bengals vs bills preview and predictions
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Buffalo, New York (PSF) — The Cincinnati Bengals will face off against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark stadium in Orchard Park, NY this Sunday at 3:00 pm. This is a rematch of the game that got cancelled three weeks ago, due to Damar Hamlin suffering cardiac arrest early into the game. The Bills are favored by 5.5 points in this game according to Caesars Sportsbook. Buffalo is coming off a narrow 34-31 victory against the Dolphins in the Wild Card round and Cincinnati is coming into this game having beat the Ravens more handily 27-16. Both teams did not play against their opponent’s starting quarterback in the Wild Card round.
Injury report
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For the Bengals, they will be without left tackle Jonah Williams (knee) and right guard Alex Cappa (ankle). Cornerback Tre Flowers is listed as doubtful due to a hamstring injury. He was at all three practices this week but did not participate on Wednesday or Thursday.
For the Bills, nose tackle Jordan Phillips and DaQuan Jones are the only players that carry an injury designation. They are both questionable for Sunday’s game.
Just like it was last playoffs, the Bengals are without most of their starting offensive line. They were able to persevere though, making it all the way to the Super Bowl before losing to the Rams. We’ll see how much of an issue it is to have two starting linemen out for this divisional matchup.
Prediction
I am predicting that the Bengals will win this game. In big games, this team comes to play. They are going to continue their playoff success that they had last year. Beating the Titans and then subsequently the Chiefs wasn’t expected. They were four-point underdogs versus the Titans in the divisional round. They were seven-point underdogs versus the Chiefs in the AFC Championship. Nevertheless, this team pulled it off anyways to advance to the Super Bowl. Why not get another playoff win as an underdog in this game? People forget how good this team can be. When they are firing on all cylinders, they are a fun team to watch. Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase are one of the best QB/WR duos in the league.
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But don’t just take it from me, take it from former Jaguars great and current NFL Network analyst Maurice Jones-Drew, who wrote an article at this start of this season saying that Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase are indeed the best QB/WR duo in the league. It must be that LSU connection.
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The Bills close loss to the Dolphins with Skylar Thompson at quarterback concerns me for this game. Buffalo will have to play against a starting QB this time, and a very good QB at that in Joe Burrow. Josh Allen and the Bills just haven’t been able to get it done in the playoffs the past several years. How do we know that this season is any different? I’m picking the team that has had recent playoff success, and knows how to handle and win close games. If the Dolphins game is any indication, this game against the Bengals is not going to end well for the Bills.