Key Matchups: Bengals Take On Bills in Primetime Battle on Monday Night Football

This is one of the biggest matchups in Monday Night Football history.

Author:
Nicole Zembrodt
Publish date:
Jan 1, 2023 11:03 AM EST

In this story:

Two of the NFL's hottest teams are going head-to-head this week with the Bills visiting Cincinnati to play the Bengals on Monday night.

The Bengals hold a seven-game win streak, while the Bills have won six games in a row.

Week 17 also has big playoff implications. If the Bengals win, they can possibly clinch the AFC North, depending on the Ravens' outcome this weekend as well as move up to the AFC's No. 2 or even the No. 1 seed. The Bills can clinch the top seed in the AFC if they win and Kansas City loses.

Both teams are as well-rounded on both sides of the football as any squad can get, but there's plenty of hype around Joe Burrow and Josh Allen facing off for the first time. The young stars will lead the way in what could be a shootout.

Let's take a look at this week's matchups.

Key Matchup: Joe Burrow vs. Josh Allen

The last time the Bengals played Buffalo was in Week 3 of the 2019 season, Allen's second year in the NFL. This loss was one of Cincinnati's 14 on the season, resulting in the league-worst record and No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft. They picked Burrow and the franchise changed forever.

Since then, both quarterbacks have developed into young stars. Burrow and Allen are game-changers with big-play abilities.

Their numbers are similar this season, but Burrow has the edge. He is averaging 284 yards per game, 69% completion percentage, 34 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions on the season. Allen has 269 yards per game, 63.4% completion percentage, 32 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions.

They can beat opposing defenses with short, intermediate, and deep passes or with their feet. Allen's scrambling capabilities are unmatched for a quarterback of his size. He has 115 rushing attempts for 746 yards, 52 first downs, and seven touchdowns.

Cincinnati plans to place Logan Wilson as a spy on Allen to try and contain the quarterback from running all over them.

Burrow has greatly improved in this area. He hasn't put up big numbers on the ground, but has used his feet to avoid sacks, pick up first downs (27), or taken the ball himself after reading what defenses give him.

Turnovers between the two quarterbacks will be key in this game. Both defenses are able to cause pressure and create turnovers.

Along with their interceptions, Burrow has had five fumbles with two lost. Allen has had 13 fumbles with five lost.

The quarterback with minimal mistakes should help determine the outcome of this game.

Isaiah Prince, Hakeem Adeniji vs. Greg Rousseau

The Bengals haven't announced who the new starting right tackle Prince and Adeniji will be after La'el Collins tore his ACL and MCL last week.

However, Burrow may have hinted at it this week.

"The good thing is that we played with Zay [Isaiah Prince] for most of last year. So that's a guy that we're comfortable with," Burrow said. "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."

Prince worked with the first-string linemen this week in practice. He started eight games at right tackle last season, including all four during the Super Bowl run. Prince finished with a 58 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, allowing three sacks and 7 total penalties.

Adeniji replaced and played the rest of the game against the Patriots after Collins' injury. The third-year player won the backup right tackle spot in camp and has received the first-team reps at the position during Wednesday practices while Collins took his veteran rest days.

He is similar if not slightly better than Collins in pass protection. For a full breakdown on Adeniji's pass and run blocking skills checkout our film breakdown on him here.

Rousseau is an up-and-coming edge rusher in the NFL. The second-year player has seven sacks, 16 pressures, four quarterback hurries, and four quarterback knockdowns.

The Bengals have seen plenty of elite edge rushers in Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt, Micah Parsons, and Matthew Judon, but this week will be different with a backup player starting on a line that hasn't had a different starting lineup until this point in the season.

Eli Apple, Cam Taylor-Britt vs. Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis

Apple has played like a CB1 since Chidobe Awuzie suffered a season-ending ACL injury. Despite not having an interception, the cornerback has allowed a 58.6% completion rate and eight passes defended.

He'll likely matchup with Diggs most of the game.

Diggs is one of the best receivers in the league due to his elite route running, ability to separate from defenders, and catch point radius making him a man coverage headache.

However, the star receiver hasn't put up elite numbers as of late. He has just 10 catches for 123 yards and no touchdowns during the past three games. He also has not had a 100-yard receiving game in his last six contests.

Diggs' production is everything to Buffalo's offense. His 101 receptions for 1,325 yards and 10 touchdowns are more than double the catches (Dawson Knox has 46 receptions) and almost double the yards (Gabe Davis has 797 receiving yards) of anyone else on the team.

Taylor-Britt will get Davis opposite of Apple and Diggs. The rookie is physical, fast, and has five passes defended.

Davis is Buffalo's deep-threat. He averages 17.71 yards per reception.

When both Apple (14.6 yards per completion) and Taylor-Britt (13.1 yards per completion) have been beat by receivers, they've allowed bigger plays. It will be important for the duo to maintain their assignments to keep Allen and the receivers from getting in a groove.

Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins vs. Tre'Davious White, Dane Jackson, Kaiir Elam

Chase is expected to be shadowed by White. The cornerback spent the first 11 weeks of the season on injured reserve recovering from a Thanksgiving Day 2021 ACL tear. White was eased back into things in limited action for two games then has been full-go for the last three contests.

In those three games, White has shadowed Garrett Wilson and Jaylen Waddle on almost all of their perimeter routes. Wilson had six catches on seven targets for 78 yards and Waddle finished with three receptions on seven targets for 114 yards and one score.

White hasn't played at his Pro Bowl potential yet this season, but has shown improvement each week. He is a solid isolation corner with exceptional footwork.

On the other side, Higgins will see a mix of Jackson and Elam. If Buffalo plays more zone defense, Jackson probably will get more snaps. If they go man-to-man, Elam will likely see more one-on-ones with Higgins due to his size.

Chase, Higgins, and the rest of the Bengals receivers will be the most talented the Bills' secondary has faced all season. They have 14 interceptions, but are middle of the pack in just about every defensive passing statistic giving the advantage to Cincinnati's elite weapons.

Joe Mixon vs. Matt Milano

The Bengals face another talented linebacker pair this week similar to their matchup with Devin White and Lavonte David a few weeks ago.

Buffalo has the fourth-best rushing defense (104.4 yards per game) and are one of the best redzone run stoppers.

Milano is a Pro Bowl snub. He uses his speed to track down players in open field or offensive backfields. The linebacker posts the fifth highest run stuff rate (5.7%) per Next Gen Stats. 12 of his 51 tackles have been for loss.

Cincinnati fell behind quickly against the Buccaneers, which made them abort the run. They relied on Burrow to inch them back into the game. They finished with just 53 total rushing yards in Week 15.

Mixon is 213 yards away from eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark on the season. It's a goal of his to reach in the final two weeks of the season.

Although Mixon may pose as more of a threat in the passing game Monday night, the running back has thrived when he is able to get outside this season. His balance and vision has improved since the start of the season to hit open lanes with his burst of speed and power.

A balanced offensive attack could go a long way against a stingy Bills defense under the primetime lights.

Cincinnati and Buffalo meet on Monday Night Football at 8:30 p.m. ET. The game airs on ESPN and is available on fuboTV—start your free trial here.

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