Ja’Quan McMillian intercepted a long Josh Allen pass in overtime and Will Lutz had the last laugh with a 24-yard field goal Saturday as the Denver Broncos reached the AFC championship game with a 33-30 victory over the Buffalo Bills.
McMillian stole the ball from Brandin Cooks, who came close to making the catch. The interception came at the Broncos’ 20 line, when a field goal would have given the Bills the victory.
Denver was able to move down the field thanks to the indiscipline of the Bills, who obstructed a pass catcher twice during the Broncos’ decisive drive. A first penalty allowed the Broncos to advance 17 yards, the second 30 yards to the Bills 8 line, and Lutz made the decisive field goal.
However, Broncos quarterback Bo Nix broke a bone in his right ankle on the last sequence of the game, head coach Sean Payton announced after the game. His season is over and it will be Jarrett Stidham who will lead Denver’s offense next weekend.
Stiddy is ready
assured Sean Payton.
We were facing a very solid club that played very well, Nix said after the match, without immediately revealing that he was injured. You have to give them credit. We found a way to win and I’m proud of our guys. I am proud of their tenacity.
We are never down and that shows our character. It wasn’t always pretty, but we found a way to prevail.
Next Sunday, Denver will face the Houston Texans or New England Patriots at Empower Field at Mile High, where the Broncos have won 14 of their last 15 games.
Matt Prater of the Bills makes a field goaln from 50 yards with five seconds left in the fourth quarter, tying the game 30-30.
It was on the heels of a 26-yard connection from Bo Nix to Marvin Mims, with 55 seconds on the clock.
Allen hadn’t committed a turnover in his previous six playoff games.
This time, he had two interceptions and two fumbles, both following sacks by Nik Bonitto.
PJ Locke threw the other interception against the Bills quarterback; Allen had completed 204 consecutive passes in the playoffs.
It’s a very hard defeat to accept, said a shaken Allen. I feel like I let my teammates down.
Allen still amassed 283 air yards, including three touchdown passes. Nix had 279 air yards, with three touchdown passes and an interception.
The Broncos will host an AFC Championship Game for the first time in a decade.
Seahawks 41 – 49ers 6
Rashid Shaheed returned the game’s kickoff for a touchdown, Kenneth Walker III added three rushing touchdowns and the Seattle Seahawks advanced to the National Conference Finals with a 41-6 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
Sam Darnold scored a touchdown pass and got his first playoff victory in his first season with the Seahawks (15-3). The latter will host the Chicago Bears or the Los Angeles Rams next week, with a ticket to the Super Bowl at stake.
The Seahawks led 7-0 just 13 seconds into the game thanks to Shaheed, who caught the initial kick and ran the 95 yards to the end zone. It was the fourth time since 2000 that an NFL playoff game began with a middle finger on the kickoff.
Darnold, whose presence for this game was uncertain due to an oblique muscle injury, led his team to two more touchdowns before the 49ers got on the board with their first of two successful field goals in this game.
After suffering nine sacks in his first playoff game with the Minnesota Vikings in a 27-9 loss to the Rams last season, Darnold this time completed 12 of 17 passes for 124 yards. He joined Jaxon Smith-Njigba for the major.
The 49ers (13-6) were never in the game, suffering one of the worst losses in their playoff history. They lost 49-3 to the New York Giants in 1986.
Against the Seahawks, they were without tight end George Kittle, linebacker Fred Warner and defensive end Nick Bosa.
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy completed 15 of 27 passes for 140 yards, with one interception. He also dropped a ball.
,autocrop(1200:630))
