ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Broncos came an ankle away from getting the ball back in a critical fourth-down spot Sunday against the Bills.
Instead of a turnover-on-downs and a chance to tie the game or take the lead, Denver found itself trailing by two scores.
That came when Josh Allen bought time, floated to his right and then threw a ball to the back line of the end zone. Running back Ty Johnson, working in man coverage against P.J. Locke, worked his way up the left side and then all the way across the back line of the end zone.
He slid to catch the ball, plucked it off the turf and was ruled on the field to have control of the ball in bounds.
Johnson’s ankle hit out of bounds almost as he controlled the ball, but the officiating crew did not see enough to overturn the call on review.
“When they reviewed it, I thought it was out,” Broncos All-Pro cornerback Pat Surtain II said. “But it was a great play, great catch at the end of the day. Not much could be said on that.”
Added cornerback Riley Moss: “From where I was at, it looked like (the ball) had moved and touched the ground.”
It came at a massive time in the game.
Buffalo led 13-7, so a stop would have given Denver the ball back with 3:06 remaining in the third quarter, trailing by six.
Instead, the touchdown and a two-point conversion put the Bills up 21-7 and firmly in control.
“I saw what you saw. It went to New York,” Payton said of the review. “I saw the same feed on the big screen. It was hard to tell.”
As Johnson worked across the back line of the end zone, Locke covered and covered but then throttled down just for a second.
“If I (didn’t) let up for a half second, the ball probably would’ve been deflected,” Locke said.
That was too much room for Allen, who held the ball more than 6.5 seconds before cutting it loose as Jonathon Cooper and Dondrea Tillman closed in on him.
“I feel like there’s plays out there to be made and we just ain’t make ’em at the end of the day,” Surtain said.
Badie returns: Broncos running back Tyler Badie had two carries for 8 yards in his first game since sustaining a back injury in Week 4 at the New York Jets.
Payton’s decision to play Badie, while rookie running backs Audric Estime and Blake Watson were inactive, came down to the former Missouri standout’s run style fitting his game plan.
“But you wouldn’t know it because I don’t know how many handoffs we even had in the game,” Payton said.
Denver finished with 79 yards on 17 carries. Broncos quarterback Bo Nix led the way with four carries for 43 yards. The Broncos’ running backs — Javonte Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin and Badie — combined for 35 yards on 11 attempts.
In early October, Badie was immobilized on the team’s sideline and carted to the locker room. The injury occurred late in the first quarter when Badie took a hit to the back from New York linebacker Quincy Williams, resulting in a fumble and a Jets recovery.
Williams’ helmet hit Badie directly in the lower side/back area. Badie was able to walk to the sideline but soon after went to the ground and eventually found himself flat on his back as training staff attended to him.
Following the game, Badie was placed on injured reserve and didn’t return to practice until Dec. 24. He was activated from injured reserve on Saturday.
Badie trended in the right direction before the injury. He inserted himself in the offensive game plan after he rushed for a team-high 70 yards on nine carries in a 26-7 win over the Buccaneers in Week 3. After Badie’s breakout performance, he signed from the practice squad to the 53-man roster.
Badie’s return continued Denver’s revolving door at running back.
For a good part of the regular season, the Broncos rotated between Williams, McLaughlin and Estime. Each flashed but never established themselves as the team’s top running back.
The Broncos have had five players lead the team in rushing this season. Nix led Denver in rushing yards in five regular-season games.
Elliss injures shoulder: Broncos outside linebacker Jonah Elliss sustained a shoulder injury in the loss to Buffalo. The rookie left in the first quarter after he took a hit to the right shoulder.
He was ruled out at halftime after being listed as questionable. The injury occurred to the same shoulder he had labrum surgery on, which forced him to miss the end of his final year at Utah.
Elliss had a productive first year with the Broncos. The third-round pick totaled five sacks and 24 pressures in 17 games. He was one of six Broncos with at least five sacks.
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