Broncos know that they have to ‘stay grounded’ and not play uptight

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Broncos haven’t had a game this deep into the winter in a decade. Only a handful of their players have experienced a divisional-round game or anything beyond this in the postseason.

So, it’s a new experience for most.

Now, coach Sean Payton said earlier this week that the value of experience in the postseason was one of his eight myths about playoff football.

Nevertheless, Saturday’s game will mark the eighth contest in the divisional round or a conference championship for the Buffalo Bills since 2020.

They’ve reached at least this round in six consecutive seasons, but haven’t advanced to a Super Bowl in that span. Those five previous seasons to at least the final eight without going to a Super Bowl is the NFL’s longest such streak in nearly a half-century, since the 1973-78 Los Angeles Rams.

Kansas City knocked them out four times; Cincinnati once. In each case, a team that had previously advanced deeper in recent years than the Bills dealt them the final blow.

In the Bills’ run of seven consecutive postseason trips, they’ve defeated every opponent that had less recent postseason experience than them.

But on the flip side of that, a team coached by Payton has never lost a divisional-round game after a bye week, and teams with byes have grabbed half of the Super Bowl spots since the NFL expanded its postseason to 14 teams in 2020.

Rest certainly helps.

But something else can, as well: Clearing the mind.

BRONCOS’ CHARGE: HAVE URGENCY, BUT DON’T PRESS

The moment demands urgency, but no more so than all the games along the way that were crucial for the Broncos crossing off two of the goals on their list: to win the AFC West and then clinch the best possible seeding.

“We’ve talked about it all week: You don’t have to do anything spectacular; we just have to do what we’ve been doing,” Broncos tight end Adam Trautman said.

“And obviously, offensively, we want to play better.

“But, yeah, you can’t just change anything, because sometimes a little too much intensity, you start to go blackout mode, and you start missing assignments or whatever the case is, so, it’s just kind of staying grounded and treat it like a normal game.”

Added Broncos tight end Evan Engram: “Obviously it’s the playoffs and a lot is on the line, but you don’t want to play uptight. You don’t want to play like you have things to lose.

“But obviously you understand that this is an elimination game.”

What the Broncos have been was good enough to win a league-leading 14 games.

The best thing they can do now is trust that it’s good enough for at least one more.

“You don’t want to pipe it up too much. This is football. You go out there, you have fun, you fly around, and you just kind of enjoy the moment,” Engram said. “And I think the more you can do that, the more you play your best.

“But also … every play, every blade of grass matters. Every play matters, and the details definitely go up a little bit more.”

The time to find more, Engram said, was throughout the week.

“So, I think there’s two sides of it,” he said. “It’s just another football game. Let’s go out there and have fun and win the game. Let’s keep it moving on.

“But also, every step that we take throughout the week leads to the victory.”

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