CINCINNATI — No extra hype is needed for the upcoming Monday Night Football clash between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals.
The two teams are among the best in the NFL and battling for the No. 1 spot in the conference playoffs, which would mean home field advantage throughout the postseason. In years past that may have been a good benchmark for the Bengalis.
But after the past two seasons’ run of success, Cincinnati is aware of its status.
“We all hit everyone,” said Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. “We know we can play anyone. We made it through the greatest moments. Like I said, we treat every game the same. We’ve played against everyone in the last two years.”
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Beginning in Week 17 of last season, Cincinnati has beaten the Kansas City Chiefs three times in a row, including in last season’s AFC Championship Game.
Burrow, a third-year quarterback, contrasted this year’s Week 17 showdown against Buffalo with last year’s Week 17 showdown against Kansas City. By beating the Chiefs in that game, the Bengals won the AFC North and secured their first playoff spot since 2015.
“We hadn’t played in the top division of the AFC at that point,” Burrow said. “So that was a big win for us.”
However, Burrow noted that Buffalo (12-3) is one of the teams Cincinnati (11-4) has yet to face since the Bengals transitioned into Super Bowl contenders. The last time Cincinnati faced Buffalo was in Week 2 of the 2019 season, which marked the beginning of a downturn that resulted in the Bengals posting the worst record in the league. That gave them an opportunity to select Burrow with the first overall pick in the 2020 draft.
Cincinnati kicks off Monday as one of the hottest teams in the NFL. His seven-game winning streak is the longest in the AFC and is just short of a franchise record.
Burrow and Bills quarterback Josh Allen have combined for 78 passing and rushing touchdowns, tying the NFL record for the highest total of two opposing quarterbacks in a game, according to research from ESPN Stats & Information.
Cincinnati wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase and Bill wide receiver Stefon Diggs both rank in the top six in touchdowns and yards over the past two seasons. Chase called Monday’s game a gathering of the “best of the best” that will highlight a team’s quality.
“That’s what the NFL is for — the best of the best, to play and give the fans what they want. Put on a show for the whole world to see,” Chase said.
Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, who hit the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season, agreed with Burrow about Cincinnati’s confidence ahead of Monday’s game.
“We definitely know who we are as a team,” Higgins said. “At the end of the day, we just have to go out there and be who we are. You all know what we can do. We know what we can do. We just have to go out there and do it.”
Cincinnati’s offense will take on a Bills secondary who Higgins believes is one of the best in the NFL. The Bengals are expected to start with Hayden Hurst, coach Zac Taylor said. Hurst, who missed the last three games with a right calf injury, was a full participant in Thursday’s practice, according to the team’s injury report.
During his weekly press conference, Burrow was asked about preseason talks where the Bills were the hottest pick to reach the Super Bowl. Caesars Sportsbook received twice the money for Buffalo to win the Lombardi Trophy than any other team in the league, including Cincinnati, last year’s runners-up.
But then, as now, Burrow gave little thought to how the Bengals held their own against the NFL’s best.
“Offseason is offseason,” Burrow said. “People will find stuff to talk about. We knew the season would go the way it did. We knew we were going to play really well, so we didn’t worry too much about that.”