ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Cincinnati Bengals knew they likely needed to win their final five games to have a shot at capturing the AFC North and making the playoffs.
But Sunday’s 39-34 loss to the Buffalo Bills all but dashed those hopes, as they fell to 4-9 and three games behind the first-place Pittsburgh Steelers with just four games left.
“That probably lowers our chances even more, but that’s how the cookie crumbles,” Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said of the loss.
Cincinnati led by 10 points with 8:18 remaining but went reeling after Burrow threw interceptions on back-to-back pass attempts following a Josh Allen 40-yard touchdown run. The first was a remarkable interception by Bills cornerback Christian Benford, who leaped at the line of scrimmage to snag a swing pass from Burrow and returned it for a 63-yard touchdown with 5:25 remaining. The second, by AJ Epenesa, set up the Bills in Bengals territory, with an Allen TD pass eventually putting Buffalo up, 39-28.
Despite a late push, Cincinnati was unable to regain the lead.
It marked Burrow’s first loss as a starter this year. After helping the Bengals win their first two games of the season, he was sidelined for nine games with a turf toe injury that required surgery. The team won in his first game back, on Thanksgiving over the Baltimore Ravens, which set up Sunday’s high-stakes showdown against the Bills.
“I knew it was going to be an uphill battle for us when I was coming back,” said Burrow, who was 25-of-36 passing for 284 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. “That wasn’t really in my thought process too much. I just wanted to come back and put on a show and play well in front of everybody.”
Cincinnati hoped to recreate the magic it had last season, when it finished with five straight wins and nearly made the postseason. Instead, the Bengals will need something special to erase the 3-game gap with Pittsburgh (7-6). Cincinnati split the season series with the Steelers and faces Baltimore (6-7) next weekend.
“I know we’re up against the wall here with whatever our opportunities are, but we got a big home game this week in the division,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “So we have to be able to pick ourselves up and find a way to go respond.”
