach the passing game, given that Surtain II is capable of shutting down his quarterback.
This article was originally published on Bills Wire: Causes for concern as Bills face Broncos in Wild Card round
