Broncos-Bills on Wild Card Weekend Sunday: What We Learned from Buffalo's 31-7 win

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• READ: Nix says Broncos' 'trajectory is going up' after loss to Bills ends season

1. Allen, Bills blast past Broncos in convincing fashion. Josh Allen is inevitable. The Broncos' defense quieted the big Bills plays in the first half, keeping the game close at the break. However, you can only keep down Allen for so long. Buffalo marched up and down the field most of the contest, but red zone stalls suppressed the scoreboard. Then, Allen exploded. Facing a fourth-and-1 at the 24, Allen bought time, surveyed like a civil engineer, and dropped a seed to Ty Johnson, who made an impressive grab in the back of the end zone. Following a three-and-out by Denver, Allen then dropped a deep shot to Curtis Samuel for a 55-yard TD. The rout was on. Allen later spun another deep dime to Dalton Kincaid for 35 yards. After being held to 69 passing yards in the first half, Allen punctured a tired Denver D at will in the final two quarters, finishing with 272 passing yards and two passing TDs on 20-of-26 passing for a 135.4 passer rating. After trailing 7-0 early, the Bills blitzed a good Broncos defense for 31 consecutive points. When Allen gets it rolling, even the best defenses are overmatched.
2. Nix starts hot but can't sustain drives to keep pace. The Broncos took the first uppercut, hitting the Bills with a 43-yard hammer to open the game. Bo Nix capped off a flawless first drive with a perfect bomb to former Oregon teammate Troy Franklin for the score. The design was perfect by Sean Payton, taking advantage of the Bills' tendencies, and Nix put it on the money. After the first drive, however, Denver couldn't keep up. The Broncos went three-and-out three times in the contest. A missed field goal to end the first half took the wind out of their sails. Payton's decision to punt from the Bills' 39-yard-line in the second quarter -- after previously converting a fake punt in his own territory -- stung in real time and looks worse in hindsight. Nix had a sensational rookie season but couldn't keep it going, particularly in the second half. He generated just 42 passing yards in the second half after 102 through the opening two quarters. The lack of rushing aid didn't help Nix's cause either. 
3. Bills' run game rolls. Buffalo smashed the Denver defense over and over and over and over and over again on the ground Sunday. James Cook bowled over defenders on his way to 120 yards and a touchdown on 23 totes, keeping the Bills in positive down-and-distances and churning the clock. Buffalo's ability to keep Vance Joseph's defense on the field wore down a good unit. The Bills held the ball for a whopping 41 minutes, 43 seconds. Add in Josh Allen's ability to plow for first downs with his legs, and the Bills' ground game couldn't be contained. Buffalo galloped for 210 yards on the ground. It was the most rushing yards the Broncos allowed all season (the previous high was 149 versus Indianapolis in Week 15). When the Bills' ground game is churning yards like that, forcing safeties into the box, it eventually opens up the deep shots for Allen. That dual-threat ability makes the Bills dangerous against any defense.
4. Broncos break playoff futility streak, but a noticeable gap with AFC elite remains. Denver played its first postseason game since Super Bowl 50, breaking an ignominious streak. Bo Nix proved he could be the franchise signal-caller of the future under Payton, and the building blocks are in the building. However, there remains a distance between Denver and the conference's elite. The Bills simply outmatched the Broncos on Sunday, winning in every facet. An early salvo from Denver threatened to make things interesting, but Sean McDermott's defense smothered Payton's offense, and the Buffalo O rolled at will. In Year 2 of Payton's reign in Denver, optimism is warranted. The Broncos have their quarterback. After years of cycling through failing options, that's a massive piece of the puzzle. Now, Nix must continue to develop, and the Broncos must continue to build around the signal-caller to close the gap with the upper echelon. 
5. Chalk in the AFC Divisional Round. The Bills' romp culminated an AFC wild-card round in which all three of the conference's higher seeds handled business. After Houston and Baltimore won going away on Saturday, Buffalo put up an even more resounding victory against the AFC's No. 7 seed. The victory marked the fifth consecutive season in which Buffalo won its wild-card matchup. Next up: the Ravens in the Divisional Round. Buffalo will host the AFC North champs in a rematch of a Week 4 35-10 Baltimore blowout, in which Lamar Jackson's offense built a 21-3 halftime lead and never looked back. The battle of the MVP candidates profiles as the biggest matchup of the Divisional Round.

Next Gen Stats Insight from Broncos-Bills (via NFL Pro): Bo Nix was pressured on 14 of his 27 dropbacks in his playoff debut against the Bills (51.9% pressure rate), the highest pressure rate he faced as a rookie.

NFL Research: James Cook is the first Bills player with 100-plus rushing yards in a playoff game since Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas in the 1995 Wild Card Round. Cook and Thomas (five times) are the only players to have 100+ rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in a playoff game in Bills history.