NFL
By: Jalen Willingham
The Cincinnati Bengals will travel to Orchard Park to face the Buffalo Bills in the 2022 AFC Divisional Round.
When: Sunday January 22, 2023
Network: CBS
The History
The last game between these two teams was cancelled and ruled a no contest in week 17 of the regular season. The Bills and Bengals were destined to meet again after Damar Hamlin’s unfortunate collapse. Buffalo and Cincinnati both have quite a bit of playoff history against each other as well. The last time these two teams met in the postseason was in the 1988 AFC Championship. Cincinnati won 21-10 to go onto Super Bowl 23. Years earlier, the Bengals also beat Buffalo 28-21 in the 1981 Divisional Round on their way to Super Bowl 16.
Bengals Offense
It wasn’t a pretty game, but the Bengals offense did just enough to get the win. Burrow was accurate and made the right plays that led to touchdowns. Cincinnati has lost their third starting offensive lineman with it this time being Jonah Williams. Replacing him will be second year offensive lineman Jackson Carman. Joe Burrow was sacked four times in the wild card round.
Even though they have been 27th in pressure rate since losing Von Miller, I expect at least three sacks from the Buffalo pass rush. The Bengals offensive line, and the running backs as well, has to improve at picking up blitzes and stunts vs a defense that does both frequently. They should all thank the football gods that Buffalo will be without Von Miller.
Cincinnati has to also find a running game facing Buffalo. The run game gets you far in the playoffs, and 51 yards rushing isn’t going to cut it. The offensive line has to open more running lanes for Joe Mixon. The Bengals went away from the run last game simply because of not getting good run blocking which has sadly been the case for most of the season.
I expect Cincinnati to come out with more short and quick passes to compensate for their weaknesses up front. If the Bills defense struggled against a third string quarterback in Skylar Thompson, I still like the Bengals chances with Joe Burrow at the helm even with all their injuries up front.
Bengals Defense
When it mattered the most, the Bengals defense stepped up and made game changing plays in favor of Cincinnati. Giving up 155 yards rushing is never a good thing in the playoffs however. Luckily for them, they won’t have to worry about an offense with as strong of a running game as Baltimore until the Super Bowl if they make it that far. They also have to get better at tackling as well. Josh Allen is a playmaker in and out of the pocket, but he is also turnover prone. Part of the reason why the Bengals made it to the Super Bowl last year was how clutch their defense was. The Bengals defense needs to step up again against Buffalo. The more turnovers, the merrier.
While Allen is likely to turn the ball over, he is also very likely to find a big play. Cincinnati has to do a great job at containing him and taking away the big time throws. What’s even more mind blowing is the fact that Josh Allen was sacked seven times versus the Dolphins. Cincinnati hasn’t had more than four sacks in a game this season but even when they do create pressure, they will need to play tight coverage on the backend as well.
I’m sure the Bills offense will try to find ways to put Stefon Diggs on cornerback Eli Apple , but defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo should have other plans. I’d much rather have Cam Taylor-Britt covering Diggs in this game, but I wouldn’t leave either corner on their own without safety help. Busted coverages like what happened with Apple vs the Ravens can’t happen. I expect safety Jessie Bates to once again come up big some how some way.
The Bengals defense also needs to ensure that Buffalo doesn’t win the time of possession. Part of the reason why the offense didn’t score more was because the Ravens kept them off the field much longer.
Prediction
Bills win 30-27
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