Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - After a decent start to Sunday night's prime-time showdown with the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium, the Buffalo Bills then hit a lull in their play, especially offensively, and it was too little, too late by the time they responded in a proper way.
After a strong response to an opening Bengals touchdown on their first offensive drive, the Bills fell out of rhythm and couldn't get enough going as the game went on. That allowed Cincinnati to take full control of the game and earn a 24-18 win to hand the Bills their fourth loss of the year, all of which coming against conference opponents.
In, arguably, the biggest game of the year so far for the Bills, and in a game they needed to win to stay on track in the chase for the playoffs, the battered Buffalo defense did what it could against a stacked Bengals offense, and even held them off for a good chunk of the game. However, the unit was ultimately gassed and failed to keep the Bengals from eventually killing off the rest of the clock.
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Following their fourth loss of the year, the Bills have an extra day to prepare for their next game, where they get set to host the Denver Broncos at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on "Monday Night Football".
The Broncos are coming off of their bye week following a shocking 24-9 win over their AFC West rival Chiefs, snapping a 16-game losing streak against Kansas City.
It has been quite a rough season so far for the Broncos, though, many can say it pales in comparison to the disaster that was the 2022 season in Denver.
While a 3-5 record may not seem too bad of a start for the Broncos, their five losses have come in embarrassing fashion, which includes a 70-20 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 3. And although veteran quarterback Russell Wilson has looked better this year compared to last, it seems newly hired head coach Sean Payton hasn't had the desired affect on the veteran quarterback.
Like much of the first half of the 2023 season for the Bills, the past five weeks of "Howard Picks the Bills" have been a rollercoaster ride for Howard Simon. Buffalo has not been able to sustain wins in back-to-back games since their three-game stretch of wins earlier in the year, which has Howard uncertain about the rest of the Bills' difficult schedule.
Despite Sunday's bad loss to the Bengals, Howard has the Bills still topping the Broncos in Week 10, and even beating the New York Jets in Week 11.
However, things go completely downhill fast from there, as Howard picks the Bills to lose five of their last six games on the schedule, including a four-game losing skid between Weeks 12 and 16.
Overall, Howard has them finishing at a painful 8-9 record, likely signaling a missed season of playoffs for the first time since 2018.
Be sure to follow along on X, formerly known as Twitter, for the latest picks from Howard by using the hashtag #HowardPicksTheBills. You can also track all of Howard's picks throughout the season with Brayton Wilson's picks tracker on X: @BraytonJWilson.
You can listen to, and watch the latest edition of "Howard Picks the Bills" available below: