The Cincinnati Bengals, in what is becoming an increasingly common matchup, hosted the Buffalo Bills on the Week 9 edition of “Sunday Night Football” and won, 24-18.
That winning — both over the Bills and in general — is becoming common too, as that’s fourth straight for a Bengals team no longer worried about a certain calf injury.
Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense exploded out of the gates again after entering winners in three straight, assuming a 21-7 halftime advantage.
Considering the massive playoff implications at stake in the AFC in this one, every drive mattered greatly in front of the primetime audience.
Here’s a look at some numbers and details to know from right after the game went final.
Quick Hits
— Deja vu start for the Bengals offense as Burrow fired six passes, completing all six on the opening drive, the last a touchdown to Irv Smith over a safety. It was a nice redemption story for Smith, too.
— Seven plays and 85 yards for the Bills and an easy touchdown on Buffalo’s first drive. Another slow start for the defense, though sometimes against offenses like this, it just comes down to weathering the early offensive storm.
— Second drive for the Bengals, similar deal — Burrow’s mobility extended a few plays where needed and the end result was Joe Mixon punching it in for a score — off a combo block from Ted Karras and Cordell Volson, no less.
— Defense weathered the storm by the second quarter, picking off Josh Allen by dropping eight in coverage and confusing him.
— Disaster sequence for the Bengals before halftime as the offense imploded, going from a second-and-short and threatening to score to multiple flags and eventually going from a field goal attempt to a punt, which was at least a three-point swing in the game.
— Quick scare for the Bengals when Ja’Marr Chase came down on his back hard on a deep pass attempt and he got some brief treatment on the sidelines for his lower back.
— Bengals let up a long Bills offensive drive to start the second half and then had to run out a backup defensive line on the next Buffalo effort. And on a third down after a timeout, Trey Hendrickson was out there to get the stop on the very next third down.
— Huge day for Bengals tight ends happened in the fourth quarter, too when they faked a screen to Chase so that Tanner Hudson could pick up 10-plus on a third down.
— The lack of under-center looks after it worked so well in San Francisco was pretty interesting and worth asking about.
— With the game on the line, it was Joe Mixon who broke free for a first down to seal it as Buffalo had no timeouts.
Key Stat
36:00-23:22: The Bengals dominated the number of plays run in the game and therefore time of possession through the first three quarters of the game en route to a 21-10 lead.
Game Balls
WR Tee Higgins: How good has Higgins looked since recovering from the rib fracture? Sunday night was eight catches for 110 yards and a reminder of what he can do.
LB Germaine Pratt: How does he keep doing it? In the fourth quarter, the guy with the knack for forcing turnovers did so again, punching out a ball in the red zone and forcing a turnover.
TEs: Yes, all of them. Tanner Hudson showed he earned that roster spot. Irv Smith got a bit of redemption after the big turnover last week. And Drew Sample even got some shine with a touchdown.
Top Takeaway
As expected: The Bengals get the best of the Bills yet again, this time to win a fourth straight and look great now that Joe Burrow’s calf injury is a thing of the past. They’re still fourth in the AFC North at 5-3, but there’s a whole lot of season left. Now the Bengals can start focusing on another AFC matchup next weekend against the upstart Houston Texans.
