The Cincinnati Bengals enter Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills in as close to a must-win situation as a team can be in September. The Bengals are 0-2, and a third loss would badly damage their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2015.
The good news for Cincinnati is that they have won four of the last five match-ups they’ve had against Buffalo, including a 20-16 victory over the Bills in 2017 when Buffalo broke their 18-year playoff drought. In that game, the 3-1 Bills were coming off a big road victory, and the 1-3 Bengals were reeling, having lost their first three games before earning a win over a woeful Cleveland Browns squad.
If the Bills want to avoid a let down in their home opener, they’ll have to make sure to watch out for a few select Cincy players. Here’s our list of five players to watch this Sunday.
QB Andy Dalton
The Bills have been a quarterback Grim Reaper this season, as Sam Darnold (mononucleosis) and Eli Manning (benched) have both played poorly against Buffalo before finding themselves unable to play the week after (for very different reasons, of course). Dalton, whose status as a Bills legend after his miraculous touchdown pass in the 2017 season finale knocked the Baltimore Ravens out of the playoffs and gave Buffalo a trip to the dance, will look to avoid the same fate as his predecessors this week. In five career games against the Bills, Dalton is 4-1. He has nine touchdowns against seven picks versus the Bills, and he averages 282 yards passing per game. If Buffalo wants to remain undefeated, they’ll have to hurry and harass Dalton just as they were able to with Darnold and Manning during the first two games of the year.
RB Joe Mixon
Speaking of similar patterns, the Bills will see yet another solid running back in Mixon. After dealing well with Le’Veon Bell and Saquon Barkley, the Bills see a rusher who’s off to an absolutely dreadful start. Mixon has 17 carries for 27 yards thus far on the year. He also has five catches for 17 yards. Part of that is due to a slew of injuries along the offensive line. The Bills need to keep the bad times rolling for Mixon this Sunday.
WR John Ross III
The speedy third-year wideout is off to a flaming-hot start, with 11 catches for 270 yards and three touchdowns through two games. Ross had 21 catches for 210 yards and seven touchdowns in his sixteen career games prior to this season’s outburst. Without A.J. Green, teams have been focusing on Tyler Boyd, and Ross has burned them with his world-class speed. Tre’Davious White, Levi Wallace, and Buffalo’s super safety duo of Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde will have their hands full this week. A solid effort from the front-four would help to limit Ross’s effectiveness deep, as well.
DT Geno Atkins
The Bills are going to want to establish the run. They’ll also need to protect Josh Allen in order to allow the young quarterback to continue to flourish. That means that they’ll need to contain Atkins, who has 71.5 sacks in his excellent career. While he’s off to a slower start than I’m sure he’d like, the seven-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle can still rush the passer as well as any interior lineman around. He has seven tackles and one quarterback hit so far. Keeping him out of Allen’s lap will fall to Buffalo’s interior linemen, and whether it’s Mitch Morse, Jon Feliciano, Quinton Spain, or Spencer Long, the Bills will need to neutralize number 97.
S Jesse Bates III
The second-year safety is a big-hitter who does a great job in run support. He had 111 tackles as a rookie, adding three interceptions and seven pass breakups to his line. Thus far in his second year, he leads the Bengals with 16 tackles. He’ll have his hands full, as he’ll probably be asked to stay in the box to help guard against the run, but he’ll also need to help out over the top with John Brown running deep. Manipulating Bates through play-action and misdirection will help to open the middle of the field, where Allen has looked great all season.