Bills Survive Early Surge, Trail Bengals at Halftime
The backs of the Buffalo Bills are up against the wall at halftime of their Divisional Round matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. Down 17-7 at halftime, the Bills are at risk of falling short of their goal of making it to the Super Bowl.
It was the type of nightmarish start the Bills needed to avoid. Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense struck first, picking up four first downs on a six-play drive before Burrow found a wide-open Ja'Marr Chase for the opening score.
Two straight three-and-outs from the Bills offense and another Bengals score meant Buffalo had to dig itself out of a 14-0 hole.
That is where Allen and the Bills started to go to work. Allen completed five of his next six passes before using his legs on a quarterback sneak to cut the deficit in half.
Despite the Bengals being in scoring position inside the Bills' 10-yard-line, they were held to a field goal as Chase couldn't haul in his second touchdown on 3rd and goal.
Two Bills defenders were guarding Chase on the crucial stop, and if it weren't for linebacker Matt Milano hitting the ball loose as Chase went to the ground, the Bengals would've had a 21-7 lead.
It was a hot start for Burrow, who completed 17 of his 24 passes for 179 yards with two touchdowns as the Bengals built an early lead. While Allen struggled with a Bengals pass-rush that didn't allow him much time in the pocket. Allen completed 10 of 17 passes for 111 yards while adding another nine yards and a touchdown with his legs.
The Bills will receive the opening kickoff of the second half.
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