Broncos Need Their Best Players to Shine vs. Bills, Especially These Five

The Denver Broncos will host the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, after they defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars in a 27-24 thriller. It was Josh Allen and the Bills who bounced the Broncos from the playoffs last year, adding to the flames of this already exciting matchup.

This time around, the Broncos will have home-field advantage, are coming off a bye week, and will look to prove they’re not a fraudulent No. 1 playoff seed. The Bills are no pushover, and as talented as the Broncos are, there are still a handful of players who have not played their best ball over the past month

The Broncos need five players to step up and make an impact to secure a win this Saturday. Let's break it down.

RJ Harvey | RB

It’s no secret that the Broncos' running game has been a relative non-factor since J.K. Dobbins went down with a foot injury, and Harvey hasn’t been able to make up fully for the loss. While Harvey has managed to find the end zone a lot (seven rushing, five receiving), he has struggled to gain yards from down to down.

Over the past four games, the rookie had 55 carries for a measly 186 yards (3.3 yards per carry), rendering the Broncos’ ground game woefully ineffective. Harvey has the speed and explosiveness to challenge the Bills’ poor run defense, and he must produce on Saturday to give Devner’s offense a chance.

Courtland Sutton | WR

If there’s one receiver that quarterback Bo Nix trusts the most, it’s the eighth-year veteran. Sutton has made big plays in crucial situations all season, and Saturday against the Bills, he has to carry the load in the passing game.

Outside of his spectacular catches, Sutton has also struggled to catch some of the easiest of passes, which have killed a handful of drives for the Broncos. In Week 18 against the Los Angeles Chargers, a game the Broncos needed to secure the first seed, he caught only one pass for five yards,.

The Broncos did win in the end, but Sutton was a complete non-factor. He is the Broncos' best receiving weapon, and his performance will decide just how effective this offense can be.

Jonathon Cooper | OLB

Cooper was on a tear through the Broncos’ first 11 games, notching 7.5 sacks with his quick first step off the line and power to bully opposing offensive tackles. However, since the Week 12 bye, Cooper has been M.I.A., only registering half a sack for the remainder of the season.

He’s been playing like a mercenary, often abandoning his responsibilities in the run game to go hunt the quarterback. Cooper needs to be much more disciplined on Saturday with Josh Allen and James Cook being game-changing threats in the run game.

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Alex Singleton | LB

Denver Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton (49) celebrates defeating the Green Bay Packers. — Dec 14, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton (49) celebrates defeating the Green Bay Packers during the fourth quarter at Empower Field at Mile High. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Singleton had a brief stretch this season in which he played some of his best football as a Bronco, but at times, he has hindered the rest of the defense. No one expects him to be an otherworldly coverage backer, but he’s out of position more often than not in the pass game, greatly limiting his ability to make a play.

Singleton plays with a fire that ignites the rest of the defense, but if he’s cold, he’ll get picked on by the Bills’ shifty tight ends and Cook. If Singleton locks in and makes the big hits that he’s capable of producing, this defense as a whole can strike fear into even the mighty Allen.

Nik Bonitto | OLB

As the Broncos’ premier pass rusher, Bonitto has the chance ruin this game for the Bills entirely. He didn’t register a single sack in last year’s Wildcard matchup against Buffalo, and they ran the ball right at him with astounding success. He gets a chance to rectify that on Saturday.

Through the previous four games, Bonitto registered 1.5 sacks against the Chargers’ third and fourth-best offensive tackles and zero against a Kansas City Chiefs team that was down several offensive tackles and was without Patrick Mahomes, and it was no different against the Green Bay Packers and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Bonitto can bring the pressure and force Allen into some bad throws and even take him down several times, but he needs to put forth his best effort. Saturday is no time to make like a magician and disappear.

The Takeaway

The Broncos are tasked with stopping the Bills and the reigning NFL MVP, Allen. Denver needs top-tier performances from these five players to prevail on Saturday and win its first playoff game in a decade.

After a week off and ample time to prepare, there’s no excuse not move on and host the AFC Championship Game.