Plays that defined 2019: Cincinnati Bengals at Buffalo Bills, Week 3

The 2019 season is behind us, but the stories live on. Every week brought a different narrative and we look back on the season to tell those stories through the plays that defined the game. Sit back and get ready for the tale of Week 3:

Cincinnati Bengals at Buffalo Bills

The 2-0 Buffalo Bills were hosting the 0-2 Cincinnati Bengals for the home opener. Buffalo jumped out to a 14-point lead in the first half and completely stymied the Bengals’ offense. Buffalo dominated time of possession and caused four turnovers in what should sound like a dominant performance.

But in the second half, the Bengals scored 17 unanswered points to take the lead. With five minutes left to go, the Bills bounced right back into the lead, but left nearly two minutes for Cincinnati to work with. Despite some earlier struggles, the defense rebounded and closed the game for another Buffalo victory.

Cole Beasley two-point conversion (Q1, 3:03)

The Buffalo Bills opened up the scoring with a touchdown in the first quarter. With no pressure to add to their lead, the Bills lined up for the point-after attempt. A Cincinnati flag for too many men on the field gave Buffalo the option to try for two at the one-yard line. Head coach Sean McDermott liked the odds and the Bills went up by eight after this connection from Josh Allen to Cole Beasley.

T.J. Yeldon fumble (Q2, 7:31)

With an early lead of eight, the Buffalo Bills sadly started to sputter. They would tack on two field goals in the second quarter, but couldn’t pull definitively ahead. The Bills would then go scoreless for nearly the entirety of the second half. This fumble by T.J. Yeldon was just one of several drives that ended poorly for Buffalo. It also shows a Bengals team fighting hard as Sam Hubbard fights tooth-and-nail to get the ball on the ground.

Frank Gore long run (Q3, 5:50)

With Devin Singletary out due to a hamstring injury, Frank Gore was the feature back. Gore averaged 5.4 yards per carry on 14 runs, which is still over the magic 4.0 if you remove this gain of 22. Buffalo leaned a little higher than normal on the run with a perfect 50/50 split. By controlling the clock throughout the game they limited the Bengals’ chances to come back in the end as a surging Cincinnati offense put up 17 straight in the second half to take the lead.

Dawson Knox 49-yard catch and run (Q4, 4:25)

The Bills got the ball back with plenty of time after Cincinnati’s go-ahead field goal. Starting with nearly five minutes left, a seven-yard gain was followed by this. Voted the “angriest run” of the year by Good Morning Football, Dawson Knox made a name for himself with a single play. Moving half the field in a single play is always a highlight and helped this drive end in a Frank Gore touchdown. However, the Bills only took three minutes off the clock, leaving the Bengals with plenty of time.

Tre’Davious White interception (Q4, 0:20)

In addition to clock control assisting Buffalo, the defense caused four turnovers throughout the game to limit the Bengals’ scoring opportunities and overall did well slowing down Andy Dalton and crew. Despite being in field goal range on this third down, the Bengals were down four points thanks to the early two-point conversion. With only 20 seconds to play and needing to find the end zone from 28 yards out the Bengals had to be aggressive. A pass that went a bit high was a disaster as Tre’Davious White and the Buffalo secondary were ready for the Bengals’ play call.