Built in Buffalo Roundtable: predicting Bills-Bengals

The Bengals visit Buffalo on Sunday in the divisional round of the playoffs in what may be the premier matchup of the entire season. Both teams enter the game on big winning streaks—Bills have won eight in a row and the Bengals have won nine in a row.

Find our predictions below and let us know yours!

Kam Towle: Both offenses looked impressive in the Week 17 matchup between these two teams, albeit for less than a full quarter of play. The Bengals drove down and scored a TD to open the game, and they were moving the ball on their second drive, too. The Bills offense looked good and the play calling was great on their only drive, but they stalled deep in the red zone. I think this game will see a lot of scoring, much like how that first matchup was starting out. The difference will be the Bills defense. The Bengals are missing key pieces on their o-line and the Bills should dial up timely pressures on Burrow. Bills defensive tackles DaQuan Jones and Jordan Phillips are questionable for the game, but if just one of them is good to go to pair with Ed Oliver, it could have a huge impact on the game. With pressure in Burrow’s face and the talent that the Bills have in the secondary, I think they make just enough plays to pick up the win. Prediction: Bills 33, Bengals 27.

Matt Homan: Winning the turnover battle will be the most important key to victory for the Bills. Last Sunday against Miami, Buffalo turned the ball over three times and barely beat a team that was decimated with key offensive injuries. Turning the ball over against the Bengals would be a death blow as this game should be a shootout. Even though Cincy has a top-10 run defense, look for the Bills to test the waters with the run game which has been successful all season. A strong running attack will keep the Bengals’ porous secondary honest and should give Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis room to operate against Eli Apple and Cam Taylor-Britt, two of the worst starting cornerbacks in the league. Another key to a Bills victory will be the front four getting consistent pressure on Joe Burrow. This shouldn’t be a tough task as the Bengals have multiple injuries among their starting offensive line. Prediction: Bills 38, Bengals 34.

Daniel Adams: Josh Allen and the Bills offense will look to clean up their turnovers and learn from the wild-card round. I believe Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis will both have a great days against the Bengals secondary, and the Bills will capitalize on drives. Look for the running game to get going, as I see James Cook leading the way with 70 yards and a score. On defense, the Bills secondary will have to lock in against the Bengals’ trio of receivers. The Bills defense will bend at times against the Bengals offense, but they won’t break. The Bills will move on to the AFC championship. Prediction: Bills 38, Bengals 30.

Ben Morningstar: The Bills don’t wanna go home in the divisional round for the second year in a row, but if they play at all like they did last week then they will be staying home. They obviously need to see a cleaner game from Josh Allen, the offense, and the coaching staff. I want to see some creativity, a nice mix of run and passes, and no turnovers. It’s going to be a very tight game, but I believe being the home team and knowing that they can’t play worse than last week, I think the Bills make more plays against a depleted Bengals offensive line and scratch out a win. It doesn’t matter how ugly it is — just win and advance. Prediction: Bills 31, Bengals 27.