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Bengals and Bills Share Biggest Weakness Ahead of Pivotal Week 14 Matchup

The Bengals play the Bills in Buffalo on Sunday. Cincinnati needs to win out to realistically make the playoffs.
James Rapien|
Nov 5, 2023; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle DJ Reader (98) and cornerback Mike Hilton (21) attempt to tackle Buffalo Bills running back James Cook (4) in the first quarter at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kareem Elgazzar-Imagn Images
Nov 5, 2023; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle DJ Reader (98) and cornerback Mike Hilton (21) attempt to tackle Buffalo Bills running back James Cook (4) in the first quarter at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kareem Elgazzar-Imagn Images | Kareem Elgazzar-Imagn Images

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Cincinnati Bengals

CINCINNATI — The Bengals are 4-8 and have a realistic chance of making the playoffs if they win their final five games.

That starts with Sunday's matchup in Buffalo against the Bills. The Bengals' tackling issues are well documented. They also aren't alone.

The Bills have missed 15.4% of their tackling attempts according to Pro Football Focus. The Bengals have missed 13.7% of their tackling attempts.

What does it mean?

Well, the team that does the simple things well will likely be in position to win on Sunday.

We could also see plenty of big plays from two offenses that can produce explosive plays quickly.

For the Bills, it's all about Josh Allen, James Cook Khalil Shakir and Dalton Kincaid. For the Bengals, the quartet of Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, Chase Brown and Tee Higgins [if healthy] will lead the way.

Which team will force more missed tackles? Will one of the defenses step up and play well?

The Bills only allowed seven points to the Steelers in Week 13. Meanwhile, the Bengals gave up 14 points to Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. Both teams cruised to double-digit wins on the road.

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Playoff Push

The Bengals are 4-8 on the season, just two games behind the Ravens and Steelers in the AFC North division. They play the Bills on Sunday, before facing the Ravens, Dolphins, Cardinals and Browns. They have an 81% chance of making the playoffs if they win out.

All they would need is the Steelers to lose two of their final five games and the Ravens to lose one game (other than their Week 15 game vs CIN) to make the postseason for the first time since 2022.

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James Rapien
JAMES RAPIEN

James Rapien is the publisher of Bengals OnSI. He's also the host of the Locked on Bengals podcast and Cincinnati Bengals Talk on YouTube. The Cincinnati native also wrote a book about the history of the Cincinnati Bengals called Enter The Jungle. Prior to joining Bengals On SI, Rapien worked at 700 WLW and ESPN 1530 in Cincinnati

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