Analysis: Bills, Bengals set for rematch as win looks shaky

Analysis: Bills, Bengals set for rematch as win looks shaky

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Next week’s rematch between the Bengals and the Bills almost never happened.

Both teams advanced to the AFC Division Round by defeating their backup quarterbacks on Sunday.

First, the Bills needed to take a 17-0 lead against Miami and pull off a 34-31 win. Then the Bengals trailed the Ravens by one yard in the fourth quarter before Sam Hubbard returned his 98-yard fumble to record the deciding score, and Cincinnati barely made it to his 24–17 win. maintained.

This time, the Bengals visit Buffalo. They met in Cincinnati on January 2, but the game was called off when Bills safety Dumar Hamlin collapsed in the first quarter and had to be resuscitated on the field. I went home.

The Bills (14-3) struggled against No. 7 seed Miami, a 13 1/2 point underdog. Rookie’s 3rd string Losing to his quarterback Skyler his Thompson Dolphins were 24-20 in the 3rd quarter when Josh his Allen was strip-sacked and Zach Sheeler scored on his 5-yard return. led by

But with injuries to Tua Tagovailoa and Teddy Bridgewater, Thompson, a seventh-round pick who started in the third game, threw interceptions at 8th-3 and 19th to tie Shortfield and the Bills’ go-ahead score. connected.

Thompson had 18 of 45 yards for 220 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. “I could see the situation that we were in. … I understood the situation there, took the yards, played field position there, didn’t force anything.” It hurts, but you have to learn from it.”

Allen and the Bills were sloppy and out of rhythm despite gaining 423 yards. Allen threw two picks leading to 11 points before a fumble led to another touchdown.

“At the end of the day, all that matters is winning the game,” Allen said. “If it’s one or one hundred, these are week-long seasons now. All you got is win or go home.”

The Bills have to play better to beat the Bengals. So is Cincinnati.

The Bengals (13-4) trailed Baltimore 10-9 after leading 9-0. We were lucky he didn’t go 14-9 at halftime. Because the Ravens took the first down at 3 and settled on his goal on the field.

With the score tied at 17 in the fourth quarter, the Ravens drove to the Bengals one.

The Ravens had a backfield player behind Huntley, ready to push him into the end zone, but the third-year pro tried to dive in.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh said, “We didn’t get it right.” Tyler overdid it. It was designed for him to be low.

The Bengals failed to produce anything offensively for the remainder of the game, with three punts and 19 total yards allowing the Ravens to stay put.

Huntley saw Baltimore drive into the final minute with Cincinnati’s 17, resulting in a holding penalty and 27-4 and 20 being set.

“Our defense held us up in the fourth quarter,” Bengals manager Zach Taylor said.

The Bengals need Joe Burrow and the offense to get back on track after gaining 234 total yards to shoot against the Bills.

The Bengals are on a nine-game winning streak and the Bills are on an eight-game winning streak. The winning streak ends next Sunday.

The Dolphins and Ravens failed to pull off any upsets, but Daniel Jones and the New York Giants had something in place against the Minnesota Vikings.

The 9-win Giants beat the 13-win Vikings 31-24 behind an outstanding performance from Jones, who threw for 301 yards and two TDs in his playoff debut. The Giants will face the #1 seed Philadelphia Eagles.

After Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers rout Seattle to kick off a wild card weekend, the next four games are tied by one. Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will host the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night to determine which team will face the Niners next.

Follow Rob Murdy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/robmaaddi.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL



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