From start to finish, the Buffalo Bills were completely overwhelmed in their AFC Divisional Round loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
The very first drive for both teams essentially set the tone, as the Bengals drove down and scored a touchdown right away, going up 7-0. Buffalo followed that up by going 3-and-out, punting, only to see Cincinnati drive down and score another touchdown.
After the Bengals took a 14-0 lead, Buffalo went 3-and-out once more.
And so the story of the game went. That’s what type of day it was for the Bills, who had Damar Hamlin in stadium, attempting to provide the team and crowd some extra motivation. Cincinnati, though, was simply too good.
The Bills’ 27-10 loss can be put on a lot of different areas, but no area bigger than the trenches.
The Buffalo Bills were utterly demolished up front, and on both sides of the ball
Buffalo’s offensive line was merely non-existent all afternoon, as Josh Allen hardly had time to throw. He faced pressure often, and it looked like his offensive line was hardly in front of him all game long.
On the flip side, Cincinnati’s offensive line dominated the Bills’ defensive line in a showing that nobody saw coming. The Bengals were down three starting offensive linemen and adjusted well, running the ball plenty and making it look easy.
Cincinnati ran it almost as many times as they threw the ball Sunday (34 rushes versus 36 passes). The Bengals ran for 172 yards in an embarrassing tackling effort by the Bills. Cincy had their way on the ground, which then paved the way for Joe Burrow to do his thing.
Burrow looked like a machine on several drives, which was incredibly deflating to the Bills’ defense.
As for Buffalo’s offense, Josh Allen did everything he could. A few of his throws were dropped, while the Bengals at times made some unbelievable plays on perfectly-thrown balls. Allen ended with 265 yards, no touchdown passes, a touchdown run and an interception.
Allen was also the team’s leading rusher with 26 yards. The Bengals got out to such a quick lead that Buffalo basically abandoned the run halfway through the game, finishing with just 19 carries for 63 yards as a team.
Now, Buffalo goes into yet another offseason finishing short of their ultimate goal. The questions will loom, and Brandon Beane will have to provide clear-cut answers to this fan base.