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Sean Payton reveals key element to beating Bills
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- Sean Payton reveals key element to beating Bills
If the Denver Broncos are going to beat the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, takeaways will be key.
Buffalo ended the regular season with a +1 turnover differential (19 giveaways and 20 takeaways) while Denver finished -3 (17 giveaways and only 14 takeaways). Now entering the postseason, Broncos coach Sean Payton knows those numbers need to improve.
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"In the last 25 years, there's only been one Super Bowl winner, beginning at zero, there's been only one Super Bowl winner that finished minus [in turnovers]," Payton said after Week 18. "The 2015 Broncos were minus four, but then finished, I think, plus three, plus four. You don't get a chance to clean the slate often, but 25 years and only one team."
Interceptions and fumbles can flip games, and Payton knows the importance of being on the right side of it.
"I've told you the story about the Vikings [NFC] Championship game," Payton said. "They had [475] yards. We had [257]. If you watch that game every time [Adrian] Peterson touched the ball, it was a gain of eight, a gain of nine. [475] to [257], five turnovers. Now stay with me. We were plus five, and it went into overtime. If you watch that game, this statistic at this stage is because it's sudden death. It's not a best-of-seven. You lose a game if you're not being smart with the ball, but if you take it away, [you win]. We talked about it starting tonight, and so it has to be intentional relative to punching the ball out. That has to be intentional."
Payton said he did a two-year study on the Bills and they've lost the turnover battle in all but one of their losses since 2024.
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"I have this screen in front of me that has two years of their opponents and what the opponents did, what's the score, third down, red zone, rushing yards, per carry, passing like across the grid," Payton said. "Then you're noticing, 'Who is it that played them well?' In their losses, they lost the turnover battle in all but one of them. Then the same thing applies when you're looking at who has defended them well. I ask Vance [Joseph] that all the time, 'Who's defended them well?' Jacksonville defended the run well. So all of that factors into your scheme."
The Bills led the NFL with 159.6 rushing yards per game in the regular season. Jacksonville held Buffalo to just 79 rushing yards in the wild-card round, but two interceptions helped the Bills secure a narrow victory. Denver must protect the ball — and attack the ball — in order to get a win against Buffalo on Saturday.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: NFL playoffs: Sean Payton reveals key element to beating Bills
