ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — With his long, curly Polynesian hair, pregame roar and forward-attacking style of play, Talanoa Hufanga is NFL More attractive players.

He doesn’t wait for the play to come to him. The Denver Broncos’ second-team All-Pro safety is a lot of fun to watch.

“I try to follow my instincts and do the best I can. My dad played rugby from an early age,” Hufanga said in an interview with 9NEWS on Broncos Huddle (6.30pm Friday) this week. As a rugby player, you have to be aggressive. There are times when I have to sit in the chair, but my dad raised me to be able to go out and be a hitter. I was a quarterback, so there’s no shade for a quarterback, but my mom told me to play it safe. Because my mother told me to hit rather than be hit. ”

It may be hard to believe, but at that time, The Broncos will play the Bills on Saturday. The fifth-year safety will play against Buffalo for the first time this afternoon in an AFC divisional round playoff game at Empower Field at Mile High.

His offensive style of play is a must-see against Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen.

One of the league’s most likable stars, the 6-foot-5, 237-pound Allen, who played collegiately at Wyoming, is much larger than Hufanga, who packs a punch with his 6-foot-0, 200-pound frame. Again, Allen is bigger than most defenders trying to tackle him.

“Protecting him? I mean being smart,” Hufanga said. “Understanding your task. Working on the details. Going out there and executing plays when they come. … What he imposes with his size is unbelievable. You don’t see a lot of quarterbacks with that size and speed that break tackles and get 55-yard touchdowns. That’s what he does. We have to make sure we limit those plays.”

Allen and Bills running back James Cook dominated Denver’s defense in the first round of the wild-card playoffs against the Broncos in Buffalo last year, rushing for 210 yards in a 31-7 victory. (Allen also threw for 272 yards and two touchdowns). The Broncos added Hufanga, who finished second on the team behind inside linebacker Alex Singleton with 106 tackles, and another linebacker, Dre Greenlaw, as free agents from San Francisco in the offseason. This season, the Broncos’ defense has stepped up, won a lot of games, and will play the Bills in front of their fans at Empower Field.

Although Houfanga appears to be playing recklessly, it’s actually a controlled aggression that fits the system employed by Denver defensive coordinator Vance Joseph.

“His aggressive play calling helps my aggressive style of play,” Hufanga said.

Last year’s playoff loss to Buffalo made Broncos coach Sean Payton and general manager George Payton acutely aware of the need for a box safety like Hufanga and a physical linebacker like Dre Greenlaw to prevent a rush steamroll like this from happening again. Don’t get me wrong, Hoofanga is first and foremost a safety who is considered an enforcer.

“There’s no question about it. They brought me here to be who I am,” Hufanga said. Go out there and be the catalyst that we need to end this game. ”

That’s not to say his teammates aren’t already fired up, but Hufanga’s rugby-like screeching battle cry will help boost energy during pregame stretches. His teammates will also tune in to his noise.

“That’s what I’ve always done, to give the players something of themselves,” he said. So, for me, how can I get my players healthy and ready to participate? In Polynesian culture, it’s like a battle cry: get ready to go to battle! So, for me, we’re not going to avoid anything.

“So when they hear that that’s gone, my teammates… It’s kind of funny to bring my guys into our culture, and they’re buying into it. It’s really fun. So when we do that before the game, it lets the other team know we’re not hiding, we’re not ambushing anybody. We’re ready to step up to bat.”

A week of anticipation reached a nerve-wracking climax. With Houfanga as the anchor, Denver’s defense finished second in the league this year behind Houston. The Bills will counter with Allen, the most unstoppable offensive player in the league.

“That’s what people want,” Hufanga said. They hope it will be a close game. It’s my first time playing for the Bills, so it’s a great matchup for me personally. Just go out and fight. ”