Play of the game: It took until the playoffs for the Bo Nix-Troy Franklin connection to finally work. On Denver’s first drive of the game, Franklin slipped past the Bills’ secondary and then caught a 43-yard touchdown pass from Nix. Good things come to those who wait, and Franklin showed that on Sunday. Unfortunately, they were unable to make any more good memories after that. Head coach Sean Payton was livid with Franklin a couple of times, especially after the failed fourth-down conversion in the fourth quarter.

Turning point: The Broncos got gutsy. Down 10-7 in the second quarter, Riley Dixon faked a punt and then threw a 15-yard pass to Marvin Mims Jr. for a first down. However, the play didn’t generate the momentum Denver had hoped for. After Nix’s screen pass resulted in a 3-yard loss and an incompletion to wideout Courtland Sutton, the Broncos were forced to punt. In a game of this magnitude, Denver needed to capitalize on plays like Dixon’s fake punt. That didn’t happen Sunday.

It was over when: Josh Allen is an MVP candidate for a reason. Buffalo’s star quarterback did the unthinkable on fourth down in the third quarter when he found running back Ty Johnson in the back of the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown, extending Buffalo’s lead to 21-7. Was the sliding grab actually a catch? That’s what it was ruled on the field, and the officials declined to overturn it. But it was certainly up for debate. What isn’t? Denver never recovered after that.