When Nik Bonitto and James Cook got together last year at the Pro Bowl Games in Orlando, Fla., they had some reminiscing to do. Bonitto, the Broncos outside linebacker who then made his first Pro Bowl appearance, and Cook, the Bills running back who then made his second appearance, have been frie nds since they were kids growing up in South Florida. “I’ve known James since a young age,’’ Bonitto said. “We played against each other and stuff just growing up. We were talking at the Pro Bowl about growing up with him and stuff like that and playing together. We just kind of already knew about each other all the time growing up.” On Saturday, Bonitto and Cook will face off again when the Broncos, the top seed in the AFC, face the No. 6 Bills in a divisional playoff game at Empower Field at Mile High. Buffalo Bills running back James Cook III (4) leaves the field after defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars in an NFL wild card playoff football game, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Bills defeated the Jaguars 27-24. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough) Bonitto, who recently made his second straight Pro Bowl, has developed into one of the NFL’s top defensive players. Cook, who recently made his third straight Pro Bowl and was named second-team All-Pro, has become one of the league’s top offensive players. “That’s pretty cool,’’ said Cook’s mother, Varondria White, who will attend Saturday’s game. “I like that.” Cook, born on Sept. 25, 1999, and Bonitto, born the next day, are now 26 and one day apart in age. Bonitto’s mom, Sandra Penn, who also will be at Saturday’s game, remembers the two “hanging around together” when they were very young. White said the two were about 13 when they faced each other in an all-star game in South Florida. Bonitto, who grew up in Pembroke Pines, Fla., was on a team that represented Broward County and Cook, from Miami Gardens, on a team from Dade County. “I was one of the best players in my league and he was one of the best players in his league and we played against each other,’’ Bonitto said of that game. “It was so long ago, but he probably broke off a couple of runs. I don’t know if I tackled him. Maybe I got the quarterback. He was fast, a juking-everybody type of guy.” Denver Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto (15) tackles Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Trey Lance (5) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) Bonitto marvels at both the speed and strength the 5-foot-11, 190-pound Cook now has. Cook, with his third straight 1,000-yard season, led the NFL in rushing in 2025 with 1,621 yards. “He’s really built his strength up and he can really do it all,’’ Bonitto said. “He’s a top-five back (in the NFL) in my eyes. He can do it all. He can cut. He can run guys over and he can give guys the stiff arm and catch out of the backfield. He’s a real dynamic player.” Bonitto has seen Cook give the Broncos fits in recent seasons. In Denver’s 24-22 upset at Buffalo in Week 10 in 2023 on Monday Night Football, Cook rushed 12 times for 109 yards. In Buffalo’s 31-7 home win over Denver in a wild-card playoff game last season, Cook carried 13 times for 120 yards and a touchdown. “He’s just always been a really good back, so he’s going to be a challenge for sure,’’ Bonitto said. Bonitto, though, figures to be quite a challenge for the Bills. He led the Broncos with a team-high 14 sacks and will be going after Buffalo star quarterback Josh Allen. Both Bonitto and Cook entered the NFL in 2022 as second-round picks. And while Cook was born one day ahead of Bonitto, he went one pick ahead of him in the draft. Cook was selected by Buffalo No. 63 overall out of Georgia before Bonitto went No. 64 out of Oklahoma to Denver. Both Bonitto and Cook have landed lucrative contract extensions. Bonitto signed a four-year, $106 million deal last September and Cook got a four-year, $48 million deal last August. “We were both going into our contract year and we were talking about stuff like that,’’ Bonitto said about his conversations with Cook at last year’s Pro Bowl. They also spoke plenty about their days growing up in South Florida. Ex-Bills receiver now helping Broncos Buffalo, devastated by injuries at wide receiver, sure could use Elijah Moore now. Instead, he’s feeding information to the Broncos. Moore signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the Bills on April 30 and got into nine games in 2025 before he was waived Nov. 26 when they signed wide receiver Brandin Cooks. Moore then signed with Denver’s practice squad on Dec. 2. So what’s he been doing this week after the Broncos learned they will face the Bills on Saturday? “I did all I can in meetings,’’ Moore said. “They asked me questions. Whatever they asked, I gave it to them.” Buffalo Bills wide receiver Elijah Moore (18) runs off of the field after an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns, Sunday, Dec. 21 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Kirk Irwin) Moore, in his fifth year, had seasons of 59 and 61 catches with Cleveland in 2023 and 2024. But with the Bills, he had just nine catches for 112 yards before being let go. At least Cooks is one of the few Buffalo receivers still standing. In their 27-24 win at Jacksonville last Sunday, the Bills lost both Gabe Davis and Tyrell Shavers with season-ending torn ACL injuries. The two then joined on injured reserve receiver Joshua Palmer, who was shelved for the season last week with an ankle injury. “They got a lot of guys banged up, but they don’t really throw it to the receivers anyway,’’ said Moore, no doubt frustrated with his lack of Buffalo targets. Moore noted that the Bills toss plenty of balls to tight ends and running backs. Of the team’s 344 completions in the regular season, 95 went to tight ends and 69 to running backs. Those statistics are easy for the Broncos to find. As far as more detailed information, no doubt Moore has provided it. What I’m hearing —When he was with the New York Jets from 2019-23, defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers faced the Bills seven times in AFC East battles before also going against them in the playoffs last year with Denver. “I feel good (about the matchup),’’ he said. “I’ve played the Bills a lot of times.’’ Franklin-Myers’ teams have gone just 2-6 in games against Buffalo, but he did have a sack of Allen in the 2023 opener, won 22-16 by the Jets in overtime. “The playoffs are a unique opportunity,’’ Franklin-Myers said of Saturday’s game. “You don’t know how many times you will get this opportunity and I’m grateful for it.” —For those Broncos players who got into their first playoff game last January at Buffalo, cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian considers that helpful. “In some ways, yes,’’ said McMillian, who then made his debut. “It’s like calming nerves down. There were a lot of first-time (Broncos) in the playoffs (last year), so this year you’re used to the speed. It’s a different speed out there (in the playoffs).” Denver Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian (29) reacts to a play during the first half of Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers in Inglewood, Calif. (The Associated Press) What I’m seeing —Broncos tackle Mike McGlinchey, in his eighth season, has seen plenty of change in his NFL career on how the league looks at sports gambling. It now brings in a lot of bucks for the league. “I don’t pay attention to that stuff,’’ McGlinchey said when asked about the Broncos initially being a 1.5-point underdog against the Bills. “Obviously, the gambling helps our bottom line, but it’s a little bit of a moral ambiguity there. But it’s just something that we don’t pay attention to. We got a job to do. And no matter what the point spread is, it’s our job to go out and execute.” The oddsmakers seemingly gained more confidence in Denver’s ability to execute when the line shifted later in the week to the Broncos being a 1.5 favorite. —The Bills have a 24-17-1 edge over the Broncos in the all-time series, but at least since midway through the 1967 season, it is deadlocked at 14-14. During the AFL years from 1960-69, the Bills were often dominant, winning two championships and going to another title game, while Denver was dismal. Buffalo got off to a 10-3-1 series start. Both teams joined the NFL in 1970. Since then, the Bills are 0-4 in Super Bowls while the Broncos are 3-5. ...read more read less