The Josh Allen-led Buffalo Bills fell short of claiming the No. 1 seed in the AFC this time around, but they’ll settle for No. 2. That means they get two home playoff games, the first of which comes against a very feisty underdog Denver Broncos team on Wild Card weekend. Everyone who knows football—or even team sports in general—knows that when it gets to the postseason, it becomes all about matchups and situations.
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While he could never reach the playoffs in 17 NFL years, Fitzpatrick recognizes the importance of “situational football” in this Bills-Broncos clash. During an episode of Fitz & Whit, he started off with the oft-touted criticism of Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott: that he’s unable to make the right decisions in crunch time.
“It’s going to go one of two ways. And the first way is, this is gonna be a blowout. And the second path is, by halftime, the game’s close, and at the end it’s gonna come down to situational football by Sean Payton and by Sean McDermott. That makes Bills fans nervous.”
The former journeyman QB said that while he’s worried about the margins, he believes this is a pretty good matchup for the Bills. He also believes that Buffalo’s presumptive NFL MVP QB, Josh Allen, will be the difference in those crucial situations. Fitzpatrick mentioned how Allen has used his legs in crucial situations against top teams like the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions this year.
“Denver is very effective at getting after the passer, but that is the strength of the Buffalo Bills. That’s the strength of Josh Allen; he hasn’t been sacked much this year. When you put pressure on him, he’s either gonna get the ball out of his hands or find ways to avoid it… The x-factor is Josh Allen and his legs. You saw it all year long; when the games mattered, he ended up taking off.”
Fitzpatrick believes that Allen’s toughness and ability to run also give the Bills a massive advantage if the weather is less-than-ideal in Buffalo on Sunday, which seems likely. In the end, Fitzpatrick—who earned his nickname, “Fitzmagic”, during arguably his best stint as a pro with the Bills from 2009 to 2012—couldn’t escape the notion that Buffalo is going to blow this Broncos team out.
Fitzpatrick’s former teammate, current broadcasting co-worker, and podcast co-host, Andrew Whitworth, was in agreement. The big former offensive lineman said that if Buffalo can stay dedicated to the ground game, they should have no problem winning this game.
“Can they stick to the plan? Running the football, I think the Bills dominate this one.”
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Josh Allen and his Bills will renew hostilities with Sean Payton’s Broncos during NFL’s Wild Card weekend as the first game of a Sunday triple-header. The Bills are expected to dominate this Wild Card team starting a rookie at QB. They enter the contest as massive 9.0-point favorites.
The game will kick off at 1 PM EST and will be broadcast by CBS and streamed on Paramount+. Despite being the early afternoon fixture, Bills and Broncos fans will be blessed with the elite commentary duo of legend Jim Nantz and superstar color man Tony Romo.
