'No Real Energy!': Bengals Stampede Over Bills' Lauded Defense
This time around, the Buffalo Bills didn't have to worry about leaving too much time on the clock for their opponent in the AFC Divisional playoffs.
In fact, more time might've worked to their advantage this time around.
The world will never know but the Bills' defensive performance against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday didn't exactly inspire confidence that they would've taken advantage of it.
Buffalo let up 412 yards of offense and 30 first downs in Cincinnati's ball-hogging effort, as three of their five scoring drives in a 27-10 victory ate up at least five minutes of clock.
Since the Bengals (14-4) started the game with the ball and took that opening possession to the end zone in only seven plays, the Bills were forced to play from behind for nearly the majority of the contest, which frustrated their explosive offense and prevented it from getting into any sort of sustainable rhythm.
"They did really good as far as keeping the tempo at their pace and just being able to control everything," defensive tackle Tim Settle said to the official team site of a Bengals offensive effort that ate nearly 34 minutes of game time. "They controlled the game, they controlled the possessions and we just didn't execute in those areas."
The premature end to the Bills' season perhaps hints that their lauded defense isn't as steel-tight as previously thought.
Its struggle to get to Joe Burrow was a stark contrast to the assault put upon the Bengals' backfield in last year's Divisional game, when the Tennessee Titans brought him down nine times.
Buffalo got to Burrow only once on Sunday, that takedown earned by linebacker Matt Milano in the final stages of a breakout campaign.
Cincinnati mustered a victory in last-second fashion in Nashville. Such heroics were far from necessary in Orchard Park on Sunday and Milano (10 tackles, including two for a loss) didn't mince words about his displeasure.
‘There was no real energy, juice, no momentum,” Milano declared in video from the team. “Usually we’ll get a stop, (the) offense will score, or the offense will score, the defense will make a turnover, something to bring some change in momentum. But there was none of that this week.”
The 412 yards that the Bengals ran up on the Bills (14-4) was an opponent's second-highest output this season, trailing only the 481 the Minnesota Vikings earned in a closer loss in November. To Milano's point, Buffalo also failed to earn a takeaway for just the fourth time this season.
Buffalo's defense was eventually part of a highlight ... albeit in the wrong fashion.
Hayden Hurst's snowy leap over Jaquan Johnson in the third quarter earned a first down with the punt unit almost ready to come on the field, keeping an eventual Cincinnati scoring drive alive.
The eventual score, earned by Joe Mixon from one yard away, afforded the Bengals a permanent two-possession lead, with Hurst's leap providing a self-described deflation of Highmark Stadium.
Numerous narratives will likely surface over the offseason as the Bills failed to rise in the Divisional round. The defensive conversations can't be blamed on a 13-second miracle drive this time.
Those involved obviously vowed to close up the issues and be better prepared for a return trip. The comments made, however, appeared to be spoken with the knowledge that true vindication lies over a full calendar year away.
“Even though this hurts, I’m proud of them in the way that they handled themselves with class this year in the ups and downs and the adversity they faced," Bills head coach Sean McDermott said of the postgame atmosphere amongst the defense. "They’ll take that with them, but for right now, this stings. I wish it were a different result.”
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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