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Bills win first AFC East title in 25 years

They pummel the Broncos 48-19 behind Josh Allen’s two passing and two rushing touchdowns.
 
Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) celebrates with offensive tackle Dion Dawkins after scoring in the first half against the Broncos on Saturday in Denver.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) celebrates with offensive tackle Dion Dawkins after scoring in the first half against the Broncos on Saturday in Denver. [ DAVID ZALUBOWSKI | AP ]
Published Dec. 20, 2020

DENVER — Donning gray caps that declared them AFC East champions for the first time since 1995, the Bills acted like that was old hat.

“We’re going to enjoy it on the flight back home, but we know the job ain’t done yet,” defensive end Jerry Hughes said after the Bills’ 48-19 dismantling of the Broncos on Saturday ended the Patriots’ 11-year reign atop the division.

“We still have a lot more to accomplish,” said Hughes, who contributed to the Bills’ biggest blowout of 2020 with a 21-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the third quarter 17 seconds after quarterback Josh Allen’s second scoring run of the game.

Allen, who wasn’t born the last time the Bills won the division, ran for two touchdowns and threw for two.

“It’s great that we’re able to (win the division for) the first time in 25 years,” Allen, 24, said. “To be the team and to be the quarterback on the team that does it obviously feels really good. At the same time, that’s not our end goal. We set out to do this in order to get the chance to do what we really want to do, and that’s to win a Super Bowl championship.”

The Broncos continue to founder. The loss secured their fourth straight losing season, something that hadn’t happened since the franchise’s futile early days in the 1960s and early 1970s. They also became the first team to go five years without making the playoffs following a Super Bowl title.

“I wouldn’t say that any of us are feeling in a way that we’re taking a step back,” said Broncos quarterback Drew Lock, who was 20-of-32 for 132 yards and one touchdown. “That was not a good day for us, by any means. Our job is to figure out why it wasn’t, what we did wrong, what we could’ve done better, and go from there.”

Allen threw for 359 yards, hitting Stefon Diggs 11 times for 147 yards before Diggs suffered a foot injury in the fourth quarter, and Cole Beasley eight times for 112 yards.

Allen also tied Jack Kemp’s quarterback franchise record of 25 career touchdown runs with his second scoring run, a 1-yard keeper to the right that was set up by Andre Roberts’ 55-yard return of Taylor Russilino’s short second-half kickoff.

The Broncos turned to Russolino, whose vagabond career included stops in the XFL, the Canadian Football League and even the Chinese arena league, after Brandon McManus went on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

In addition to his short second-half kickoff, Russolino missed a 51-yard field-goal try and two extra points on a windy day that didn’t adversely affect Bills kicker Tyler Bass, who made both of his field-goal attempts and all six extra points.

Allen dismantled Denver’s makeshift secondary that had lost five cornerbacks in two weeks, picking on De’Vante Bausby all afternoon while completing 28 of 40 passes. Rookie cornerback Michael Ojemudia held his own but was ejected in the third quarter for slapping Bills rookie receiver Gabriel Davis.