Heading into the 2022 season, the Buffalo Bills (12-3) were the clear Super Bowl 57 favorite. It didn’t seem to matter what the Cincinnati Bengals (11-4) accomplished last season.
The Bills just had the “it” factor pundits around the country couldn’t stop gushing about.
And if you’re wondering if Joe Burrow took note of it, he didn’t seem too worried about it. Why?
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He knew how this season was going to play out and now Burrow and his teammates have a chance to prove everyone wrong for doubting the Bengals at the beginning of the season.
“The season is gonna play out,” Burrow said of the preseason expectations. “We knew the team we had. We knew the guys we had. The offseason is the offseason. People are going to find stuff to talk about. We knew the season was gonna play out the way it has. We knew we were gonna play really well, so, we weren't too worried about it."
The Bengals seem to enter every matchup against the Chiefs and Bills as an underdog. Kansas City was a 2.5 point favorite heading into the game in Week 13. And now, Buffalo is a 1-point favorite to beat Cincinnati on Monday night.
It begs the question: At what point will people stop picking against Burrow and the Bengals?
Buffalo is a very talented team and surely could win on Monday night. But it’s hard to comprehend why quarterback Josh Allen seems to be favored over Burrow in the media world even though it was Cincinnati’s quarterback who got his team to the Super Bowl in Year 2. Allen is in his sixth NFL season; Burrow is in his third.
Their statistics resemble each other in almost every category. This game has all the makings to be one of the best of the season simply based off the quarterback play.
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Then you add the other players who will be on the field, and it makes it even more intriguing. Cincinnati’s defense will have a big test against wide receiver Stefon Diggs. The Bengals’ offense will have to deal with a tough Buffalo defensive front and a talented secondary.
“You can tell their secondary is very well coached and they are sound in their scheme, they're not having a ton of coverage breakdowns,” Burrow said of the Bills. “Their safeties do a great job of disguising what coverages they're in and their defensive line gets after the passer. I know they lost Von (Miller), but those other guys have really stepped up and done a great job and gone after the passer really well. So, I feel like I'm saying that every week but I gotta get the ball out quickly, got to make sure that I get the ball in my playmakers hands.”
This is likely going to be Cincinnati’s biggest challenge offensively. Buffalo’s defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier is among the league’s best and his defense is stacked at every level. The Bills rank No. 7 in yards allowed per game (317.7), No. 4 in run defense (104.4) and No. 15 against the pass (213.3).
Where they’ve created a lot of problems for teams is their ability to take the ball away. Buffalo is No. 5 in the league in interceptions (14) with veteran safety Jordan Poyer leading the way with four.
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The Bengals will have to play extremely well on offense to win this game on Monday night and they’ll have to do so without one of their best offensive linemen. Right tackle La’el Collins, who started 15 games, suffered a torn ACL/MCL and will miss the rest of the season. It appears Isaiah Prince will get the start in place of Collins.
Burrow hinted on Thursday it will be Prince and they are confident in his ability. Prince practiced with the starting offensive line on Friday.
“The good thing is that we’ve played with Zay for most of last year,” Burrow said. “So that’s a guy we’re comfortable with, has played a lot of football and so whoever we’re putting out there, I have the utmost trust in them because they’ve all played a lot of football.”
Regardless of who wins on Monday night, these teams will likely see each other again in the postseason. The Bengals have treated this week the same despite what’s on the line. Buffalo currently owns the No. 1 seed in the AFC and Cincinnati is still in the run for it.
And the Bengals are as confident as ever.
“We've beaten everybody,” Burrow said. “We know we can play against everybody. We've done it in the biggest moments. So like I said, we're treating every game the same. We've played everyone in the last two years. We haven't played the Bills yet, so that will be a fun challenge, but they're good on defense, got a lot of veteran guys and know how to play within their scheme, they play hard, they play fast, they play schematically sound so it'll be a fun challenge.”
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