Henry Roldán
Two weeks after the unfortunate Damar Hamlin incident, the Bengals vs Bills will meet again, but this time to play one of the AFC Divisional Round games as part of the 2023 NFL playoffs.
Cincinnati survived a tough game Sunday night against the Ravens, which they won 17-24, while Buffalo also had to suffer at home against the Dolphins in winning 31-34.
It’s important to keep in mind that both teams played one another during week 17 of the regular season, but the match was called off because of Hamlin’s health issues. He had a heart attack during the game and had to be brought to the hospital. Today, at JefeBet, we bring you the best preview of the stellar match between the Cincinnati Bengals vs Buffalo Bills.
Predictions and Betting Preview for the Cincinnati Bengals vs Buffalo Bills AFC Divisional Round Game on January 21, 2023
- Where: Highmark Stadium – Orchard Park, New York.
- When: Sunday, January 22, 2023 – 3:00 PM E.T.
Odds provided by BetMGM.
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Betting on the Cincinnati Bengals
- Season record: 13-4 (AFC North Champion – 3rd seed AFC).
- BetMGM Spread: +4.0
- BetMGM Moneyline: (+165)
- BetMGM Over/Under: 50.5.
The Bengals are one step closer to repeating last season’s title of American Conference champions, but this time they will have a much tougher obstacle than the Wild Card round.
If not for a great defensive play by St. Hubbard, who early in the fourth period returned a loose ball 98 yards to the end zone, Cincinnati could have jeopardized its playoff berth against a Baltimore team that fought to the end without Lamar Jackson.
Cincinnati could only muster 234 total yards against the powerful Ravens defense, and this is a cause for concern ahead of their matchup against another very good defensive unit like the Bills.
Joe Burrow, who was intercepted four times against the Ravens and will once again have minimal protection because of injuries to key players on their offensive line, needs the Bengals’ ground offense to show up against Buffalo.
The good thing is that the quarterback has proven time and again that he is capable of responding in important moments, and this campaign he led a team that closed the regular round with eight consecutive victories. Moreover, Cincinnati’s offense was one of the best in the league regarding passes and was fifth best in the red zone with 64.9% efficiency.
On the defensive side, the Bengals finished in the top 10 in the league and in four of their last six games they conceded 18 points or fewer. Meanwhile, on the ground they were the seventh team that conceded the fewest total yards and regarding passes, the fourth team that allowed the fewest TDs, a key record before facing the stellar Josh Allen.
Betting on the Buffalo Bills
- Season record: 14-3 (AFC East Champion – 2nd seed AFC).
- BetMGM Spread: -4.0
- BetMGM Moneyline: (-200)
- BetMGM Over/Under: 50.5.
The Bills also had a tough time in their Wild Card game against the Dolphins and will now face a much tougher matchup against the Bengals.
Sean McDermott, the head coach, should be concerned that his team is still unable to secure the ball, in addition to the fact that Miami became only the second team to score at least 30 points against him this season.
During the regular round, Buffalo was the third-most turnover-prone offense with 27 turnovers, a trend that continued on Sunday when they lost it three times to Miami. This could have been worth considering the Bills recorded four fumbles.
The three losses came at the hands of Josh Allen, who threw two interception passes for the sixth time this season and lost another via fumble. This is something that of course doesn’t go unnoticed when we see that the Bengals ranked 11th in the league with 24 fumbles recovered.
The fact that Cincinnati’s defense has been playing well since the second half of the regular season is another issue for the Bills, and if Allen and company are unable to maintain possession of the ball, Joe Burrow will almost surely be able to capitalize fully on this.
Defensively, the Bills did a great job against Miami even though they could do little against the offense’s loose balls. The defense gave up 231 total yards, intercepted Skylar Thompson twice and on third down dropped the Dolphins to a 4-16 mark.
With 27 fumbles recovered, fourth most in the NFL, Buffalo’s defense concluded the season in the Top-10 for both throws and the top defensive categories for rushing. They also placed second in the league for efficiency in the red zone by allowing TDs on just 44.9% of opponent trips.
JefeBet Prediction
This matchup between two of the Super Bowl favorites shouldn’t let you down. Throughout the season, both teams have shown that they belong to the NFL’s top and that their teams have the talent to win the league.
Unfortunately for them, one of the two will lose the competition as they are unable to keep up the attacking pace that such a game demands.
While both defenses are among the best in the circuit, they will face Joe Burrow and Josh Allen, two of the top five quarterbacks in the NFL who each threw 35 touchdowns in the regular round.
That is why whoever makes the fewest mistakes will have a step ahead in the game. While Burrow will have to fight to avoid being caught left and right, Allen will have to deal with the ghosts of constant turnovers.
In this case, home field advantage does not play a big role despite the fact that the Bills played for 7-1 at home. Cincinnati performed very well away from home with a 6-3 record, while a relevant fact for this clash is that in the last 10 games between the two, the Over has a 7-3 record.
Prediction: Over (CIN 27 – BUF 30).
