While the Cincinnati Bengals might not be favored to win the AFC divisional round game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, they would like to remind everyone they are not “underdogs.”
They are the reigning AFC champions and until someone knocks them off, they’ll continue to be so.
Despite returning almost every starter and improving their weakest spot in 2021, pundits across the country have favored the Bills to make it out of the AFC and play in Super Bowl 57.
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The Bengals and quarterback Joe Burrow took note. It’s why Cincinnati’s franchise quarterback has no problem going on the road again on his quest for another championship.
“I always enjoy going on the road,” Burrow said. “It’s just you and your guys. Feels like it’s you against the world and that’s where we like to be.”
Buffalo is 7-1 at home this season. Highmark Stadium is one of the more challenging places to play in the NFL for several reasons. The Bills have arguably the most rabid fan base in the NFL and they want nothing more than to provide an extra boost to help their team win every game.
There’s also the weather factor.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the forecast calls for one inch of snow in Buffalo. It will be the first time the Bengals have played in snow this season should that occur.
Snow is easier to play in than rain, according to Burrow who has played in one snow game during his career. Where snow can get dangerous for teams is if the wind factor is present and that doesn’t appear to be the case for Sunday.
“We’ve had some practices in the snow and that’s where you get your reps," Burrow said. “It really shouldn’t be an issue. Doesn’t really change much, like the rain does.”
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Another factor the Bengals are accounting for this week in their preparation is the crowd noise they’ll face. Cincinnati hasn’t played on the road since Dec. 24 when they traveled to New England to face the Patriots.
Burrow will likely be using a silent count throughout the game. The Bengals are dealing with a lot of injuries on their offensive line but they will have starting center Ted Karras and that’s huge for this aspect of the game.
Burrow and Karras are the two most important players in terms of their communication to the rest of the offense to ensure everyone gets lined up right.
“We've been great in our communication all year on the road,” Burrow said. “And you know, really the last two years we've been a really, really good road team. And communication is a big part of that.”
A lot will be made of the first meeting between these two teams and what could have happened. When the Bengals and Bills decided to postpone the game after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the field where CPR was administered, ultimately saving his life.
These teams will be tied together forever because of what took place at Paycor Stadium.
Once the Bengals got news that Hamlin was making a miraculous recovery, Bengals players, including Burrow, were able to start moving forward.
Now, they’ll meet again and this one will be on Buffalo’s home turf. Not Cincinnati’s.
There’s no question there will be a lot of emotions taking place when this game kicks off. So after the memories of what took place, both teams are trying to win a Super Bowl and it has all the signs to be an instant classic.
The Bengals will travel to Buffalo with an edge and even though it looks like they will be down three starting offensive linemen, they like their odds. Every time No. 9 suits up.
"We know that we're defending AFC champions,” head coach Zac Taylor said. “There's an edge to this team, we're not an underdog to anybody. That's just been the feeling all season, we don't care what anybody else says about us. We know we belong on the field with every team in this league."
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