ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. >> Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills’ spread the wealth approach on offense that was so productive in the regular season, proved unstoppable in their playoff opener.

Whether it was Allen completing a 24-yard touchdown pass to sliding running back Ty Johnson on fourth down, or James Cook racking up 120 yards rushing, including a 5-yard touchdown run, the Bills leaned on a balanced attack in a 31-7 win over the Denver Broncos in a wild-card playoff game on Sunday.

“I don’t think there was one certain thing over another. We just wanted to come out and execute well,” Allen said. “At the end of the day, we just wanted to come out and play our best football, and I feel like we did that today.”

With Allen completing 20 of 26 attempts for 272 yards passing and two touchdowns, and the running game combining for 210 yards, Buffalo methodically wore down the Broncos by scoring on six of its first seven drives in a game where the Bills finished with a 23-minute edge in time of possession.

Allen completed passes to eight players, including getting receiver Curtis Samuel involved by essentially sealing the win with a 55-yard touchdown catch on the opening snap of the fourth quarter.

The five-time defending AFC East champion Bills, who became the NFL’s first team to score 30 touchdowns rushing and passing in a season, advanced to the divisional round for a fifth straight postseason, and will face the third-seeded Baltimore Ravens next weekend.

The Ravens, coming off a 28-14 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday, routed Buffalo 35-10 at Baltimore in Week 4 this season. The outing will mark the second playoff meeting between Allen and Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson after Buffalo defeated the Ravens in 2020.

“This is what everyone’s been waiting for, right?” coach Sean McDermott said. “So it’ll be a nice week and everyone will be looking forward to it, and they’re a great football team. I mean they handled us pretty good the first go around and they’re certainly playing well.”

The seventh-seeded Broncos were outclassed in their first playoff appearance since their Super Bowl-winning season in 2015.

Denver’s offense essentially stalled after rookie Bo Nix capped a five-play opening drive with a 43-yard touchdown pass to former college teammate Troy Franklin. Nix finished 13 of 22 for 144 yards in an outing where Denver punted four times and turned the ball over on downs twice.

Commanders 23, Buccaneers 20 >> Jayden Daniels ran for a critical first down to set up Zane Gonzalez’s 37-yard field goal that clanged off the right upright and went through as time expired, and the Washington Commanders beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the franchise’s first playoff win in 6,945 days.

Daniels became the third rookie quarterback in three years to win a playoff game.

The Commanders (13-5) will face the No. 1 seed Detroit Lions (15-2) in the divisional round.

Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers (10-8) missed several opportunities and the veteran quarterback committed a costly turnover in the fourth quarter. The Bucs couldn’t get 1 yard on two tries from the Commanders 12 and settled for a field goal to tie the game before Washington’s winning drive.

Daniels threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns, joining C.J. Stroud and Brock Purdy as rookie QBs to win playoff games in the past three seasons.

Washington hadn’t won in the postseason since beating the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay 17-10 in a wild-card game on Jan. 7, 2006.

Patriots hire Vrabel to return as head coach

The New England Patriots have hired Mike Vrabel as their head coach.

The team announced the hiring Sunday morning, a week after Patriots owner Robert Kraft fired Jerod Mayo following the team’s season-ending victory over the Buffalo Bills. Mayo finished 4-13 in his lone season.

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, former Houston Texans offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton and Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson also interviewed for the job.

But Vrabel, a fan favorite during eight seasons as a player in New England where he was a member of its first three Super Bowl winners and an inductee into the team’s Hall of Fame in 2023, was the preferred candidate because of his long association with the franchise.