Wil Lutz hit a 23-yard field goal, his fourth of the game, to give the host Denver Broncos a 33-30 overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills on Saturday to advance to the AFC Championship Game.
The Broncos will host the winner of Sunday’s game between the New England Patriots and Houston Texans next Sunday with a spot in the Super Bowl on the line.
After Denver’s first overtime possession stalled out, the Bills were driving when a Josh Allen deep ball was intercepted by Ja’Quan McMillian.
The Broncos’ second OT drive was aided by a pair of pass interference penalties on the Bills which accounted for 47 yards and moved Denver into the red zone to set up the game-winning kick at the 4:44 mark.
Bo Nix, playing in Denver’s first home playoff game since 2015, completed 26 of 46 passes for 279 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Marvin Mims caught eight passes for 93 yards, including a go-ahead score with 55 seconds left in regulation.
Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto forced two fumbles and had a sack.
The Bills outgained the Broncos 449-349 but turned it over five times, their most in a game since October 2018.
Josh Allen was 25-of-39 passing for 283 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 66 yards but threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles. James Cook III ran for 117 yards on 24 carries but also fumbled when the Bills had a chance to go ahead 14-3 in the second quarter.
After the Bills scored 17 straight points to take a 27-23 lead with 4:11 left in regulation, Nix led an eight-play, 73-yard drive to reclaim a late advantage. He converted a third-and-11 with a 25-yard pass and a third-and-4 with a 6-yard run before his go-ahead 26-yard touchdown pass to Mims.
Buffalo drove down the field on the ensuing drive and Matt Prater, a former Bronco, drilled a 50-yard field goal, his third of the game, with 5 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.
The game was tied late in the first half after a Prater field goal before the Broncos scored 10 points in the final 22 seconds. After Nix found Lil’Jordan Humphrey for a 29-yard score to cap off a two-minute drill, Devon Key recovered an Allen fumble on a keeper with 2 seconds left, setting up Lutz’s 50-yard field goal for a 20-10 advantage.
That lead was extended to 23-10 early in the third after another Bonitto forced fumble by sacking Allen. But Allen bounced back, giving the Bills a late lead with touchdown passes to Keon Coleman and Dalton Kincaid along with another drive which set up a Prater 31-yard field goal.
