NFL playoffs 2026: Bo Nix met moment before injury in Bills vs. Broncos

With just over four minutes left in Saturday’s AFC Divisional Round game between the Buffalo Bills and the Denver Broncos, the moment man wondered about had arrived.

Could young quarterback Bo Nix deliver in a big game when his team needed him most?

Nix did, and the Broncos are on their way to the AFC Championship Game after knocking off the Bills 33-30 in overtime.

After a strong start to the game saw the young quarterback throw a pair of first-half touchdowns to take a 20-10 lead to the locker room, Nix and the Broncos were trailing by four, 27-23, late in the fourth quarter. This was the moment the NFL world had wondered about for weeks as the playoffs approached. Could the young passer step up? Could Nix silence the doubters at a moment like this, and prove he was the QB Denver needed him to be?

He delivered.

The drive began with Nix throwing a dime along the right sideline, after avoiding pressure from Joey Bosa, climbing the pocket, and connecting with Courtland Sutton along the right sideline:

As noted, it was Sutton’s first catch of the game.

Shortly thereafter, he made his second. After two plays moved the Broncos backward, Denver faced 3rd and 11 on their own 39-yard line with 3:19 left in the game. This was a pivotal moment in the contest, and for Nix.

That is when the QB ripped an absolute rocket on this dig route to Sutton:

Following an injury timeout for center Alex Forsyth, Nix and Sean Payton let the clock run down to the two-minute warning, setting Denver up for a 1st and 10 at the Buffalo 38-yard line.

A few snaps later Denver faced another third down, and once more Nix moved the chains.

Only this time, he did it with his legs:

Denver stopped the clock with just 61 seconds remaining after the run, setting the Broncos up with a 1st-and-10 situation at the Buffalo 26-yard line.

That’s when Nix dropped in a dime to Marvin Mims Jr. to give Denver the lead, with a beautiful throw:

Mims stayed down on the ground for a long time, as he slid into a camera after making the over-the-shoulder catch. It was also a brilliant call from Payton, who dialed up a double-move route for Mims working against backup cornerback Dane Jackson, who had just come into the game for that play due to an injury.

Nix was 6-of-7 on the drive, including two critical third-down conversions, just when Denver needed him most.

Josh Allen had some magic up his sleeves of course, as the Bills forced overtime with a field goal in the closing seconds of regulation. But in overtime, the Broncos punched their ticket to the AFC Championship Game.

The big play in OT was the controversial interception by Broncos defender Ja’Quan McMillan, which ended Buffalo’s first possession — after the Bills had forced a Denver punt — and gave the Broncos another chance. Nix connected with R.J. Harvey on this short throw to get the Broncos offense moving:

Then came a string of penalties on Buffalo, including at least one rather questionable pass interference penalty, that put the Broncos into position for the game-winning field goal. But that field goal would not have been possible without what Nix did on Denver’s final drive of regulation.

Of course, there is a painful subplot to this story, literally and figuratively.

Nix’s season ended tonight as the young quarterback suffered a fracture in his right ankle on Denver’s final drive in overtime. The Broncos are moving on, but they will take the field in the AFC Championship Game with Jarrett Stidham at the helm, and not Nix.

But what Nix did tonight before that injury was exactly what Broncos fans, and the rest of the NFL world were waiting to see. Which is Nix living up to the moment, when his team needed him most.

This chapter of his story ends on a Saturday night in Denver, but he has more chapters to write, and more moments to live up to.