The Buffalo Bills host the Denver Broncos this Sunday for NFL Super Wild Card Weekend. While this is the sixth straight year the Bills have made the playoffs, it is Denver’s first postseason appearance since the 2015 season. That was a year in which Von Miller and the Broncos’ defense beat the Carolina Panthers, theirs Defense coordinated by Sean McDermott dominated the Super Bowl.

The Broncos technically have a three-game playoff winning streak on the line, although all of the principles from that last playoff run are no longer with the team. This season the Broncos went 10-7 in the regular season and defeated the backup Kansas City Chiefs in the final game of the regular season to punch their ticket to the playoffs.

Denver has been hot in the second half of the season and it needs to stay that way if they want to leave Highmark Stadium with a win. If the Bills want to avoid elimination and play another game in Orchard Park, NY, they will have to eliminate Denver’s top players.

Here are five Broncos to watch this week.

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QB Bo Nix

During head coach Sean McDermott’s tenure, the Bills are 9-4 against rookie quarterbacks. These four losses were:

• In 2018 against Sam Darnold and the New York Jets
• In 2021 against Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars in a 9-6 barnburner
• Also in 2021 against Mac Jones and the New England Patriots in a 14:10 game that was characterized by tropical storm force winds
• Last week against the Patriots, with Drake Maye/Joe Milton III playing against Buffalo’s reserves, winning 23-16

Rookie quarterbacks have combined to throw seven touchdowns and 17 interceptions against the Bills during McDermott’s time as coach. Nix presents a unique challenge for several reasons, as he is extremely accurate, throws a lot of passes at or near the line of scrimmage, and has the ability to beat defenses with scrambles.

Nix recorded just 24 sacks while rushing for 430 yards this season, and he threw just 12 interceptions for 29 touchdowns. In short, the 24-year-old rookie had a fantastic season, taking the Broncos from a disappointing squad in 2023 to a playoff contender in 2024.

The Bills need to make him guess the coverage after the snap to create turnovers or hesitation. If they can get him to believe that his first read will be there pre-snap before the coverage shifts post-snap like that, they can force some negative plays.

By keeping Denver in obvious passing situations, the pass rush can make an impact, and if the rush and coverage can provide good complementary football, the Bills will advance to the Divisional Round. If not, however, Nix has the talent and weapons to cause problems.

WR Marvin Mims

I wrote about Courtland Sutton in our article about the Broncos we’d like to add to Buffalo’s roster, so I won’t discuss him again here. I’m going to talk about Mims, a second-year guy who can hurt the Bills in a number of ways.

Mims is lightning quick and can create separation at will in his passing routes. He averaged 12.9 yards per catch this season while catching 39 passes for 503 yards and six scores. However, his work could become even more dangerous in the second leg.

The Bills would be wise to shoot all of their kickoffs through the end zone, because I would rather see Denver have the ball at the 30-yard line than give Mims a chance to return a kick for a score. He was a Pro Bowl returner as a rookie last year, and this year he’s averaging 15.7 yards per punt return – leading the league – and 27.7 yards per kickoff return.

Speed ​​kills, and Mims has enough to cause the Bills countless problems on Sunday. His duel with Taron Johnson will be huge.

LB Nik Bonitto

The third-year edge player has exploded this season, recording 13.5 sacks and earning his first Pro Bowl nomination. He also had 24 quarterback hits and 16 tackles for loss, so it was an all-around outstanding season for the top pass rusher on the league’s best pass rushing team.

Buffalo has one of the best pass-protecting offensive lines in the NFL and also an absolute unified quarterback in Joshua Patrick Allen. If the line can do its part to keep Allen upright, No. 17 can continue to work its playoff magic.

If Bonitto and friends can disrupt the passing attack, this attack will become much more difficult. Bonitto is good enough to disrupt the Bills’ offensive plan, so they need to make sure he’s held accountable at all times. If Buffalo’s offense can establish the run and quick passing game, it will limit the damage Bonitto can do.

Staying one step ahead of the hitters and trusting the offensive tackles to handle him – with some help from the backs and tight ends – would be the way I would approach it.

LB Cody Barton

Barton is one of two inside linebackers for the Broncos and, like teammate Justin Strnad, he struggles in pass coverage. The Bills and offensive coordinator Joe Brady would be wise to attack the middle of the field in the passing game, as Denver’s outside corners – particularly Pat Surtain II – are excellent.

Accordingly professional football reference, Barton has allowed 41 of 47 passes when he is the man in top coverage. Even though he has two interceptions, if a player allows 87% of the passes thrown his way, I’ll take my chances.

Barton was second on the Broncos with 106 tackles this season. As solid as he is against the run, he is a liability and even more so against the pass.

CB Ja’Quan McMillan

I don’t think the Broncos’ cornerbacks will run with Buffalo’s wideouts, as they generally have Pat Surtain II at left corner and Riley Moss at right corner. That means the Bills could be able to dictate some matchups for players like Khalil Shakir and Dalton Kincaid, especially in the slot.

Enter McMillan, Denver’s top slot corner. He’s a willing tackler, having scored 81 times this season – and he’s strong in pass coverage, having made two interceptions and 10 pass breakups this year.

However, McMillan allowed three touchdowns this season, a 64% completion rate and 688 receiving yards on 65 passes completed. Unless Denver faces Shakir against Surtain II, I’ll send Shakir to the slot and try to have him win his matchup in the middle using some pick plays and other various rub routes to get in the middle-middle for Traffic and confusion to worry the defense.

If Denver wants to use Surtain II on Amari Cooper, I say let it. I would leave Coop out and let Shakir cook in the middle of the field.