NFL

Joe Burrow, Bengals Roar Past Bills 27-10 in Divisional Round

Cincinnati will head to Kansas City to meet the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game next weekend

Joe Burrow
Getty

The Cincinnati Bengals' hunt for revenge continues.

Joe Burrow and Co. continued their quest to make a second-straight Super Bowl appearance after dispatching the Buffalo Bills 27-10 on the road on Sunday.

It sets up what should be a riveting rematch in the AFC Championship Game between the Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs next weekend, where Cincinnati prevailed 27-24 in overtime last season.

On their first possession, the Bengals leapt down the field on a six-play, 79-yard drive to score the game's opening touchdown.

On a second-and-3 from the Bills' 28-yard line, Burrow stepped up into the pocket to elude pressure and lobbed a pass to Ja'Marr Chase, who was wide open at the nine-yard line between the numbers. Chase turned upfield and split two defenders to cap the play.

Buffalo failed to respond, punting after an uninspiring three-play, six-yard drive. Burrow and Co. had no troubles navigating downfield in frozen conditions. On a third-and-7 from 15 yards out, Burrow found tight end Hayden Hurst wide open in the end zone on a wheel route to go up 14-0.

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At that point, Burrow completed all nine passing attempts for 105 yards and two touchdowns.

Buffalo went three-and-out again, this time collecting just five yards before punting. Fortunately for the Bills, their defense forced a crucial stop that flipped the momentum in their favor.

Josh Allen and Co. assembled a much-needed 75-yard drive that took 15 plays to find the end zone. On a third-and-goal just inches away from scoring, Allen took home a quarterback sneak to get Buffalo on the board, with Damar Hamlin applauding them on from inside the stadium.

Cincinnati showed immense poise to respond with another double-digit-play drive of its own, tallying 65 yards on 14 plays. For a moment, Chase appeared to haul in his second touchdown of the day, but it was overturned after Bills linebacker Matt Milano stayed with the play and disrupted Chase's possession of the ball. Evan McPherson then came out to convert a 28-yard field goal with 1:49 on the clock.

Buffalo had a prime opportunity to cut into the deficit with the first possession of the second half, but it ended up replicating the Bengals' previous drive: a 14-play, 65-yard drive that ended in a Tyler Bass 25-yard field goal.

Cincinnati piled onto its lead on the ensuing possession, going 75 yards in 12 plays that finished with a one-yard touchdown run from Joe Mixon.

The Bills' offense continued to struggle moving the ball downfield, and followed up the Bengals' touchdown with another three-and-out. Cincinnati came back and marched deep into Buffalo territory before settling for a 20-yard field goal to seize a 27-10 lead early in the final quarter.

Buffalo responded with a much better drive, with an Allen 32-yard pass to tight end Dawson Knox reigniting the offense. They took it down to the Bengals' 16-yard line, but Allen's fourth-and-6 shot to the end zone intended for Gabe Davis was broken up by Eli Apple with 7:32 left in the fourth.

Burrow finished the game completing 23 of 36 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns, while Mixon rushed for 105 yards on 20 carries to go with the sole touchdown. Allen, meanwhile, completed 25 of 42 passes for 265 yards and a late interception with under a minute remaining in the game.

Cincinnati will head to GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium next Sunday, Jan. 29 to play the Chiefs for a shot at a Super Bowl LVII appearance.

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