NFL Divisional Recap: Cincinnati Bengals vs. Buffalo Bills
In the rematch of the game that couldn’t get completed and was expected to be one of the more exciting NFL matchups this week, the Cincinnati Bengals came out on top and are now heading off to their second straight AFC Championship game after beating the Buffalo Bills 27-10.
In snowy Buffalo, the Buffalo Bills game today was off as they were only able to muster up 10 points in front of their home fans in Highmark Stadium. Quarterback Joe Burrow for the Bengals likely increased his NFL MVP odds after leading his team to victory by throwing for 242 passing yards and two touchdowns.
Read further for a more in-depth look at a Bengals vs. Bills recap from this past NFL Divisional Round weekend.
Bengals Dominating Start
Heading into this game, many were unsure of what NFL picks against the spread they were to take between these two teams. On their first drive of the game, the Cincinnati Bengals started rolling with a six-play, 79-yard drive that was capped off with a 28-yard passing play from Burrow to Ja’Marr Chase, in which Chase went in for a touchdown score. With the extra point from Evan McPherson, the Bengals were up 7-0 after less than five minutes.
The Bills followed that up with just six yards on their next drive which led to a punt back to the Bengals.
Now on their second drive of the game, the Bengals again scored following a 10-play, 72-yard drive that was capped off by a 15-yard catch by Hayden Hurst for a touchdown to put the Bengals up 14-0.
The Bills and Bengals each followed this touchdown up by exchanging punts before the end of the first quarter. This touchdown gave Joe Burrow a nice bump for his own NFL player stats and the Bengals’ NFL team stats.
Bills Pick Up a Little
The Bills eventually decided to make the game interesting by scoring a touchdown 7:25 into the second quarter with a one-yard rush from Quarterback Josh Allen which gave NFL point spreads bettors some life with it being just a one-score game now.
Right on the Cincinnati Bengals schedule, they answered the Bills’ score with a field goal to maintain their lead at 17-7. The ability to answer every Buffalo score will be the key factor of this win while going through the Bengals vs Bills recap.
With the Bengals’ offensive linemen all over the NFL injury report, they held up pretty well, giving Burrow one final hail-mary attempt in the final seconds before going into the end of the quarter and end of the first half.
Bengals Hold Off Bills
The Bills started off the second half with a scoring drive, but that score was only a field goal which cut the lead to 17-10, but that didn’t last much longer as the Bengals’ first drive of the second half was a touchdown from Joe Mixon following a 75-yard drive by the Bengals which now increased their lead to 24-10.
After punting the ball away, the Bills gave the Bengals the ball back, with the fourth quarter about to begin. This would mean go time for the Bills, but the Bengals ended that drive with a field goal to go up 27-10 with roughly 11 minutes to go in the game.
The Bills had the ball back, but after a 10-play, 59-yard drive, the Bills would turn the ball over on downs, giving the Bengals the opportunity to run off some clock time.
After killing off just under five minutes of time, the Bengals punted the ball to the Bills. Eight plays and 53 yards later, the Bills Quarterback, Josh Allen, threw an interception which would seal the deal for this game.
The Bengals kneeled the ball to cap off their 27-10 victory over the Bills.
Final Notes
To conclude the Bengals vs Bills recap, this rematch of a game that was cut short during the regular season on the NFL schedule did not play out as many NFL fans expected.
Joe Burrow and the Bengals outplayed the Bills in every aspect of the game. Buffalo was the favorite to win this one, with them having had one more win than Cincinnati, according to the NFL team standings.
Despite Damar Hamlin’s appearance in the stands, the Bills could not do enough to maintain the Bengals’ offense and get past their defense to score.
The Bengals head to the AFC Championship game for the second time in a row and will face off against the Kansas City Chiefs next Sunday, with the winner going to the Super Bowl.
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