The Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Buffalo Bills 24:18 in Week 9 of the NFL and are now clearly on course for the playoffs. The best man was quarterback Joe Burrow, who put in a flawless performance.
Bills @ Bengals: At a glance
- The Bengals have won their fourth game in a row and are clearly back on track for the playoffs in the AFC East. The Bills, in turn, remain one game behind the Dolphins in the AFC East due to the loss.
- Joe Burrow is healthy again and as mobile as ever. Thanks to his strong pocket movement and his calmness, he avoided mistakes despite some pressure and played calmly, as is usual from him.
- The Bills were ultimately close, but had turnovers at an inopportune time.
Bills @ Bengals: The game report
Joe Burrow opened the game 6/6 with a touchdown pass to tight end Irv Smith Jr. on the first drive of the game, which lasted almost six minutes. The Bills hit back in a similarly impressive manner, needing just under three minutes to respond – a two-yard touchdown run by Josh Allen to tie the game. Cincy then made another long drive. Seconds before the end of the first quarter, it was finally Joe Mixon who completed the next touchdown from two yards.
As a result, the teams’ defensive ranks also gained a foothold in this game and initially stopped the scoring. In the second quarter, cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt grabbed an interception from Allen in the visitors’ half. However, they didn’t make anything of it because after several penalties after 3rd & inches they were suddenly no longer within field goal range and punted.
After the two-minute warning, however, the Bengals still had a good drive left in the tank. Burrow led his team to the red zone and then found fellow tight end Drew Sample for a 22-yard score to make the lead 21-7 at halftime.
Buffalo then broke well after the break, but had to settle for a 34-yard field goal in the red zone. Towards the end of the third quarter, the guests smelled the morning air, because they stopped Cincinnati on a fourth attempt and took over at their own 35. Then it went to just before the red zone, where tight end Dalton Kincaid lost a fumble on a rollover that the The home team conquered their own 11 and thus destroyed another scoring chance.
The Bengals then marched into the red zone, but also settled for a field goal from 20 yards, which kept the lead at two scores (24:10) with just over eight minutes to play in the final quarter. However, the visitors struck back with 3:32 left when Allen found Stefon Diggs for a 17-yard touchdown and subsequent two-point conversion.
As a result, however, the Bengals put the lid on it by confidently running down the clock and clinching their fourth win in a row. This means they are now clearly back on track for the playoffs, while the Bills did not take advantage of the Dolphins’ defeat in Frankfurt to pass them again in the AFC East.
Buffalo Bills (5-4) @ Cincinnati Bengals (5-3)
Result: 18:24 (7:14, 0:7, 3:0, 8:3) BOXSCORE
Bills @ Bengals: Key stats
- With his interception in the first half, Allen has now thrown at least one pick in five consecutive games. This is the longest streak of his career.
- The Bills committed two turnovers, including one in the red zone, which ultimately proved costly and made the difference. The Bengals, on the other hand, played a clean game without any serious mistakes.
The star of the game: Joe Burrow (quarterback, Bengals)
He’s definitely back! His calf doesn’t seem to be bothering him anymore and so Burrow put in a confident performance against the Bills. He delivered passes from all positions, mostly avoiding unnecessary risks with short, safe passes at the beginning. Later he sometimes increased the risk and was still extremely precise. He did this despite being blitzed frequently and facing pressure against him very often.
The flop of the game: Gabe Davis (Wide Receiver, Bills)
Davis ran the Bills’ third-most routes, but only had two targets and no receptions. In addition, Allen’s interception happened with him as a target. The Bengals mostly focused on Diggs in double coverage, so others should have come to the fore. And that was especially true for Davis, who instead simply wasn’t a factor. That’s too weak.
The scene of the game
Nick Scott’s forced fumble against Dalton Kincaid in the red zone ultimately made the difference in favor of the Bengals.