Bills vs. Bengals: The good and bad from Week 14 win

The Buffalo Bills took down the Cincinnati Bengals in a snowy shootout on Sunday, 39-34.

The Bills were led by quarterback Josh Allen, who had a stellar performance. While the defense struggled at times, they forced crucial turnovers and sealed the game for Buffalo.

The Bills’ “bend, but don’t break” mentally was displayed in this victory, overcoming a lot of adversity to get the win. The Bills are now 9-4 on the season as they look to take on their division rival, the New England Patriots, next week in Foxborough.  

Below is the good and bad from Buffalo’s Week 14 victory:  

The good  

Josh Allen  

Josh Allen was a leader of men in their matchup against the Bengals. Allen took control of this game, finishing with 251 passings yards, completing 22/28 passes, and throwing for three touchdowns. Allen was able to buy time for himself and make plays out of the pocket, connecting with nine different receivers.  

Allen was also effective on the ground, rushing nine times for 78 yards and a touchdown. Allen’s longest run of the game was a fourth quarter touchdown for 40 yards, which is the longest rushing touchdown by a Bills quarterback. Allen’s ability to keep the ball himself and make plays when needed was a crucial part in the Bills win. Allen sealed the game with a first down run on third and long, putting the Bills on his back.  

Tight ends  

Joe Brady and the Bills offense knew going into this one that the tight ends could be a big factor against Cincinnati’s defense, and they were. Dawson Knox led the Bills in receiving yards and was a reliable target for Allen all game. Knox finished the game with six receptions for 93 yards.  

Following close behind him was tight end Dalton Kincaid, who also had a great game. Kincaid finished with four receptions for 41 yards and a touchdown. Kincaid made his presence felt and is a key piece to have back in the Bills offense.  

Rookie tight end Jackson Hawes got in on the action late in the fourth where he found the end zone for a three-yard touchdown. Hawes’ one and only target was his end zone grab, which was the final dagger from Buffalo’s offense.  

Shaq Thompson  

One of the bright spots for the Bills defense was linebacker Shaq Thompson, who was consistent in their win over the Bengals. Thompson finished the game with six total tackles, three solo tackles, one tackle for loss along with a quarterback hit. Thompson was the best linebacker on the field for Buffalo’s defense in this one. Since being brought over from Carolina, Thompson has been one of the most physical linebackers on the Bills defense as they hope his good play continues later into the season.  

Christian Benford  

Cornerback Christian Benford was the player of the game for Buffalo’s defense. Benford finished with a sack, a tackle for loss, a pass defended, and an interception for a touchdown. Against start receiver Ja’Marr Chase, Benford held him to zero receptions on two targets, one of those targets being a pick-six. Benford has been a lock down corner for the Bills secondary over the last few weeks, forcing turnovers and making plays.  

The bad  

Defensive Struggles  

While the Bills offense was able to rack up enough points to defeat the Bengals, the Bills defense struggled at times to stop Cincinnati. Buffalo allowed 34 points to the Bengals offense, which was led by Joe Burrow. He completed 25/36 passes for 284 passing yards and four touchdowns. Buffalo’s defense struggled to shut down Tee Higgins, who finished with six receptions for 92 yards along with two touchdowns. Tight end Mike Gesicki also finished with six receptions against the Bills, going for 86 yards and a touchdown.  

The Bills simply had no answer for Cincinnati’s passing attack in the first half. The Bills shut out the Bengals in the third quarter allowing, zero points, but the Bengals responded scoring 13 points in the fourth which kept the game close. The Bills were better against the run, however, allowing just 62 rushing yards to the Bengals. Last week they held the Steelers to just 58 rushing yards. Buffalo will look to display both their coverage and run stopping abilities against New England next week.  

James Cook fumbles 

While James Cook did not have a horrible day running the ball, he turned the ball over and had two fumbles. Cook finished with 18 carries for 80 yards, also getting involved in the pass game with two receptions for 31 yards. In the third quarter, Cook had a run in which he fumbled the ball at the one-yard line, though it was called back for offensive holding. Later in the same drive, Cook got the ball at the goal line and fumbled once again, this time resulting in a touchback. Though it did not alter the outcome, turnovers are costly, and Cook has had four fumbles (two lost) in just the last two weeks.