American Football
Broncos beat Bills in thriller, lose quarterback
The Broncos and Seahawks haven’t been as close to a Super Bowl appearance in what feels like an eternity as they were after winning the NFL playoffs. But there is also bad news from Denver.
The Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks have lived up to their status as favorites in the NFL and are now only one win away from returning to the Super Bowl after more than ten years. While Seattle beat San Francisco 41-6 and dashed all dreams of a home final game for the 49ers on February 8th, the Broncos had to go into overtime in a dramatic duel with the Buffalo Bills. Denver only prevailed there with a field goal at 33:30. The celebration was quickly followed by a low blow: quarterback Bo Nix has to undergo surgery and will be out for the rest of the football season.
With Jarrett Stidham as a replacement, the Broncos will host again in the AFC conference finals next Sunday (local time) against either the Houston Texans or the New England Patriots. Seattle also has home advantage again when it faces either the Los Angeles Rams or the Chicago Bears in the NFC finals.
Coach Payton shocked with news at press conference
After the game, Broncos head coach Sean Payton announced that Nix had broken a bone in his ankle on the second-to-last play of the game. Nix is scheduled to undergo surgery on Tuesday and his season is over.
There was no mention of this in his interview immediately after the game. “We played against a really good team, they played really well. Respect to them. We found a way to win. Our defense stopped them, we had good scenes,” explained Nix. “I’m proud of this organization. It didn’t always look good, but we found a way to win this,” said the 25-year-old, who had three touchdown passes.
Broncos defender has the action of the game
The most important scene of the game was played by a colleague from the defense. Ja’Quan McMillian snatched the football that had already been caught from his opponent as it fell, not only preventing a promising opportunity for the Bills, but also allowing the Broncos a second series of attacks in overtime, which ended with the decisive field goal.
The Broncos didn’t score any points in the first attempt, putting the Bills in an excellent position to win. The unfortunate loss of the ball cost Bills quarterback Josh Allen another season on the way to the Bills’ first Super Bowl participation since the four defeats in a row in the 90s.
Seattle takes the lead with its first action
In Seattle, however, everything pointed towards a home win early on – the hosts took the lead with the first action of the game. Rashid Shaheed carried the 49ers kickoff 95 yards for the first touchdown of the game. “That first kickoff was unbelievable. Our defense. Our pass receivers. They’re all unbelievable,” Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold said. He only threw the ball 17 times, but victory for the hosts was never in doubt. Kenneth Walker III scored three touchdowns as a running back.
dpa
