The Buffalo Bills have a hard-fought 10-7 lead over the Denver Broncos at halftime — the same score at the end of the last playoff game between these two teams.

It started off poorly for the Bills, allowing rookie quarterback Bo Nix to throw an elevator pass for 43 yards to paydirt and a 7-0 lead. After that moment, Buffalo began to settle in. Much of that has to do with how the offense controlled the line of scrimmage and paved the way for an impressive run game led by running back James Cook.

Stats aside, what matters more is how a team plays and in the first 30 minutes, quarterback Josh Allen and the Bills appeared dialed in. There’s zero overlooking this Denver team. Nix is poised as a rookie, and head coach Sean Payton continues his trend of trickery, trying to steal a possession with a successful fake punt that only yielded a more stressful field-position battle for Buffalo’s offense. (We can talk later about the Bills not being ready for that fake punt.)

But Josh Allen has owned third down this afternoon, whether by his arm or his legs. And despite the Broncos’ tricks and initial explosion, they’ve shot themselves in the foot with penalties and errors. That includes the walk-off doink by kicker Will Lutz.

Here we go, Rumblers! It’s crunch time and there’s plenty on the line. Here’s your thread for the second half of Bills-Broncos. As always, be kind to one another — and in all things… Go Bills!