NFL indicates a low-key decision that drops an unexpected dose of great luck for the Bills ahead of the divisional round
What do you think, Bills Mafia?
The Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos are gearing up for a divisional round showdown in the NFL playoffs. Buffalo is coming off a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback against the Jacksonville Jaguars, where quarterback Josh Allen put on his Superman cape and led the team to victory. He had three total touchdowns and no interceptions, truly an elite performance.
For Denver, it has the No. 1 seed in the AFC after taking care of business in the regular season, thanks to a stout defense and the rise of second-year quarterback Bo Nix. Plenty of fourth-quarter magic is present with this team, as it has come back multiple times this season in the closing moments.
Buffalo gets an unexpected boost for the divisional round against the Broncos
Leading up to the matchup, Buffalo got an unexpected boost of sorts in the officiating crew tied to the contest. Carl Cheffers and his crew have been selected as the lead officials for Saturday. He’s been in the league since 2000 and became a full-on referee by 2008. Josh Allen is 9-2 when Cheffers is officiating, with the last win coming against the Kansas City Chiefs in Orchard Park, New York.
He’s called the second-most penalties in the league thus far and counting. It’s 107 for home teams and 127 for away teams this season. On average, he’s calling around 15 penalties a game this season.
Early in his career, he threw far more flags favoring the home team, but in 2025, he’s come back down to around league average, with just over 56% of his calls favoring the home team. To put it into perspective, Brad Allen, who officiated the Jaguars game, sits at around a 53%.
At the end of the day, officiating trends don’t win playoff games; players do. If Buffalo wants to punch its ticket to the AFC Championship, it’ll come down to whether Allen can keep playing at an elite level and whether the Bills can finish drives and get stops late, regardless of who’s getting flags.
In January, excuses disappear, and on Saturday, only execution will matter.
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