After the Buffalo Bills ended the Denver Broncos' season with a 31-7 blowout in last year's playoffs, Sean Payton set out to bring the playoff party back to Denver, with its altitude and loud fan base that shakes the stadium. “We talked about getting the best seeding and trying to get every possible home-field advantage. I felt the same way my first year in 2006 in New Orleans when we lost in Chicago in the championship game: ‘How can we get to play this game at home?’” Payton recalled, whose New Orleans Saints did just that three years later, on their way to winning the Super Bowl after the 2009 season. Now, in his third season in Denver, Payton is trying to become the first head coach to win Lombardi Trophies with two different franchises. The Broncos (14-3), well-rested, secured home-field advantage by clinching the AFC's top seed and a first-round bye. They will host the Bills (13-5), riddled with injuries and the sixth seed, who come off their first road playoff win since the 1992 AFC championship game, this Saturday at Empower Field at Mile High. It's the first playoff game in Denver in a decade, since January 24, 2016, when the Broncos beat the New England Patriots in the 17th and final meeting between superstars Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. The Broncos have won 13 of their last 14 home games and were 8-1 in Denver this season, their only loss coming to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the team the Bills knocked out 27-24 last weekend in the first Josh Allen comeback in the fourth quarter of a playoff game. With Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, and Lamar Jackson out of these playoffs, this could be Allen's best chance to finally win the big one. “I feel better than I have the last few weeks,” he said. Fourteen other Bills players were on the injury report this week, and Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott ruled out safety Jordan Poyer (hamstring) and cornerback Maxwell Hairston (ankle). Additionally, receivers Gabe Davis and Tyrell Shavers were placed on injured reserve this week due to knee injuries. The Broncos brought in safety Talanoa Hufanga and inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw in free agency, and both played a significant role in Denver's top ranking in sacks and red zone efficiency. But he is dealing with a right foot, left knee, and throwing hand injury, and was also tested for a possible concussion last weekend. “I feel good,” Allen insisted. “I feel good.”
