ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — To start, Marvin Mims Jr. was counted on mostly as a returner. Then, some receiver reps were thrown in. Now, he’s also spending time in the Denver Broncos' backfield.

Anything to get the ball into Mims' hands more, so he can show off those fast feet.

The speedy returner/receiver/runner has become a dynamic, multifaceted threat for the playoff-bound Broncos — a game-changer on special teams and as part of the Bo Nix-led offense.

“It puts a lot of stress on (the defense),” offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said of Mims’ versatility as the Broncos (10-7) prepare for their AFC wild-card round game Sunday at Buffalo (13-4). “He’s a talented player, and you have to get creative sometimes to get him the ball. It’s been working out well.”

The second-year player out of Oklahoma recently was named to the Pro Bowl squad as a return specialist for the second straight season. That's elite territory, with the only other player in Broncos history to be named to the Pro Bowl in each of his first two seasons being Von Miller, the talented pass rusher who’s now tormenting quarterbacks for the Bills.

“Any time I can be recognized in the same stat as him, it’s amazing,” Mims said.

The Broncos view Mims as their version of Cordarrelle Patterson, the longtime do-everything player now with the Pittsburgh Steelers. A facsimile, too, of San Francisco 49ers wideout Deebo Samuel.

“It’s been great to see the growth that you hope you see in a player in his second year,” coach Sean Payton said of Mims. “We saw it right away as a returner a year ago, and we saw spurts. So it always just takes me back to, ‘Are we doing things? Can we find a role?’”

They've been patient not to heap too much on Mims too fast. Although, he's ready for any wrinkle in the playbook.

“Honestly, it’s just memorization for the most part,” Mims said. “It’s really just being a playmaker and making plays (in) a certain situation. It’s never just picture perfect. At the end of the day, you just have to take what’s there.”

As a receiver this season, Mims has 39 catches for 503 yards and six touchdowns. That includes two each in the last two games of the season, one of them a spectacular grab between two defenders on fourth down that sent Denver's game at Cincinnati into overtime two weeks ago.

In the backfield, he’s carried the ball 13 times for 42 yards.

But his real specialty remains punt returns, where he had a league-leading 15.7-yard average, marking the first time a Broncos player has led the NFL in that category since Rick Upchurch averaged 16.1 yards in 1982.

“I love being a punt returner. I feel like there are so many plays to be made at punt return,” said Mims, who's also returned seven kicks for a 27.7-yard average. “That’s probably my favorite thing that I get to do.”

He nearly broke a punt return this season against Indianapolis, cutting across the field and sprinting along the sideline for 61 yards in the fourth quarter of a game the Broncos trailed. It set up a go-ahead touchdown in a must-win game that propelled Denver toward its first playoff berth in nine seasons.

“He’s been such an asset for us,” special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica said. “The punt return element, he’s been exceptional again this year.”

Mims knows the uplifting power that a punt return has on the team because receiver Courtland Sutton reminds him all the time.

“Even if it’s 10 yards, it’s such a big momentum change for us,” Sutton said. “Just to see him running with the ball — he’s an exciting guy with the ball in his hands — and watching him go down the sidelines a couple times, it’s exciting because at any moment you know that he could take it to the crib.”

Mims' big receiving games this season include not only an eight-catch, two-touchdown performance at Cincinnati, but a 93-yard TD reception from Nix in a win over Cleveland.

“It was one of those awesome plays that you don’t get often,” Nix said. “But they’re pretty fun.”

A bigger stage now awaits at Buffalo.

“I like where we’re at right now,” Mims said. “Buffalo has had a great year and, deservingly so, has the second seed. Going up to play them is going to be a tough challenge — a really good football team — but I’m real confident in this group.”

Bills' Von Miller won't let his affection for the Broncos get in the way of his playoff objective

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Von Miller is as competitive as he can be sentimental, which is why the Buffalo Bills edge rusher won’t utter a negative word about the Denver Broncos.

The memories are too fond, and the 10-plus seasons he spent in Colorado too meaningful. Denver is where the three-time All-Pro established himself as one of his generation’s top pass-rushers, earned Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2011 and won his first of two Super Bowl rings nine years ago.

And it makes no difference to Miller that the Broncos — a team much different from the one he left via trade to win a second Super Bowl with the Rams in the 2021 season — are standing in the way of what could well be the 35-year-old’s best, last chance to win a third title.

“It’s all love. I can’t even start to play that delusion of hatred,” Miller said Wednesday, with Buffalo (13-4) preparing to host Denver (10-7) in a wild-card playoff game on Sunday.

Don’t confuse Miller’s nostalgia for weakness. He'll be amped up once the ball is snapped.

“Those small three- to four-second bursts, when I’m playing the game, that 60 minutes when I’m out there, I want to win. I want to beat the Denver Broncos,” he said. “I’ve got to go through these guys to get to where I want to go.”

The past meets the present and potentially the future in a matchup between teams that reached the playoffs by taking altogether different paths.

Led by NFL MVP candidate Josh Allen, Buffalo overcame the challenges of a major offseason roster purge to run away from the division to clinch a fifth consecutive AFC East title on Dec. 1. The Bills are making their sixth consecutive postseason appearance and are eager to change the narrative of being second fiddle to Kansas City in the playoffs after being eliminated by the Chiefs in three of the past four years.

The Broncos overcame lowered expectations, and a major hole in their salary cap by releasing quarterback Russell Wilson, to clinch the AFC’s seventh and final playoff spot — and their first since winning it all in 2015 — on the last day of the season. The promise in Denver is the fast-tracked development of rookie Bo Nix solidifying an unsettled quarterback position and an attacking defense that led the NFL with 63 sacks.

The fascination is how much further Denver can go with nothing to lose and well ahead of schedule in its second season under coach Sean Payton.

“It sounds cheesy, but most people, they literally didn’t expect us to be here, so we might as well continue to not worry about those things,” said Nix, who didn’t complete his first touchdown pass until Week 4 but still finished with 29, two shy of the NFL rookie record.

“Those guys have done a lot of winning in the past,” Nix said, referring to the established quarterbacks in the playoff field, “so I’ve got some catching up to do.”

In Buffalo, there’s belief this might be the Bills’ chance to finally make a statement.

Despite several new additions, the Bills have enough veterans to feed off past playoff collapses. And even though their defense has dealt with inconsistencies, the Bills have a do-it-all quarterback in Allen and a more balanced offense featuring the added threat of a James Cook-led running attack.

And there’s optimism that the Bills enter the playoffs on an upward trajectory as opposed to past seasons. Two years ago, the Bills' psyche was irreparably altered following safety Damar Hamlin’s near-death experience two weeks before the postseason. Last year, Buffalo's offensive identity was in flux with a midseason change at coordinator and receiver Stefon Diggs questioning his diminished role.

“This year, we’re kind of just playing ball and we ... haven’t played our best game,” cornerback Rasul Douglas said. “We just got to put it together and find a way to all be on the same page at the same time and peak.”

Miller time

Miller feels fresh after playing 25% of Buffalo’s defensive snaps, being used mostly in passing situations this season. He also missed four games while serving an NFL suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

“I’m fresh and I’m ready to go,” said Miller, who finished tied for second on the team with six sacks after failing to get one last season.

In the trenches

The contest pits a Broncos defense that set a single-season record for sacks against a Bills offensive front that allowed only 14, the NFL’s fewest since 2009. Allen’s mobility also contributed to the success.

“I think it’s one thing to get him down, but then the other thing is how many times do we see him come off the initial tackler,” Payton said. “How do you bring him down? Who can bring him down?”

Brady, please don’t go

With offensive coordinator Joe Brady attracting consideration for head-coaching vacancies, Allen flashed a wink when asked what he has meant to the team this season.

“Nothing. He hasn’t done anything for us. Teams should stay away from him,” Allen said, breaking into a smile when referring to Brady, who is completing his first full season in the role. “No. He’s been fantastic.”

Rockies finalize 1-year deal with infielder Thairo Estrada

DENVER (AP) — Thairo Estrada and the Colorado Rockies finalized a one-year contract Thursday, a deal that includes a mutual option for 2026.

Primarily a second baseman during the last three seasons, the 28-year-old hit .217 with nine homers and 47 RBIs last year with the San Francisco Giants.

He was assigned outright to Triple-A Sacramento on Aug. 30 and on Oct. 1 elected to become a free agent, his right as a player with at least three years of major league service.

Estrada has a .251 average with 48 homers, 195 RBIs and 52 stolen bases in 469 games over parts of six seasons with the New York Yankees (2019-20) and the Giants (2021-24).

He also has played shortstop, third base and all three outfield spots.

In November, Colorado agreed on a guaranteed $3.25 million, one-year deal with Kyle Farmer in the wake of the organization's decision to not offer a contract to Brendan Rodgers. The decision made the former first-round pick a free agent, and he remains on the market.

Wild list of key injured players piles up with defensemen Brodin and Faber out vs. Avalanche

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Wild have added defensemen Jonas Brodin and Brock Faber to their list of key injured players, leaving them out of the lineup for their game against Colorado on Thursday night.

Brodin's status is day to day. He has a lower-body injury from blocking a shot late in the 6-4 win over St. Louis on Tuesday night. Wild coach John Hynes had no update after the team's morning skate on Thursday on the timetable for the return of Faber, who has an upper-body injury from an elbow he took from Blues forward Jake Neighbours at the end of his first shift.

The Wild already were missing captain Jared Spurgeon (lower body), who is expected to be out for another week or two after taking a slew foot from Nashville forward Zachary L’Heureux in their game on Dec. 31. That leaves Minnesota without three of its top four defensemen. Jake Middleton just returned from a 10-game absence because of an upper-body injury.

The Wild also have been without star left wing Kirill Kaprizov (lower body), who missed his seventh straight game on Thursday. Kaprizov, who is tied for fourth in the NHL with 23 goals and ninth in the league with 50 points, has skated on the last two days and could return soon.