ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos began preparations for their first home playoff game in a decade with a spirited practice Tuesday that included the return of inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who pulled his right hamstring in a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Dec. 21.
“It's good to have a healthy Dre Greenlaw back in the game,” coach Sean Payton said.
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Denver Broncos placekicker Wil Lutz warms up before an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Denver Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto (15) pressures 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)
Denver Broncos offensive tackle Garett Bolles smiles as he walks off the field after his team defeated the Los Angeles Chargers in an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Eric Lutzens)
Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) passes against the Los Angeles Chargers during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
To help the top-seeded Broncos (14-3) on Saturday when they host Josh Allen and the sixth-seeded Buffalo Bills (13-5) at Empower Field.
Payton said Allen does many things well. “When you see him, the first time I really met him was out at some golf course and you realize how big he is and physical he is. So, he's hard to bring down. ... He was the difference in that game that was close last weekend (in Jacksonville).
“He's one of the stars of our league and you see in year in and year out,” he said.
The Broncos lost 31-7 at Buffalo in the divisional round a year ago when the Bills rushed for 210 yards, including 120 by James Cook, this season's NFL rushing champ. That debacle led Denver to sign free agents Greenlaw and safety Talanoa Hufanga in the offseason.
“We were looking to improve our team, and man, we knew we were playing a real good team a year ago. So, there were a lot of things that we felt coming away from a game like that, hey, we're not there yet. But we need to improve,” Payton said. “Certainly, those are players that help us in that regard.”
Hufanga earned second-team All-Pro honors, but Greenlaw had a trying season as he dealt with a quadriceps injury to start the season and the pulled hamstring to end it as he missed Denver's final two regular-season games.
Payton said that he figured during the Broncos' 31-7 loss at Buffalo last year that “we need to figure out a way to get these games at home.”
They get that chance now that they earned the AFC's No. 1 overall seed and the conference's sole first-round bye.
“It was the same way I felt in that first year in ‘06 in New Orleans when we lost in Chicago in the championship game,” Payton said. “How do we get this game (at home). Now, there’s some myths relative to the playoffs. Home field's important relative to the crowd noise. But just look at the weekend we just had.”
Four of the six home teams lost on wild-card weekend with the Patriots and Bears the only teams that won at their stadium.
“So, I know our crowd will be fantastic,” Payton said. “We've got to be ready to play our best game.”
Broncos QB Bo Nix said he's glad he won't have to rely on silent counts in the rematch.
“I think it's a lot better. I think everybody would say they'd rather be at home in this situation,” Nix said. “You know, last year was a tough environment, tough road experience, good for a young person like me to go gain that experience first year. But it's obviously nice to be home.
"It's nice for that challenge to be on the other side and being able to use verbal cadence, being able to talk, being able to communicate is going to be better for us at home.”
Tight end Lucas Krull (foot) also returned to practice. Asked if S Brandon Jones (torn pectoral) had a chance of returning during the playoffs, Payton said, “I don't think so.”
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Denver Broncos placekicker Wil Lutz warms up before an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Denver Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto (15) pressures 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)
Denver Broncos offensive tackle Garett Bolles smiles as he walks off the field after his team defeated the Los Angeles Chargers in an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Eric Lutzens)
Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) passes against the Los Angeles Chargers during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal officers dropped tear gas and sprayed eye irritant at activists Tuesday during another day of confrontations in Minneapolis, while students miles away walked out of a suburban school to protest the Trump administration's bold immigration sweeps.
Meanwhile, the fallout from the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by an immigration agent reached the local U.S. Attorney's Office: At least five prosecutors have resigned amid controversy over how the U.S. Justice Department is handling the investigation, according to people familiar with the matter.
Separately, a Justice Department official said Wednesday there's no basis for a criminal civil rights investigation. An FBI probe of Renee Good's death is ongoing.
Strife between federal agents and the public continues to boil, six days since Good was shot in the head while driving off in her Honda Pilot. At one scene, gas clouds filled a Minneapolis street near where she died. A man scrubbed his eyes with snow and screamed for help after agents in a Jeep sprayed an orange irritant and drove off.
It’s common for people to boo, taunt and blow orange whistles when they spot heavily armed immigration agents passing through in unmarked vehicles or walking the streets, all part of a grassroots effort to warn the neighborhood and remind the government that they’re watching.
“Who doesn't have a whistle?” a man with a bag of them yelled.
Brita Anderson, who lives nearby and came to support neighborhood friends, said she was “incensed” to see agents in tactical gear and gas masks, and wondered about their purpose.
“It felt like the only reason they’d come here is to harass people,” Anderson said.
In Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, students protesting the immigration enforcement operation walked out of school, as students in other communities have done this week.
The departures in the U.S. Attorney's Office include First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson, who had been leading the sprawling prosecution of public fraud schemes in the state, according to people who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.
With the Department of Homeland Security pledging to send more than 2,000 immigration officers into Minnesota, the state, joined by Minneapolis and St. Paul, sued President Donald Trump’s administration Monday to halt or limit the surge.
The lawsuit says Homeland Security is violating the First Amendment and other constitutional protections by focusing on a progressive state that favors Democrats and welcomes immigrants.
“What we are seeing is thousands — plural — thousands of federal agents coming into our city. And, yeah, they’re having a tremendous impact on day-to-day life,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said.
A judge set a status conference for Wednesday.
Homeland Security says it has made more than 2,000 arrests in the state since early December and is vowing to not back down. Spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, responding to the lawsuit, accused Minnesota officials of ignoring public safety.
In a different lawsuit, a judge said she would rule by Thursday or Friday on a request to restrict the use of force, such as chemical irritants, on people who are observing and recording agents' activities. Government attorneys argued that officers must protect themselves.
The Trump administration has repeatedly defended the immigration agent who shot Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, saying he acted in self-defense. But that explanation has been widely panned by Frey, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and others based on videos of the confrontation.
State and local authorities are urging the public to share video and any other evidence as they seek to separately investigate Good's death after federal authorities insisted they would approach it alone and not share information.
In Wisconsin, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez is proposing that the state ban civil immigration enforcement around courthouses, hospitals, health clinics, schools, churches and other places. She is hoping to succeed Gov. Tony Evers, a fellow Democrat, who is not running for a third term.
“We can take a look at that, but I think banning things absolutely will ramp up the actions of our folks in Washington, D.C.,” Evers said, referring to the Trump administration. “They don’t tend to approach those things appropriately.”
Associated Press reporters Ed White in Detroit; Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis; and Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed.
Monica Travis shares an embrace while visiting a makeshift memorial for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A protester is detained by Federal agents near the scene where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis.(AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A protester grabs a tear gas grenade deployed by federal immigration officers near the scene where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A protester is sprayed with pepper spray by a Federal agent Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis.(AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Tear gas is deployed amid protesters near the scene where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis.(AP Photo/Adam Gray)
EDS NOTE: OBSCENITY - Tear gas is deployed amid protesters near the scene where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A protester is detained by Federal agents near the scene where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis.(AP Photo/Adam Gray)(AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A protester grabs a tear gas grenade deployed by federal immigration officers near the scene where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Fireworks are set off by protesters outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)
Federal immigration officers detain a demonstrator outside Bishop Whipple Federal Building after tear gas was deployed Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)
Federal immigration officers are seen outside Bishop Whipple Federal Building after tear gas was deployed Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)
Federal agents drive through smoke from tear gas dispersed during a protest, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 in Minneapolis (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A protester's face is doused in water after he was pepper sprayed outside of the Bishop Whipple Federal Building, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)
EDS NOTE: OBSCENITY - A man gestures as he walks toward a cloud of tear gas that was deployed by federal immigration officers Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Protesters try to avoid tear gas dispersed by federal agents, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 in Minneapolis (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Federal agents get ready to disperse tear gas into a crowd at a protest, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 in Minneapolis (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
