The Buffalo Bills will host the Denver Broncos at Highmark Stadium in the NFL’s Wild Card round.
For this AFC battle between Sean McDermott’s Bills (13-4) and Sean Payton’s Broncos (10-7), it will be the games, within the game, that will make all the difference.
Here are three key matchups to watch during Sunday’s Bills-Broncos clash:
CB Christian Benford vs. WR Courtland Sutton
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Benford has been a quiet stud and many considered him a Pro Bowl snub. The Bills would be smart to put him on Sutton. Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix loves him considering Sutton had 1,081 yards this season, double anyone else on Denver’s roster.
OL Dion Dawkins vs. ED Nik Bonitto
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The Broncos defense thrives on sacks. Bonitto will likely come off the edge on Dawkins’ side. Denver led the NFL with 63 sacks as a team and 13.5 of those were from Bonitto which led the Broncos.
WR Khalil Shakir vs. CB Ja’Quan McMillian
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Pro Football Focus grades Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II an 85.6 overall this season, making him their No. 1 corner in the entire NFL. The outside recievers for the Bills will have a tough day with him. That means Shakir will be a great option for quarterback Josh Allen on the inside. Denver’s slot cornerback is McMillan, who PFF only grades as the 78th best cornerback this year out of 116 qualifying players.