ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Even great defenses aren’t bulletproof, a realization the Buffalo Bills are embracing this week.

The Bills know Peyton Manning and the high-powered Denver Broncos are going to score points. It’s inevitable. The Broncos score on everybody.

The real concern for the Bills? Whether Kyle Orton and crew can put up enough points to outscore the Broncos.

“That’s what this league is about, putting up points, and we’re going against an offense that can do that,” said running back Fred Jackson. “It’s definitely on us to go out there and get the job done. Our defense is playing great, but we’ve got to take some pressure off them and put some points up as well.”

It might take 30 points, and the Bills have surpassed that figure only twice this season — each time against the New York Jets.

That won’t be easy because as dynamic as the Denver offense has been – fifth in the NFL in points and yards, second in passing yards – the defense has been nearly as good. The Broncos lead the league in fewest yards allowed per play, are No. 2 against the run, and No. 3 in total yards allowed.

“They’re excellent defensively,” said center Eric Wood. “They have a great front four and their secondary makes a lot of plays. They’re fairly similar to our approach (on defense); when you’ve got big-time pass rushers you don’t have to blitz, they let those guys off the edge go after the quarterback and their interior guys are good and they get some push inside.”

The Bills have struggled on offense all season.

Buffalo ranks 24th in total yards, 24th in rushing yards, 21st in passing yards, 16th in scoring, 30th in first downs, and 26th in third-down conversions. Orton has been hot and cold, the three-headed running game featuring Jackson, Anthony Dixon, and Bryce Brown has been inconsistent, and stud rookie wide receiver Sammy Watkins has hit a wall with just 13 catches for 105 yards and no touchdowns in his last four games.

“I’ve got to make plays,” Watkins admitted. “The defenses have been playing pretty good, I’ve been going against great guys, veteran cornerbacks who’ve been doing their jobs. You’ve got to finish the drives and score, and we’re going to have to score more than 21 points. Peyton’s going to score the ball, he’s going to move the ball down the field, and our defense has to get to him and hopefully we’ll be fine.”

It seems the only way the Bills can stay in this game is to control the ball and minimize the damage Manning can do. He has already thrown for 3,737 yards with 36 touchdowns and 9 interceptions for a passer rating of 107.7 that is second only to Aaron Rodgers. His top two receivers, Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, have combined for more than 2,400 yards and 17 touchdowns.

“If we can keep Peyton on the sideline, that works to our advantage,” said Jackson. “We’ve shown that we can sustain 80- and 90-yard drives and we need to do that this weekend; keep them sitting on the bench and give ourselves an opportunity to win a game. It’s easy to sit here and say it, but it’s on us to go out and do it. It’s going to be a good test, but it’s one we have to be ready for.”

SERIES HISTORY: 36th regular-season meeting. Bills lead series 19-15-1. The last time these teams met was in 2011 in Buffalo, and current Bills QB Kyle Orton was the backup to Tim Tebow, who had taken over as Denver’s starting QB earlier that year. The Bills won in a blowout, 40-14. In the last game at Denver, Trent Edwards quarterbacked the Bills to a 30-23 victory in 2008.