When- January 22, 2 PM, CBS
Where- Highmark Stadium, Orchard Park, NY
Cincinnati- 3 Seed (AFC North)
Rating- 35.73
Record- 13-4
Strength of Schedule- 10 out of 32
Buffalo- 2 Seed (AFC East)
Rating- 40.97
Record- 13-3
Strength of Schedule- 13 out of 32
Why Cincinnati will win- Joe Burrow is the Bengals QB. As long as he is under center this team believes they can and will win every time they take the field. Bills QB Josh Allen continues to turn the ball over adding 2 more INT’s to his league leading total of 16 last week against the Dolphins. Cincinnati's defense has averaged 1.5 takeaways per game ranking 8th in the NFL. The unit will need that to continue have a chance to pull off the road upset.
Why Buffalo will win- This is not the Cincinnati defense of last year that played such a key role in reaching the Super Bowl. Yes they are 6th in the NFL in points allowed, but much of that is due to timely takeaways and a very weak offensive AFC North Division. The Bengals are in the bottom half of the NFL in total yards allowed (337.4) and haven’t generated near the pass rush they had last year averaging only 1.9 sacks per game which is 29th in the league. On offense an already suspect O-line will be missing 2 starters due to injury.
Eye Test Analytics Predicted Outcome- Buffalo by 7.99 points