'Everything is Null & Void - It Sucks!' Inside Josh Allen & Bills' Playoff Loss vs. Bengals
Leading into the Buffalo Bills' AFC Divisional round contest against the Cincinnati Bengals, the narrative centered around the latter's inability to hold up at the line of scrimmage against the former's stout defensive front.
But on Sunday inside Highmark Stadium, the narrative couldn't have been further from reality.
Cincinnati (14-4) walked away with a dominant 27-10 victory over Buffalo (14-4), setting up a rematch of last year's AFC Championship game with the Kansas City Chiefs.
It wasn't supposed to end this way - not after safety Damar Hamlin received a standing ovation in front of Bills mafia ... not after eight straight wins entering the same round of the playoffs that ended Buffalo's season last year ... and certainly not with the Bengals down three starters on the offensive line.
But it did anyway - with QB Josh Allen saying, "Everything (positive) that happened this year is kind of null and void in our minds.
"It sucks."
And how did it ... er, "suck''? The breakdown ...
Despite having only two healthy starters up front, Cincinnati ran for 172 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries, averaging over five yards per attempt. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was sacked only one time and hit just three others, often operating from a comfortable pocket.
Consider further that Cincinnati averaged 2.8 yards per rush in a wildcard victory over the Baltimore Ravens in which Burrow was sacked four times and hit eight total, mostly coming after the offensive line reached the health state it was at against Buffalo.
In essence, the Bengals offense dominated in the trenches ... and the defense wasn't far behind.
The Bills mustered a mere 64 yards and one score on 19 rushes, an average of 3.4 yards per carry. Buffalo's longest run of the day was just eight yards. Quarterback Josh Allen was only sacked once but hit some eight times by Cincinnati's defensive front.
By all accounts, the 17-point loss speaks volumes as to how much the Bengals controlled the Bills - but the numbers and overall body of work at the line of scrimmage might just send an even louder message.
And while the Bills faithful watched once more as their team's season came to a Super Bowl-less end, the margin between great and special has never been clearer.
You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter at @DFlickDraft
Thanks for reading our SI-powered coverage of your Buffalo Bills ... Bills Mafia!
Get your Buffalo game tickets from SI Tickets ... here!
You're a member of Bills Mafia hungry for more Buffalo coverage? Read here.
