Do the Bengals continue their winning streak in the top game?
Top meeting in the AFC! Sixth place meets fifth place in the American Football Conference and fans are in for a real treat in the Sunday night game in week nine of the NFL. What’s more, both teams were considered absolute contenders before the season, but have struggled in the early stages of the season.
While Cincinnati have won four of their last five games, Buffalo have only won two of their last four. Perhaps the home side’s good form is also the reason why they go into the matchup between the Bengals and Bills as slight favorites.
The Bengals are back! After the season of the team from Ohio was already partially written off at 1-3, they celebrated three wins in a row and now also defeated the San Francisco 49ers, the last team in the NFC West. With the win in Santa Clara, Cincinnati celebrated all of their victories against teams from this division so far this season. Now the franchise around quarterback Joe Burrow should slowly but surely start to beat teams from other divisions. Will the starting signal be given on Monday night?
This season, the Jets, Jaguars and Patriots have already proven that the Bills are beatable, each inflicting a loss on Buffalo. However, Sean McDermott’s team looked improved again in week eight and if they can build on that performance, nothing stands in the way of a top game. If the visitors win despite their underdog status, which the market gives them, the odds between the Bengals and Bills will be above the 2.00 mark.
Cincinnati Bengals – Statistics & current form
The gazettes were talking about an “impressive road win!” for the Bengals in California and that was by no means an understatement. Coming fresh off a bye week, they rolled over the 49ers’ – no longer quite so impressive – defense and won 31-17 in Santa Clara. The team from Ohio had pretty much everything going for them at Levi’s Stadiu” and with this success behind them, the Bengals now welcome the Bills full of confidence. However, it would be risky to predict that the offense will be this impressive again
Burrow and the offense in top form
As expected, the opponent’s defense hardly found any starting points against Burrow’s passing game in the last match and was never able to stop the wide receiver group. Above all, Burrow’s favorite target Ja’Marr Chase had another outstanding game with ten pass catches for 100 yards and a touchdown. Against the struggling defense of the upcoming opponent, which we will discuss in more detail later, he could once again become the most important factor in the offense.
With 79.0 rushing yards per game, only three teams have a less successful running game. However, the game plan recently included some designed running plays by the playmaker, which the opposing defense was never able to control. The runs also impressively proved that Burrow is now probably 100 percent recovered and this is another reason for Cincinnati’s upward trend.
In the last three wins, the defensive side never allowed more than 20 points, but now the fourth-best scoring team, Buffalo, comes to Paycor Stadium
Key Players:
- QB: Joe Burrow
- RB: Joe Mixon
- WR: Ja’Marr Chase
- TE: Irv Smith Jr.
- K: Evan McPherson
Buffalo Bills – stats & current form
The offense around playmaker Josh Allen has scored more than 20 points in five of the eight weeks played, which is why our prediction for the top game between the Bengals and Bills is that the visitors will break this mark again. This is also due to the fact that the offense has played strongly against the very solid Buccaneers defense recently. Allen completed 77.5 percent of his passes for 324 yards and there were a total of four receivers who each recorded more than 65 receiving yards
Versatile offense
The performance in the run game was also very solid against a good rushing defense, in which quarterback Allen was able to save plays time and again with runs of his own. The main work in the backfield has so far been done by James Cook, who already has 102 run attempts to his name and is therefore the Ruhsing leader. Buffalo also strengthened this unit again during the week with the addition of Leonard Fournette, but this offense is clearly designed to make the passing game work. This is symbolized by four touchdowns by running backs on run attempts and 17 touchdowns by pass catchers. The 27-year-old playmaker also contributed five successful visits to the end zone.
In the passing game, it is Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis in particular who stand out. Both have caught 95 passes for over 1,000 yards so far. Number three target of the offense is somewhat surprisingly rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid. His breakout last week was Khalil Shakir, who caught every ball thrown in his direction for 92 yards and an average target depth of 15.3 yards. If this offense finds its way back to this game, it will be impossible for the home side to control all receivers on a permanent basis.
In a direct comparison of the defense, the Bills’ unit is clearly ahead on paper, but it is now missing some well-known players. Lineback Matt Milano and cornerback Tre’Davious White are on the injured reserve list, as is defensive lineman DaQuan Jones. Looking at the injured reserve list, it’s no surprise that Bufallo has allowed at least 200 passing yards in each of the last five games. With the offensive personnel available, Cincinnati will almost certainly be able to break this mark, even though the visitors secured the services of former Packers cornerback Rasul Douglas shortly before the trade deadline.
Key Players:
- QB: Josh Allen
- RB: James Cook
- WR: Stefon Diggs
- TE: Dalton Kincaid
- K: Tyler Bass
Cincinnati Bengals – Buffalo Bills head-to-head comparison / H2H record
Allen vs. Burrow. Two quarterbacks who are emblematic of the new generation of playmakers in the NFL. While Allen was selected seventh overall in the 2018 draft, Burrow came to Cincinnati two years later as the number one pick. A lot has happened since then, but the two have only faced each other once so far: In the 2023 AFC Playoffs, the two teams met in the Divisional Round at Highmark Stadium. In January of this year, the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Buffalo Bills by a surprisingly clear 27:10. Our tip is that the second duel between Allen and Burrow will be much closer
Cincinnati Bengals – Buffalo Bills betting tip
The bookmakers have set an over/under 48.5-point total for this top game and we wouldn’t be surprised if this is exceeded. Even though the Bengals offense has only scored 18.7 points so far, this unit scored 31 points against San Francisco last week, more than any team before.
Like the bookmakers, we expect the two teams to go toe-to-toe and a real top game to develop. Nevertheless, we see the Bengals slightly ahead based on recent performances. Head coach Sean McDermott’s franchise has been somewhat inconsistent of late, while Cincinnati will go into the game with a broad chest.
If you’re not afraid to take a risk, you could also be in good hands betting on a touchdown from Dalton Kincaid. For one thing, he recorded his first touchdown catch last week and the Bengals have already allowed four touchdowns to opposing tight ends.
