This was supposed to be the Bills’ year.

No Mahomes. No Burrow. No Lamar. For once, the road looked open, and it felt like this might finally be the clean path Josh Allen had been waiting for.

That was the story, anyway.

The Denver Broncos didn’t buy any of it.

They had the No. 1 seed, the better record, and a team that looked nothing like last year’s version that got routed by Buffalo in the playoffs. A tougher defense. A calmer offense. A more disciplined roster. And just enough belief to walk out with an overtime win.

Denver’s Defense Was Better Than the Box Score

Buffalo’s opening touchdown drive looked like the best version of the Bills. Allen was doing a little bit of everything, the ball came out quick, and the running game kept them on schedule.

For a few minutes, it felt like the script we’ve seen before: Allen in control, tempo set, and Denver chasing.

But it didn’t take long to see what Denver was trying to do.

The Broncos were perfectly okay letting Allen live in the quick game. Slants. Hitches. Checkdowns. All of it was there. Allen was 12-for-14 with three touchdowns on those quick throws, and that’s not a surprise. That’s the part of his game that’s always been reliable.

The problem was everything past that.

Denver completely took away the explosives. Allen finished 0-for-9 on deep shots — and two of those ended up as interceptions. And when the deep shots aren’t there, the pressure builds.

Every Mistake Turned Into a Gift

The Bills didn’t have trouble moving the ball. They didn’t even punt.

They sustained drives. They moved the chains without much drama. By the end of the night, they had piled up 450 yards of offense, and on paper, that usually tells you who controlled the game.

James Cook was a big part of that early rhythm. You could see it in the way Buffalo leaned into the run and into their backs and tight ends in the passing game, almost as if they were trying to calm the night down. Cook had real juice in the first half, and for a while it felt like the Bills had found the balance they wanted.

On most nights, that’s a recipe for success.

Then the hit happened.

Alex Singleton came downhill and laid a clean, violent shot on Cook that jarred the ball loose, and Denver immediately cashed in. That one stung because it wasn’t just a turnover. It was a drive that felt like it was about to open the game up, and instead it flipped everything on its head.

And the worst part for Buffalo was that there was no time to reset.

Because once the first mistake happened, the rest came fast.

• Nik Bonitto got to Allen and knocked the ball free.

• Allen lost another fumble.

• He forced two deep throws that turned into interceptions.

Some of those were great defensive plays. Some of them were rushed decisions. Some of them were just a quarterback feeling like every drive has to be perfect.

By the end of the night, Allen had four turnovers by himself, and Buffalo had five as a team.

Allen said it afterward, and it was the blunt truth: 

“You can’t win with five turnovers. If you shoot yourself in the foot like that, you don’t deserve to win the football game.”

Ten Points in Twenty-Two Seconds

This is the sequence that’s going to live in Buffalo’s head all offseason.

With under 30 seconds left in the first half, the game was tied and it finally felt like the Bills had stabilized the game.

Then Bo Nix found Lil’Jordan Humphrey for a touchdown with 22 seconds left to take the lead. After dropping what looked like an easy touchdown earlier in the game, this was a great way to redeem himself.

But the real crusher came right after.

On Buffalo’s very next snap, as if the game wasn’t already on edge enough, Nik Bonitto stripped Allen, Devon Key fell on it, and suddenly Denver had the ball at the Bills’ 33 with two seconds left.

Wil Lutz drilled a 50-yarder at the buzzer.

In the span of 22 seconds, Denver turned a tie game into a 20-10 lead.

And for Buffalo, it was extra brutal because the fumble was the definition of unnecessary. Allen had been playing under control. He didn’t need to force anything. And then, at the worst possible moment, the ball popped loose.

That ended up being the difference in the game.

Kincaid Kickstarted the Comeback

Give Buffalo credit: they didn’t fold.

Down 23-10 early in the second half, this game could’ve turned into one of those slow, miserable playoff losses where the Bills are down multiple scores and you can feel the air leave the balloon.

Instead, they ripped off 17 unanswered points of thier own.

Keon Coleman scored to keep the pulse alive.

And then Dalton Kincaid took over.

This was supposed to be a backs-and-tight-ends kind of night for Buffalo without Gabe Davis out there, and it turned out to be exactly that — but in the second half, Kincaid became the outlet.

He caught all five of his targets for 70 yards and a score in the second half alone. The go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter put Buffalo up 24-23 and felt like the turning point.

Bo Nix Stepped Up to the Plate

I’ll be honest: Nix still doesn’t always feel like a finished product.

He’ll give you a panic pick in the middle of the game that makes you question everything. He’ll have stretches where it’s all quick throws and checkdowns and you’re wondering when the big one is coming.

There were moments where Denver’s offense felt stuck in neutral.

But there were also a handful of throws Saturday that told you exactly why Denver trusts him.

None bigger than the one that flipped the game late.

Down 27-23 with a minute left in regulation, Nix hit Marvin Mims Jr. for a 26-yard touchdown to take the lead back.

That throw wasn’t just about arm talent. It was about nerve.

There was good coverage, a tight window to complete the pass, and he ripped it with zero hesitation, exactly where it needed to be.

And it mattered because Buffalo’s offense responded the way it always does: Allen drove them into range and former Bronco Matt Prater nailed a 50-yard field goal with five seconds left.

30-30.

We're headed to overtime.

Will We Ever Know What a Catch Is?

Denver got the ball first in overtime and, for a moment, it looked like Buffalo had finally gotten the break they needed.

The Bills defense did its job. They forced a punt and handed Josh Allen the exact scenario every quarterback dreams about in January — one drive, no tricks, no style points needed. Just get into field-goal range and you’re playing in the AFC Championship.

It felt like the whole season came down to that possession.

And on the biggest snap of the night, Allen did what elite quarterbacks do.

He trusted his guy.

Third-and-long, pocket holding just long enough, he launched it deep to Brandin Cooks and gave him a real chance to end the game.

Cooks and Ja’Quan McMillian tangled as they went to the ground, both fighting. Cooks had the ball as he fell to the ground, but it came loose after he hit the turf. Instead of being incomplete, McMillian got control of it and sprang up holding the football.

Interception.

The review came back quickly, and somehow that made it worse.

The pool report explanation from referee Carl Cheffers actually explained things pretty clearly. Whether people were ever going to accept it is another story:

“The receiver has to complete the process of a catch... He was going to the ground as part of the process of the catch and he lost possession of the ball when he hit the ground. The defender gained possession of it at that point. The defender is the one that completed the process of the catch, so the defender was awarded the ball.”

For Buffalo, it wasn’t just one call. It was the timing of it.

That was the play that could’ve set up a walk-off field goal.

Instead, the ball went back to Denver.

The Controversy Didn't Stop There

The interception wasn’t the only thing Bills fans were screaming about.

Because once the ball went back to Denver, the night took on a very familiar playoff feeling for Buffalo: every snap felt like it came with an explanation attached.

Two pass interference calls moved the Broncos right into scoring range — one on Taron Johnson, another on Tre’Davious White — and both felt equally as back-breaking.

The first put the Broncos into field goal range already. Not a chip shot, but they would've felt good about their chances. The second penalty made the kick virtually unmissable, and allowed them to just take a knee and center the ball before winning the game as time ran out.

That’s a brutal way to end a season.

The Win Cost Them Their Quarterback

You'd have never noticed watching the play live, but Bo Nix broke his right ankle on the final drive of the game.

He got hurt on a keeper where he lost a couple yards and got tackled low. He limped, shook it off, and stayed in the game.

On the very next play, with a broken ankle, Nix threw the deep ball that drew the huge pass interference penalty on Marvin Mims — the play that essentially sealed the game.

Then he took the knee to center it.

Then Wil Lutz hit the winner.

And only after all of that — after the celebration, after the interviews, after everybody thought they were just moving on — Sean Payton came back out to the podium and dropped the news that Nix’s season was over.

Denver just won the biggest game they've won in a decade… and now they won't have their quarterback next week.

The End of an Era in Buffalo

This game will be remembered as a Denver win — because it was.

But it’s also going to be remembered as a Buffalo loss that felt like five different losses stacked on top of each other, all happening in slow motion.

There was the Cook fumble. The strip before halftime that turned into ten points. The deep shots that never landed. The overtime call that split the room. Every time it felt like the Bills had finally steadied themselves, something else knocked them right back onto the ropes. 

Not just the calls. The decisions. The mistakes. How many chances can you waste in January before they come back to haunt you?

For Sean McDermott, that time has come. The Bills are moving from their head coach who made the playoffs in eight of his nine seasons, including the last seven straight.

And for the first time in his career, Josh Allen will be playing for a new head coach.

There will be more to come on that decision, what led to it, and whether it was the right move — but after a night like this, it was clear something had to change.

All stats courtesy of NFL Pro.