Orchard Park, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills were able to come from behind in the fourth quarter against Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals, earning a 39-34 win on Sunday in a snow globe setting at Highmark Stadium.
After receiving the opening kickoff, the Bengals offense marched down the field, holding onto the ball for more than half the first quarter to score the game's first touchdown. It came courtesy of running back Chase Brown, who powered his way into the end zone from five yards out.
The Bills offense tried to respond with a touchdown of their own on their first offensive possession, but was forced to settle for a 26-yard Matt Prater field goal after a third-down run-pass option play ended up being snuffed out by the Bengals defense.
As the next Bengals drive bled into the second quarter, Burrow was able to connect with one of his top targets, wide receiver Tee Higgins, for a 21-yard touchdown strike to extend Cincinnati's lead to 14-3.
Buffalo had another response in them on the next drive, driving down the field in 12 plays and finding the end zone thank to a stellar fourth-down pass from Allen to wide receiver Khalil Shakir from 11 yards out.
A successful two-point conversion attempt by the Bills helped cut the deficit to 14-11 with 7:27 to go in the opening half.
The Bengals, once again, answered the Bills' scoring drive with a touchdown of their own. This time, it was Burrow connecting with Brown for a 10-yard touchdown pass. Cincinnati was successful on a challenge to see if Brown had caught the pass in the end zone, and the Bengals ended up going up by 10 points with 3:18 to go in the second quarter.
The Bills were hoping to get back to within one score just before halftime, but failed to convert on a fourth down at the Bengals' 43-yard line with just over a minutes remaining in the half.
The good news for the Bills is the defense came up with a late stop of the Bengals offense, forcing a late punt. The Bills then took a knee on the first half, trailing 21-11 heading into the locker room.
Allen and the offense came out for the second half hot, asserting their way down the field on a nine-play drive. The Bills capped the opening drive of the third quarter with a five-yard touchdown strike from Allen to tight end Dalton Kincaid to make it a one possession game once again.
After forcing the Bengals into a three-and-out on Cincinnati's first drive of the half, the offense had a chance to drive back down the field and give the Bills their first lead of the afternoon.
Despite driving down the field and getting inside the Bengals' five-yard line with less than a minute remaining in the quarter, Buffalo's drive died when running back James Cook fumbled the ball into the end zone. The Bengals ended up recovering the loose change, giving the ball back to Burrow and the Bengals offense.
It was a methodical ensuing drive for the Bengals, as Burrow threw efficiently and ended the drive with a 12-yard touchdown connection to tight end Mike Gesicki to make it 28-18 with 8:44 remaining.
Needing a quick response, the Bills put together a four-play drive that spanned 68 yards in just 1:11 of game clock and resulted in another touchdown. This time, it was Allen utilizing his legs with a 40-yard dash to the end zone to, once again, trim the deficit to three.
Needing a solution to stop the Bengals' offensive attack, the Buffalo defense came up with, arguably, its biggest play of the season on the following Cincinnati possession.
Facing a 1st-and-10 at the Bills' 33-yard line, Burrow attempted a short lob pass to his No. 1 target Ja'Marr Chase that ended up being picked off by cornerback Christian Benford. After an acrobatic catch, Benford then broke free of a Burrow tackle to scamper 63 yards for a pick-six to give the Bills a 32-28 lead with 5:25 left on the clock.
On the very next offensive snap for the Bengals, Burrow tossed another interception after Bills defensive tackle Jordan Phillips was able to get his hands on an attempted pass at the line of scrimmage. It ended up being pass rusher A.J. Epenesa who tracked down the tipped pass and picking off Burrow, giving Buffalo the ball back at the Cincinnati 29-yard line.
With an opportunity to chew some clock and put some distance between them and the visitors, the Bills managed to accomplish just that with a gutsy fourth-down play call from the offense. It ended up coming, once again, with Josh Allen utilizing some good protection and firing a three-yard touchdown to tight end Jackson Hawes.
The score gave the Bills a 39-28 lead with 3:03 to go in the game.
The Bengals offense didn't show any quit just yet, though.
Burrow was quickly able to lead his team on another scoring drive to cut into the deficit with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Higgins for their second connection resulting in points.
A failed two-point conversion attempt by the Bengals put Cincinnati behind 39-34 with 2:13 remaining in regulation.
The Bengals then elected to kick the ball back to Buffalo, relying on the defense to make a stop and give the offense one last chance at a win. Allen made Cincinnati pay for that decision.
Facing a 3rd-and-15 at their own 25-yard line, Allen was able to ice the game himself with a massive 17-yard scamper, allowing the Bills to kneel out the remaining time on the game clock and secure the thrilling victory.
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SCORING RECAP
First Quarter:
- 7-0 CINCINNATI: Bengals Touchdown (6:44) - Chase Brown powers through for a 5-yard touchdown run. (Evan McPherson's extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 14 plays, 67 yards, 8:16
- 7-3 CINCINNATI: Bills Field Goal (1:54) - Matt Prater's 26-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 8 plays, 69 yards, 4:50
Second Quarter:
- 14-3 CINCINNATI: Bengals Touchdown (13:33) - Joe Burrow connects with Tee Higgins for a 21-yard touchdown pass. (Evan McPherson's extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 6 plays, 55 yards, 3:21
- 14-11 CINCINNATI: Bills Touchdown (7:27) - Josh Allen fires an 11-yard strike to Khalil Shakir for a touchdown. (Buffalo's two-point conversion attempt is successful)
Drive info: 12 plays, 70 yards, 6:06
- 21-11 CINCINNATI: Bengals Touchdown (3:18) - Joe Burrow tosses a 10-yard touchdown pass to Chase Brown. (Evan McPherson's extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 8 plays, 69 yards, 4:09
Third Quarter:
- 21-18 CINCINNATI: Bills Touchdown (9:20) - Josh Allen connects with Dalton Kincaid for a 5-yard touchdown pass. (Matt Prater's extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 9 plays, 75 yards, 5:40
Fourth Quarter:
- 28-18 CINCINNATI: Bengals Touchdown (8:44) - Joe Burrow fires a 12-yard touchdown strike to Mike Gesicki. (Evan McPherson's extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 12 plays, 80 yards, 7:02
- 28-25 CINCINNATI: Bills Touchdown (7:33) - Josh Allen breaks free and scampers for a 40-yard touchdown run. (Matt Prater's extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 4 plays, 68 yards, 1:11
- 32-28 BUFFALO: Bills Touchdown (5:25) - Christian Benford picks off Joe Burrow and returns it 63 yards for a touchdown. (Matt Prater's extra point attempt is good)
- 39-28 BUFFALO: Bills Touchdown (3:03) - Josh Allen finds Jackson Hawes for a 3-yard touchdown pass. (Matt Prater's extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 5 plays, 29 yards, 2:08
- 39-34 BUFFALO: Bengals Touchdown (2:13) - Joe Burrow tosses a 25-yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins. (Cincinnati's two-point conversion attempt failed)
Drive info: 4 plays, 66 yards, 0:50
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SKYWORKS EQUIPMENT RENTAL STATS OF THE GAME:
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What's next:
The Bills will travel to New England next week for a divisional matchup against the Patriots with a chance to make up some late ground in the AFC East standings. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. on the official voice of the Bills - WGR Sports Radio 550.