NFL Announces Kickoff Time for Broncos-Bills Playoff Game

A rematch of last season's Wild Card blowout, this year's iteration pits a rested Broncos squad — the AFC's No. 1 seed, fresh off a bye week — against a beat-up Bills club that staged a dramatic comeback victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

Buffalo is expected to be without multiple players, including wide receiver Gabe Davis and safety Jordan Poyer. Quarterback Josh Allen, who will play, is also dealing with head, hand, and leg injuries that were exacerbated against Jacksonville.

The Broncos, meanwhile, won't have running back J.K. Dobbins or safety Brandon Jones, but will likely get back inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who hasn't played since Week 16 due to a hamstring issue.

The Bills were installed as 1.5-point road favorites versus the Broncos — a line that could swing dramatically before Saturday.

"When you play the games, you want to get out, start fast," head coach Sean Payton said last week. "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.”

Should the Broncos Advance ...

With the Texans' win over the Steelers on Monday, the full Divisional Round slate was officially finalized: Broncos-Bills and Texans-Patriots, the latter game scheduled to kick off Sunday afternoon.

If the Broncos beat the Bills, they would remain home to host either Houston or New England in the AFC Championship Game. That would take place on Sunday, Jan. 25 at 1:00 p.m. MT from Mile High at Empower Field.

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