On a Broncos defense full of stars, Ja’Quan McMillian cuts an unlikely figure.
He went undrafted out of East Carolina in 2022.
He stands maybe 5-foot-9.
He plays in the slot, often sandwiched between franchise cornerstones Pat Surtain II and Nik Bonitto.
He is the unheralded glue to Denver’s defense.
Or, at least he was.
Ja’Quan McMillian is unheralded no more.
The Denver defensive back made the biggest play of this team’s season so far, the biggest play of his career to date and one of the biggest plays in franchise history Saturday, turning a potential game-winning deep ball from Buffalo’s Josh Allen to receiver Brandin Cooks into an interception by snatching the ball away while somersaulting to the ground.
If Cooks catches the ball, Buffalo sets up a game-winning overtime field goal attempt from close range.
Instead, the Broncos found themselves alive and well.
Moments later, after quarterback Bo Nix led a 75-yard drive, aided by three Buffalo penalties and punctuated by a stunning, disastrous broken bone in the quarterback’s right ankle, Wil Lutz buried a walk-off, 24-yard field goal for a 33-30 overtime victory.
The Broncos will host the AFC Championship game at 1 p.m. next Sunday and play for a trip to the Super Bowl. They will do so with playmakers like McMillian and so many others on the field, but without their quarterback, Nix, whose season is over, according to head coach Sean Payton.
The euphoria of the celebration among the 76,008 in the building will not soon be forgotten in this city. Nor will the stomach-churning punch delivered with the news, delivered by Payton almost exactly one hour after Lutz’s field goal sailed through the uprights and put the Broncos on the Super Bowl’s doorstep.
Backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham will try to lead the Broncos past either New England or Houston at Empower Field and to a date with the NFC champion next weekend. But the challenge, more than ever, will be on defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s unit to shoulder a heavy load.
That group did just that Saturday against Allen, one of the game’s great players and great late-game magicians, and did it in a style that Payton had been begging for for weeks.
They took the ball away.
Not once. Not twice. Not four times. They forced the Bills into five turnovers, but none bigger than the last.
The play started with Allen sniffing out Denver’s third-down blitz.
Ja'quan McMillian (29) of the Denver Broncos celebrates with fans after intercepting a pass thrown to Brandin Cooks (18) of the Buffalo Bills by Josh Allen (17) during overtime of the Broncos’ 33-30 win at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)“We were in Zero coverage and (Allen) checked to a 20-look, which is max protection,” safety P.J. Locke said. “I came in on a blitz through the A-gap and the running back was there, the tight end was there. I was trying to fight them off and I just see Josh Allen back there patting his feet. Third down, we weren’t good on third down all day today. I see him launch the ball and my stomach, it was like someone was grabbing it.”
Cooks was running with a step on McMillian. He hauled in the pass and lurched to the ground. The officials ruled he didn’t have full control and McMillian plucked it away from him as they tumbled.
“You’ll go 5-10 years without seeing a turnover like that,” Payton marveled. “It was a tremendous play.”
It was life-or-death for a remarkable Broncos season, too.
If Cooks completes the catch — or the officials ruled that he had control when he hit the ground and McMillian touched him down by contact — the Bills are likely playing next weekend.
McMillian, though, has made a habit of making these plays when the Broncos need them most.
“Best in the world,” inside linebacker Alex Singleton said. “Someone should pay that dude $16 million a year and it still won’t be enough. He’s the best nickel in the world. He’s one of the best players in the world.”
Players who began their careers undrafted forced three of Denver’s five takeaways Saturday. Singleton rocked Bills star running back James Cook and jarred the ball free early to start the binge. Locke intercepted Allen in the fourth quarter for Denver’s fourth takeaway of the game.
That play, perhaps not surprisingly, was set up by another big moment from McMillian. One snap earlier, McMillian blew up a screen to the flat for a loss. That put Buffalo in second-and-long, an obvious passing situation.
“When they get in those second-and-long situations … basically they’d try to get somebody up the seam on the opposite side,” Locke explained.
The other two forced fumbles came from Bonitto in a three-play span around halftime. Denver turned a tie game into a 20-10 lead in the final 22 seconds of the first half on a Nix touchdown pass to Lil’Jordan Humprhey and then a field goal after Bonitto tracked down Allen and knocked the ball away.
Despite all of the drama, twists and turns down the stretch, Payton credited that sequence for the Broncos ultimately prevailing.
Bonitto forced another fumble to open the third quarter, though the Denver offense settled for a field goal despite starting at the Bills’ 17-yard line.
That left the door cracked open for Allen, who did what he’s done so many times and led a trio of scoring drives to put Buffalo ahead, 27-23, with 4:14 remaining in regulation.
The action was only just heating up.
Nix swung back with a beauty of a touchdown drive capped by a 26-yard touchdown pass to receiver Marvin Mims Jr to give Denver the lead back with 55 seconds left.
Marvin Mims Jr. (19) of the Denver Broncos scores a touchdown during the fourth quarter of the Broncos’ 33-30 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)Allen raced Buffalo into field goal range in that time and former Denver kicker Matt Prater knotted the game at 30 in the closing seconds.
Then the teams traded blows in overtime until it looked like Allen and Cooks had landed the knockout.
Instead, McMillian stole the ball, the show and the game.
“He’s a stud,” defensive tackle Zach Allen said. “Big-time players make big-time plays. He’s easily the best nickel in football. It’s a shame he didn’t get All-Pro this year, but people are definitely going to know him for next year.
“He’s the eraser.”
The Broncos will play without Nix the rest of the way. They’ll feel like they’ve got a puncher’s chance because of players like their diminutive nickel.
“He’s an unsung hero,” Singleton said. “He’s an undrafted guy. He’s not going to get the hype he deserves before the season. He makes a play when you need it. He makes a play when you need it. He’s one of the best players on the field and it’s not even close.
“I’m just glad he’s on our team.”
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