ORCHARD PARK, N.Y — The Buffalo Bills won’t be dealing with the likes of Michael Vick, Geno Smith, Brian Hoyer, or Johnny Manziel — the four quarterbacks who they have throttled in the last two weeks — this Sunday. They will be confronted with Peyton Manning in a Denver Broncos uniform, staring from across the line, which is making a case to be one of the best in the NFL this year.

Buffalo has allowed just one touchdown in the back-to-back victories over New York and Cleveland, and that on a fourth-quarter quarterback scramble by Cleveland’s Manziel after the Bills opened a 20-3 lead. The Jets and Browns were a combined 5-for-27 on third down, totaled 533 yards, and were 1-for-4 in the red zone. The Bills continue to lead the league in third-down defense, and they have risen to No. 2 in the NFL in points allowed, 18.1 per game, second only to Detroit (17.3).

But now it gets serious. Over the final month of the season they will be facing three sure-fire first-ballot Hall of Famers in Manning, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, and New England’s Tom Brady, with a road game at Oakland and rookie Derek Carr mixed in. At 7-5, the Bills are going to somehow need to find a way to win, at minimum, two of those games, and will mostly likely need three wins to get to the postseason. First up, they must deal with Denver on the road.

“Well, if it’s daunting and you’re worried or you’re scared about it, I don’t want to play with you,” defensive tackle Kyle Williams said when asked about the matchup with Manning, who has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 51 consecutive games.

“It’s a challenge. Obviously, they’re great players. We feel like we’re pretty good players, too, so we have to prepare, we have to be on top of our business and go out there and try to win one football game. You can’t lose sight of the forest for the trees, you can’t look at everybody. You can only focus on what you have in front of you, and we have a good test in front of us.”

The Bills’ pass rush has been outstanding with a league-best 48 sacks. Denver’s offensive line has come under fire this season, but it usually holds up in pass protection because Manning delivers the ball so quickly. Thus, the Bills are going to need to cover Denver’s stable of receivers, tight ends, and backs, and that will be the greatest challenge.

“Absolutely, it’s going to be a huge test for this team and we’re going to see how we come out, especially on the road being in Denver next week,” said safety Aaron Williams. “We’re going to be put to the test. But as long as we do what we did (Sunday) and have good communication, be physical, I feel that it’s going to be a good game.”

Not unless the offense can do its part. No matter how well the defense plays, Buffalo’s offense is still going to need to score against Manning. Denver is fifth in the NFL in scoring, and No. 2 in passing yards. The Broncos will put up points, and Bills quarterback Kyle Orton has to have answers. If you take the blowout over the Jets out of the equation, the Bills scored a total of two offensive touchdowns in losses to Kansas City and Miami, and the win over the Browns in November.

“We’ve got to do a better job, starting with me on down to the coaches and players,” said coach Doug Marrone. “We can’t afford to do that. We’ve got a lot of work to do. Even though it’s late in the season, we’re going to continue to work on it and get better. Let’s not fool ourselves here. We’ve got to finish. It’s the same thing. It’s the red zone. We’ve got to finish these drives.”

REPORT CARD VS. BROWNS

–PASSING OFFENSE: C-minus — Kyle Orton got off to a terrible start, throwing for just 80 yards in a scoreless first half. It didn’t get much better in the second half, but the Bills scored 19 offensive points and Orton finished with 190 yards passing. He threw a pick in the end zone to kill one drive in the first half, and the only truly clutch play he made came in the third quarter when he fired a 34-yard strike to Robert Woods that set up the Bills’ first TD. Two short dumps to new TE Marqueis Gray totaled 71 of Orton’s 190 yards. Sammy Watkins was invisible again, limited to three catches for 11 yards.

–RUSHING OFFENSE: C-plus — Fred Jackson had season highs for carries (21) and yards (70), but the season-long trend of failing to establish a strong running game prevailed. The Bills finished with just 106 yards on 30 attempts, and that was part of the reason for their woeful 2 of 15 meltdown on third downs. No Bills RB has surpassed 100 yards individually this season. The longest run against the Browns was eight yards.

–PASS DEFENSE: A-minus — The front four managed just one sack, but it was a big one by DT Kyle Williams in the third quarter that pushed the Browns out of field-goal range. LB Nigel Bradham had the other sack as the rush was neutralized by Brian Hoyer’s quick release and Johnny Manziel’s elusiveness. Da’Norris Searcy had a big game with two picks, and Browns WR Josh Gordon was, for the most part, contained by the secondary as he had seven catches for 75 yards.

–RUSH DEFENSE: B — DE Jerry Hughes, known for his fierce pass rushing ability, made the play of the game on a running play. He caught Terrance West from behind on a sweep, forced a fumble while tackling him, then picked up the ball and ran 18 yards for a game-changing TD. Bradham had a big game as he led the Bills with 12 tackles, and LB Preston Brown chipped in with 11 as the Bills held Cleveland to 74 yards on 26 attempts.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A — Kickoff specialist Jordan Gay had five touchbacks to keep the Browns at bay as the average drive start after a kickoff was the 19. Punter Colton Schmidt netted 42 yards per punt, and had three downed inside the 20. Marcus Thigpen made his Bills debut as a punt returner and averaged a solid 11.8 on four attempts. Dan Carpenter kicked four fourth-quarter field goals to put the game away.

–COACHING: B — Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz got the better of his predecessor, Mike Pettine. The Bills held the Browns to 315 yards and one TD, and Schwartz’s defense also scored once, and should have had a second TD if not for a bad replay reversal on a fumble by Johnny Manziel. Offensively, it was a struggle all day, which is nothing new. Nathaniel Hackett could get nothing going in the first half, and while the Bills scored 19 points on offense in the second half, there wasn’t much consistency.