Instant analysis after Bengals beat Bills, advance to AFC title game
The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Buffalo Bills in Sunday’s divisional round showdown, 27-10.
Cincinnati had a 17-7 lead at halftime after a dominant first half and that pretty much continued for the second half. The result sends the Bengals to the AFC title game against the Chiefs at Arrowhead for the second season in a row.
Here’s a look at some of the instant notes and numbers from right after the game.
Quick Hits
— You couldn’t script a better start to this game for the Bengals as Joe Burrow went 4/4 on the opening drive before finding Ja’Marr Chase for the touchdown. Joe Mixon looked steady on the ground in the snow too.
— Ditto for the defense, as Joseph Ossai got pressure on Josh Allen on a 3rd-and-4 to force the Bills to punt on their first offensive drive.
— Burrow and the offense’s next drive? A precise march down the field with good runs on the ground and Burrow finishing it with a touchdown pass to Hayden Hurst. Burrow was 9-of-9 with two touchdowns at that point.
— Trey Hendrickson disrupted Allen for a Bills three-and-out but a sack of Burrow forced the first Bengals punt of the game to end the first quarter.
— Bills figured it out in the second quarter, going 15 plays for 75 yards and a score. The Cincinnati defense struggled with the up-tempo looks, something the Bills would keep exploiting if the Bengals didn’t adapt.
— Center Ted Karras injured his knee and got it taped up, per the broadcast. He was struggling to get up multiple times near the end of the first half.
— An absolute epic fumbling of the NFL’s catch rules while overturning a Ja’Marr Chase touchdown before halftime.
— Bills spent a huge chunk of time marching down the field right after halftime, only to settle for three points. That’s a big win for the Bengals defense that made the score 17-10.
— Fantastic challenge by Zac Taylor on a Joe Mixon touchdown run to get officials to actually call it as such, making the game 24-10.
— Smart again by the coaching staff to opt for the field goal on fourth down from two yards out to make it a three-score game, 27-10.
— Mike Hilton took over this game late in the fourth quarter, getting hits on the quarterback, stopping ball-carriers before the line, etc. He’s a Swiss Army knife sort of tool and maybe the best in the league at what he does.
Key Stat
5.1: Yards per carry for the Bengals on the ground with an offensive line starting three backups. Just a fantastic, unexpected showing for Jackson Carman and Co., never mind while Ted Karras was playing through an injury.
Game Balls
QB Joe Burrow: The best playoff game of his career so far. Burrow was calm, precise and manipulated defenders with his eyes all day, plus spinkled in some of those key rushes.
TE Hayden Hurst: The veteran tight end made the Bills pay for mistakes all day en route to his five catches for 59 yards and a touchdown.
The backups: How about the backup offensive line just dominating this game? Jackson Carman at left tackle, Max Scharping at right guard, Hakeem Adeniji at right tackle. Plus…Karras playing through an injury. Just a master-class performance.
Top Takeaway
Deja vu: Another road divisional round win. This was a stunning performance by the Bengals in what was the best playoff game of Burrow’s career thus far and a masterful showing by the coaches who had to compensate for the injured offensive line. Sound familiar? Well how about this — the Bengals have to go to Arrowhead and fight the Chiefs for the right to advance to the Super Bowl again.
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