ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Impressed as Sean McDermott was regarding Buffalo’s dominance against Pittsburgh, the Bills coach knows last weekend’s win means little if Buffalo follows it up with a dud in hosting the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
With the closing stretch of the season here and the Bills playoff aspirations hardly secure in a tightly packed AFC featuring 10 teams at .500 or better, McDermott placed an emphasis on Buffalo (8-4) breaking its two-month cycle of win-one, lose-one outcomes.
“I don’t think we can afford to be inconsistent. Not now,” McDermott said. “Not that you can ever be, don’t get me wrong, but our backs are against the wall. That’s the way it is. And that’s our mindset.”
Amid the highs and lows the Bills experienced in splitting their past eight outings, the team showed resolve in a 26-7 win at Pittsburgh. Buffalo overcame a depleted lineup by leaning into the strengths by generating a season-best 249 yards rushing. And the defense asserted itself with its most complete outing of the season in allowing a season low in points, and cornerback Christian Benford scoring the go-ahead points on a fumble return.
Now here come the Bengals, who have Joe Burrow back behind center, and plenty to play for despite their 4-8 record.
Though a wild-card berth is essentially out of the equation, the AFC North race is still up for grabs with Baltimore and Pittsburgh tied atop the division at 6-6.
There’s renewed hope in Cincinnati when factoring in Burrow’s return from a toe injury in a 32-14 win over Baltimore, and after the Bengals went 1-8 minus their starter.
The Bengals’ margin of error might be razor thin, though they’re on much better footing to mount a late-season push with the quarterback outfitted with a carbon fiber plate and custom orthotic in his left shoe.
Uncomfortable as Burrow said the fit might be, it took him one half to rediscover his rhythm in securing the win with two second-half touchdown passes.
More encouraging was the Bengals defense — ranked 30th or worst in numerous statistical categories — overcoming its season-long deficiencies by allowing a season-low 16 first downs while forcing a season-best five turnovers.
“We know what it looks like, and we know what it feels like. We know what the urgency level is,” coach Zac Taylor said. “It doesn’t really change how we operate in any way, shape, or form because we just keep going on a week-to-week basis and doing our best to find a win.”
For Burrow, the sixth-year player is looking forward rather than back, even when reminded of his first and only previous visit to Buffalo, where he oversaw a 27-10 win in the 2022 AFC divisional round of the playoffs.
“It’s one of my favorite games since I’ve been here. But it’s in the past,” he said. “We haven’t done anything in a long time against these guys. We have to go and prove it every single week.”
Dominant in December
Buffalo has a league-best 23-4 record in regular-season games played in December and beyond since 2020. And that includes last season’s finale, a 23-16 loss at New England in which the Bills rested their starters.
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“It’s the best time of year to play football. It’s when the stakes are high and you got to go out there and perform,” quarterback Josh Allen said. “That’s a big part of this team of we want that pressure.”
Joe Cool, indeed
Besides the Bengals winning their past eight starts with Burrow under center, the sixth-year quarterback is 18-5, including playoffs, in games played in December and beyond. The 78.3% win rate is the fourth highest since 1970 of any QB with at least 15 starts.
Over that stretch, Burrow has the best career completion rate (71.1%), pass yards per game (296.0), and passer rating (105.4).
Burrow is trying to become the second quarterback to be 3-0 or better against Allen. The only other is Tom Brady, who was 4-0, split between New England and Tampa Bay.
Tightening up
Cincinnati's two biggest defensive weaknesses this season have been tackling and not being able to stop the run. There has been improvements in both areas over the past couple of games.
In their past three outings, the Bengals have allowed 113.7 yards rushing as compared to 166.4 in their first nine. Cincinnati has combined for 12 missed tackles in its past two games, a marked improvement compared to the combined 42 in losses to Chicago and Pittsburgh in Weeks 9 and 11.
On to Cincinnati
Steelers veteran defensive tackle Cam Heyward accused Allen of kneeing him in the stomach after a tackle on Sunday. It led to the two trading words in a helmet-to-helmet exchange, and Heyward being flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Allen sidestepped a question about the accusation on Wednesday by saying: “Listen, I got a lot of respect for Cam Heyward, but we’re on to the Bengals.”
AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy contributed to this report.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
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