Final Score:Denver 24 – Buffalo 17

Location:  Denver, CO  – Sports Authority Field at Mile High

W-L records: Buffalo (7-6); Denver (10-3)

In a Nutshell:

Facing the defending AFC champions the Bills hung in the game early, but turnovers by Buffalo's offense and ill-advised penalties by the defense led to extra opportunities for the Broncos. More often than not Denver capitalized in a 24-17 victory over Buffalo.

The Bills closed an early 7-0 lead to four points on a 44-yard field goal by Dan Carpenter (7-3), as Buffalo's offense was moving the ball. Finishing drives with points after that however, proved problematic. After the field goal drive the Bills went two full quarters without scoring on their next five possessions.

Taking care of the football was a problem in the third quarter for the Bills as Kyle Orton threw a pair of interceptions. The most costly came inside the Broncos' five-yard line on a pass intended for Robert Woods that was snared by Chris Harris Jr.

Meanwhile Denver's offense was efficient in the red zone where they were 3-for-3 for the game with RB C.J. Anderson accounting for all three Broncos touchdowns on the ground.

Buffalo's defense only surrendered three points off turnovers, but the Broncos were in control of the game at the time (24-3) with the Bills attack struggling to finish drives.   

The offense did stage a pair of late scoring drives with Chris Hogan scoring the Bills' first touchdown on a 14-yard pass from Kyle Orton with 10 minutes remaining. Kyle Orton scored on a one-yard sneak with under a minute remaining in the game as Buffalo fell to 7-6 on the season.

How it went down:
--The Broncos got on the board first as C.J. Anderson capped a five-play 61-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown run (7-0) late in the first quarter.

--Buffalo's offense would answer with a 12-play field goal drive. Dan Carpenter hit from 44 yards away to make it 7-3 Denver early in the second quarter.

--Two defensive penalties cost the Bills. Stephon Gilmore was called for pass interference and Jerry Hughes was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct and it turned a 3rd-and-8 for Denver into a 1st-and-10 at the Buffalo 19-yard line. Four plays later C.J. Anderson scored from a yard out to push the Denver lead to 14-3 with three minutes left in the half.

--Denver made quick work of their opening second half possession thanks in large part to a 47-yard run by Juwan Thompson to the Bills' 24. Two plays later Anderson scored from three yards out for his third touchdown of the game (21-3).

--The Broncos would tack on a 50-yard field goal, which came off the interception of Kyle Orton inside the Denver five-yard line for a 24-3 early in the fourth quarter.

--Buffalo scored their first touchdown on a 14-yard catch and run by Chris Hogan with 10:46 left the play. Dan Carpenter's extra point closed the gap to 14 points (24-10).

--Kyle Orton got into the end zone on a one-yard sneak with 55 second left to finish a 17-play 90-yard drive.

Stat lines
--Kyle Orton was 38-57 passing for 355 yards, one touchdown passing and one touchdown rushing. He also had a pair of interceptions good for a passer rating of 74.8. He was sacked four times.

--Buffalo's defense went without a sack for the first time this season.

--Sammy Watkins had his first 100-yard receiving day since Week 8 against the Jets. He had seven catches for 127 yards in the game. He also set the team record for most receptions in a season by a Bills rookie with 53. (Joe Cribbs 52 – 1980).

--Chris Hogan scored his fourth touchdown of the season making him second only to Watkins in total touchdowns scored this season.

--Denver enjoyed a field position advantage on offense with just two of their 10 possessions beginning inside their own 25-yard line. The Broncos also had a pair of drive starts in Buffalo territory. The Bills meanwhile had just two of their 11 drive starts begin beyond their own 20-yard line.

Subplots:
--Corey Graham had a pair of takeaways in the first half. He posted his first interception since a Week 1 INT against Chicago and also had a fumble recovery in Buffalo's red zone to negate a Denver scoring drive.

--The Bills committed their fifth red zone giveaway of the season when Kyle Orton's pass intended for Robert Woods was intercepted by Chris Harris Jr. late in the third quarter. Buffalo was trailing 21-3 at the time.

--With his 72 total yards Sunday, Fred Jackson became the fifth player in Bills team history to produce 8,000 total yards from scrimmage joining Eric Moulds, Andre Reed, O.J. Simpson and Thurman Thomas).

--Da'Norris Searcy left the game with a hamstring injury in the first half and did not return.

Inactives:
WR Mike Williams, S Baccari Rambo, FB Frank Summers, LB Randell Johnson, OT Cyrus Kouandjio, TE Chris Gragg, DE Jarius Wynn.

Up Next:
The Bills will host the Green Bay Packers in their final regular season home game on Sunday Dec. 14 at 1 p.m.