The Buffalo Bills moved the ball well early in Saturday's divisional-round game against the Denver Broncos, but mistakes came back to haunt them in the first half.
After a James Cook fumble swung momentum to Denver in the first quarter, a bizarre turnover by Josh Allen in the closing minute of the second quarter gave the Broncos three points just before halftime.
Allen has had turnover troubles at times in his career, and fumbles in particular have been a problem for him in the playoffs. Few of Allen’s turnovers seemed as unnecessary as Saturday's second-quarter fumble, however.
Here's a look at Allen's fumble against the Broncos and how it changed the game.
MORE 2026 NFL PLAYOFFS:
- Full NFL playoff schedule
- NFL divisional round picks, predictions
- Updated NFL playoff bracket
- Ranking eight teams remaining in 2026 NFL playoffs
- NFL divisional round picks against the spread
Josh Allen fumble vs. Broncos
The Bills wanted to be aggressive and try to add points at the end of the first half despite limited time on the clock, and Allen tried to give his team a spark by finding an open lane and running up the middle of the field.
The problem, however, is Allen needed to get out of bounds for the Bills to have any chance of running another play. Knowing the end of the half was near, Allen appeared to try to pitch the ball back to a teammate in hopes it would either be picked up to continue the play or at least recovered with no time left on the clock.
Instead, the Broncos recovered and were instantly in position to add a field goal before halftime.
Disaster at the end of the half for the #Bills. Pic.twitter.com/FmoBPUBxsy
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 17, 2026
Wil Lutz's 51-yard attempt was good, turning a 17-10 lead into a 20-10 lead just seconds after the Broncos pulled ahead on a touchdown.
MORE: Why Broncos passed on Josh Allen in 2018 draft
How did Josh Allen fumble impact game vs Broncos?
The Bills were intentional about wanting a chance at some points at the end of the first half, knowing the Broncos weren't going to just roll over in the second half. If they weren't content with a seven-point halftime deficit, a 10-point deficit is the last thing they wanted.
Allen's fumble allowed the Broncos to stretch their lead to two possessions just 22 seconds after breaking a 10-10 tie, and that could allow Bo Nix to play it safer in the second half without taking as many risks that could turn into Bills turnovers.
The Bills were fortunate to start the second half with the ball and a chance to trim the Broncos' lead to three, but Allen fumbled again after being hit by Nik Bonitto and Denver added three more points to its lead.
MORE: Revisiting Josh Allen's college career
How many turnovers does Josh Allen have this season?
Allen had 10 interceptions and seven fumbles in the regular season, but those numbers are flipped in his playoff career.
Entering Saturday, Allen had four interceptions to 12 fumbles in the playoffs. By the early minutes of the third quarter, he was up to 14 career playoff fumbles.
The Bills already put plenty of pressure on Allen in these playoffs with their lack of receiving weapons, but Allen added some additional pressure for himself with two critical turnovers.