Bills Central

4 winners & 3 losers from Bills shootout victory over Bengals in Week 14

The Buffalo Bills improved to 9-4 with a thrilling win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Here's who stood out as winners and losers in the Week 14 victory.
Randy Gurzi|
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen enters the field before the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Highmark Stadium.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen enters the field before the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Highmark Stadium. | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

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The snow-covered field might have suggested a low-scoring slugfest was incoming, but that wasn't the case for the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals.

Cincinnati jumped out to a 14-3 lead with Joe Burrow carving up the Buffalo defense. The Bills fought back, but were still down 21-11 entering halftime.

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Buffalo found a way to get back into the game, thanks to their defense catching fire. The Bills recorded interceptions on back-to-back plays, which was significant since Burrow had no interceptions coming into this game.

From there, Josh Allen took over and put the game out of reach, with Buffalo winning 39-34 and improving to 9-4 on the season. With this one in the books, let's look at who stood out as winners and losers in Week 14.

Winner: Dalton Kincaid, TE

Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid runs the ball in the fourth quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Highmark Stadium
Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid runs the ball in the fourth quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Highmark Stadium. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

After missing the past three games, Dalton Kincaid was back in the lineup in Week 14. He wasn't at full speed, but he still reminded us what the offense was missing.

Kincaid had four receptions for 41 yards and a touchdown, continuing his strong campaign. If he can ever get past his durability concerns, Kincaid could place his name among the best pass-catching tight ends in the game today.

Loser: Ty Johnson, RB

Buffalo Bills running back Ty Johnson runs with the ball while defended by Cincinnati Bengals safety Geno Stone.
Buffalo Bills running back Ty Johnson runs with the ball while defended by Cincinnati Bengals safety Geno Stone. | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

First, let's get this out of the way: Ty Johnson has been playing really well this whole season. That continued on Sunday, but he still had one play he would surely want back.

During Buffalo's opening drive, Johnson broke free in the secondary and looked destined for a 36-yard touchdown. That didn't happen since Johnson slipped in the snow and was touched down at the Cincinnati 13 for a 23-yard gain. The Bills then settled for a field goal after the offense stalled, meaning Johnson's slip cost them four points in a shootout.

Winner: Dawson Knox, TE

Buffalo Bills TE Dawson Knox runs with the ball in the third quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Highmark Stadium.
Buffalo Bills TE Dawson Knox runs with the ball in the third quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Highmark Stadium. | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Dalton Kincaid was back in the lineup, but wasn't 100 percent. That meant the Bills needed Dawson Knox to deliver, which is exactly what he did. The veteran tight end caught the Bills' first pass of the game, going 32 yards to move the ball into Cincinnati territory.

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He kept stepping up, finishing with a team-high six receptions for 93 yards with a two-point conversion. This offense might be lacking a true No. 1 wide receiver, but Knox and Kincaid proved they can be dangerous when both tight ends get hot.

Loser: Taron Johnson, CB

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Andrei Iosivas reacts after a play in the second quarter against the Buffalo Bills.
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Andrei Iosivas reacts after a play in the second quarter against the Buffalo Bills. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Cincinnati was nearly unstoppable in the first half, especially on third downs, going 7-of-8 in the first two quarters. One of those was a third-and-11 where tight end Mike Gesicki beat cornerback Taron Johnson for a first down. The Bengals scored on that drive, taking a 14-3 lead.

On the next drive, Johnson was also flagged for a 33-yard pass interference when guarding Andrei Iosivas. It was a tough call on an underthown pass, but just added to Johnson's tough day.

Johnson's woes continued in the second half as he was flagged for holding during the third quarter. In the fourth, Johnson was beaten by Gesicki again, this time for a 12-yard touchdown.

Winner: Christian Benford, CB

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is sacked by Buffalo Bills cornerback Christian Benford.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is sacked by Buffalo Bills cornerback Christian Benford. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While much of the defense struggled, Christian Benford put together another solid outing. He did well in coverage, which is the norm for him, but also made a huge play in the backfield. Benford recorded a sack on second-and-10 during the Bengals' final drive of the first half, which helped force the first punt of the day for Cincinnati.

As impressive as that was, the game-changing play came courtesy of Benford when he recorded a pick-six in the fourth quarter. Joe Burrow tried to throw the ball over Benford's head, who was coming in on the blitz. The pass wasn't high enough as Benford picked it off and ran the ball back for his second defensive touchdown in as many weeks.

That play gave the Bills their first lead, 32-28 with 5:25 to play.

Loser: James Cook, RB

Buffalo Bills running back James Cook III fumbles the ball in the third quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Buffalo Bills running back James Cook III fumbles the ball in the third quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

James Cook is having the best season of his career, but he's struggled to protect the ball the last two weeks. Cook fumbled twice on the same drive late in the third quarter, with the first being negated by a holding penalty. On that play, Cook dove for the end zone, and the ball went out of bounds.

The Bills moved deep into Cincinnati territory, but Cook again fumbled as he dove for a touchdown. This time, the ball was recovered by the Bengals, which was a huge momentum swing since the touchdown would have given Buffalo the lead.

For Cook, this was the fourth fumble in the past two weeks, with two of them being lost. As great as he's been, this offense lacks the talent to overcome turnovers, so he has to find a way to clean this up.

Winner: Josh Allen, QB

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen runs the ball for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Bengals.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen runs the ball for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Highmark Stadium. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

It's scary to imagine what this team would look like without Josh Allen.

Despite issues all around him, Allen single-handedly kept the Bills in the game. He was able to escape pressure throughout the day to keep plays alive. We saw this on his unreal 11-yard touchdown pass to Khalil Shakir in the second quarter.

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He also moved the ball with his legs when everything broke down. He proved that in the fourth quarter when he ran a 40-yard touchdown, the longest of his career.

Allen got some help from the defense, and the next time he had the ball his team was up 32-28. Allen put the game out of reach with a fourth-down touchdown pass to Jackson Hawes, giving fans something to celebrate.

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Randy Gurzi
RANDY GURZI

Randy Gurzi is a graduate of Arizona State and has focused on NFL coverage since 2014.