The Cincinnati Bengals are back.
After a slow start to the season, Joe Burrow and the Bengals earned their fourth straight win on Sunday night in a very tough game against the Buffalo Bills. The Bengals, who scored on their first two drives of the night, cruised to a 24-18 win at Paycor Stadium.
Burrow went a perfect 6 of 6 on the opening drive of the night before capping it off with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Irv Smith. While the Bills responded with a touchdown of their own right away — Josh Allen ran for a 2-yard score — that was the last time they found the end zone until the final minutes of the game. Joe Mixon gave the Bengals a 14-7 lead with a 2-yard run just before the end of the first quarter, then Burrow found Drew Sample for a 22-yard touchdown just before halftime.
The Bills hit a field goal right after the break, but that was about it. The Bengals forced a fumble after Dalton Kincaid was caught deep in the red zone to stop the Bills’ best shot in the end zone early in the fourth quarter as well, which nearly secured the win.
Allen hit Stefon Diggs for a 21-yard score with just over three minutes left in the game, and they completed the two-point conversion to suddenly bring the game back to just six points. But Burrow found Tyler Boyd to make a deep play right away, then quickly ran out of time to seal the win for Cincinnati.
Allen went 26 of 38 for 258 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the loss to the Bills. He was also their leading rusher with 44 yards on the ground. Diggs had 86 yards on six catches.
Burrow went 31 of 44 for 348 yards with two touchdowns for the Bengals. Mixon added 37 yards on 14 carries, and Tee Higgins had 110 yards on eight catches. The Bengals have now won four straight games and sit at 5-3. While they still have a lot of work to do to solidify themselves into the elite class of the AFC, a win over the Bills on Sunday night certainly helps in that quest.
Follow along as Yahoo Sports provides the latest news, highlights and scores as the Bengals face the Bills on “Sunday Night Football” in Week 9.
