Cincinnati Bengals at Buffalo Bills: How to watch, weather, odds, what to know

Bengals at Bills: How to watch, weather, odds, what to know

The Buffalo Bills host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday in a meeting of two AFC teams with a recent history of December dominance, and a quarterback showdown between Josh Allen and Joe Burrow.

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Bills quarterback Josh Allen throws a pass during an AFC divisional playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 22, 2023, at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park.
Joseph Cooke, Buffalo News

The Buffalo Bills host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday in a meeting of two AFC teams with a recent history of December dominance, and a quarterback showdown between Josh Allen and Joe Burrow. The Bengals are a combined 14-3 in regular-season games played in December and January since the 2022 season. Meantime, the Bills have a league-best record of 23-4 in the regular season's closing months going back to 2020. Buffalo is 8-4 and enters the weekend sitting seventh in the AFC. The Bengals aren't out of the playoff picture just yet. At 4-8, Cincinnati is still in the hunt to catch AFC North leaders Baltimore and Pittsburgh, who are 6-6.

Here is the TV info and other basics for Cincinnati Bengals at Buffalo Bills:​

WHO: Cincinnati Bengals (4-8) at Buffalo Bills (8-4)
WHEN: 1 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Highmark Stadium, Orchard Park
TV: Fox (WUTV-TV, Ch. 29 in Buffalo). On the call: Joe Davis, Greg Olsen, Pam Oliver
RADIO: Bills Radio Network (WGR-AM, 550 in Buffalo). On the call: Chris Brown, Eric Wood, Sal Capaccio
LINE: Bills by 5½ (Over/Under: 53½)
WEATHER: 32 degrees and overcast, with winds from the west-southwest at 9-10 mph, according to AccuWeather. The forecast calls for a 50%-60% chance of snow during the game.

 

[HipKat]

Bills numbers to know: 4 trends to watch for Buffalo's game against Cincinnati​

https://buffalonews.com/sports/professional/nfl/bills/article_d221a6af-e050-4fbc-9493-52ea1918738f.html#tracking-source=home-sports

70.45​

In one career regular-season game against the Bills, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow completed 70.45% of his passes for 348 yards and two touchdowns. Burrow was sacked once and averaged 8.82 yards per attempt in Cincinnati's 24-18 win over Buffalo on Nov. 5, 2023. Both of his touchdown passes were thrown to tight ends. The Bills have not allowed a touchdown to a tight end this season since their Week 2 win over the Jets. In his return from an injury last week, Burrow threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns to beat the Ravens.


Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has not faced the Bills since the 2023 season.
Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News

153.3​

The Bengals' defense ranks 31st in rushing yards allowed per game (153.3). They have given up 43 runs of 10-plus yards, sixth-most, and the fourth-most yards before contact per attempt (1.80). Opponents have scored at least two rushing touchdowns in three of Cincinnati's last five games, and the Bengals have surrendered at least 100 rushing yards in each of their last 11 games. Bills running back James Cook is second in the NFL in rushing (1,228), 54 yards behind the Colts' Jonathan Taylor, and Cook is averaging 5.3 yards per carry.


Bills running back James Cook III ranks second in the NFL in rushing yards (1,228).
Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News

26​

Josh Allen should be in line for a big game. The Bengals are last in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game, and they have given up the second-most touchdown passes (26). Their pass rush, down injured star Trey Hendrickson, has the third-fewest sacks and blitzes at the lowest rate. No team has allowed more yards after the catch (1,980), and Cincinnati is particularly vulnerable against tight ends. The position group has totaled at least 128 receiving yards in four of the Bengals' last six games. Their last two opponents, Baltimore and New England, targeted tight ends 20 times.

41​

In their only regular-season matchup, the Bills held Chase to four catches on eight targets for 41 yards. He will likely be shadowed Sunday by Buffalo's top cornerback, Christian Benford, who's had success recently against his opponent's No. 1 receiver. Over the past three games, Benford has faced DK Metcalf, Nico Collins and Emeka Egubka, yet Benford allowed just five catches for 54 yards combined. Last week, Burrow's first game back from injury, Chase was targeted 14 times. He caught seven passes for 110 yards.

 

[HipKat]

Bills-Bengals: Who you got? Buffalo News writers make their predictions for Sunday's game​

Bills-Bengals: Who you got? Buffalo News writers make their predictions for Sunday's game

Members of The Buffalo News sports staff make their picks for the winner of this week's Bills-Bengals matchup.

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Jay Skurski​

The Bills have a tendency to make every opposing defense they face sound like the ’85 Bears. It makes sense. There is no reason to give another team bulletin-board material, but let’s just keep it 100: The Bengals’ defense is bad. Like, bad bad. Cincinnati is allowing an average – average! – of 410 yards and 31.2 points per game. Both of those totals are last in the NFL. Joe Burrow’s return at quarterback for Cincinnati changes the calculus of this one a bit. There can be no excuses for the Bills’ offense Sunday – it has to get the job done. Bills, 33-27.


Bills quarterback Josh Allen could have a field day against the Bengals' porous defense on Sunday.
Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News

Katherine Fitzgerald​

The Bills are lucky that defensive end A.J. Epenesa's Thursday foot injury wasn't more serious, as they are already quite thin at the position. The Bills' defense will need to find ways to get to Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who made his return from injury a game ago. The Buffalo offense can't afford a slow start like it had in Pittsburgh if it's going to keep up with Cincinnati. Look for the Bills to get running back James Cook going early, especially if there's a wintry mix in Highmark Stadium. The Bengals are hungry, but the Bills get it done. Bills, 34-30.

Lance Lysowski​

This is a difficult matchup for the Bills' defense. They are without their best pass rusher, Joey Bosa, for a game in which Joe Burrow had extra time to rest and prepare. Bengals running back Chase Brown has totaled at least 100 yards in six consecutive games. It will be a shootout if Buffalo can't stop the run. If it can, then we're looking at a blowout win for the Bills. Burrow will create a few explosive plays − look for Sean McDermott to use Christian Benford to shadow Ja'Marr Chase − but his defense won't be able to stop Josh Allen enough times for Cincinnati to keep up. Bills, 35-24.

Steve Trosky​

We know that the Bengals' Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are a formidable trio. Running back Chase Brown has improved as the season has gone on. Cincinnati is going to score. But we also know that the Bengals have the worst defense in the league. Cue Josh Allen and James Cook. With occasional snow in the forecast for Sunday, look for Allen and Cook to continue to be successful on the ground. I expect the Bengals to score at least three touchdowns. But if Buffalo stays away from turning the ball over, this could be a shootout. Bills, 41-31.

 

[HipKat]

4 keys for the Buffalo Bills to beat the Cincinnati Bengals​

4 keys for the Buffalo Bills to beat the Cincinnati Bengals

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has returned, and that will make things more difficult for the Buffalo defense.

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Bills quarterback Josh Allen, left, and Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow could put on a show Sunday in Orchard Park.
Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News

1. Brace for Burrow​

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has returned, and that will make things more difficult for the Buffalo defense. Coach Sean McDermott calls it a “different team, different offense” with Burrow at the helm, and his players are ready for the challenge. “They got their franchise guy back, right?” said Bills linebacker Shaq Thompson. “Burrow’s one of those guys who could rip it anytime he wants to. He’s a smart quarterback. He could pull down and run. He has both his weapons back. He has good tight ends. He has a good running back. So, it’s gonna be a challenge for us, but at the end of the day, we got to go out there and play Buffalo Bills way.”

2. Chase and Chase​

Bills defensive backs praised the connection that Burrow has with standout receiver Ja’Marr Chase this week. Chase needs just 29 receiving yards to reach the 1,000-plus mark for a fifth consecutive season. But the Bills also have to be ready for running back Chase Brown, who’s a threat in the run and pass game. “One of those short, shifty guys who could give you a one, two step and hit you with a burst of speed,” Thompson said of Brown. “His low center of gravity. He’s gonna make you miss good, little stiff arm. He’s a great back that can break tackles, right? So, we got to get there, swarm him and just try to get the ball out.”

3. Ground control​

The Bills’ 1,868 rushing yards this season lead the NFL. Running back James Cook has spearheaded that, but quarterback Josh Allen credited the offense as a whole in the ongoing dominance. “I think it's obviously our O-line doing a great job,” Allen said on Wednesday. “But it's our skill position players, too, the willingness to go in there and block and get hands on safeties and stars and linebackers. We're asking our tight ends to do a lot in the run game and they've done it exceedingly well. And we're gonna continue to need that moving forward, especially once the weather gets like the weather it gets here – being able to run it when the opposing team knows that we're gonna run it.”

4. Embrace the pressure​

The Bills know that the 4-8 Bengals are desperate. But the Bills (8-4) also have their backs against the wall. Allen thinks that can be a good thing. “It's the best time to play football,” he said. “It's when the stakes are high and you gotta go out there and you gotta perform your job. I feel like that's a big part of this team of we want that pressure. We wanna go out there, we wanna perform for each other and share that love that we have for each other.” There’s a sense of urgency for the Bills as they enter December, a month that has served them well in recent history. On Sunday, they need to respond to that pressure.