Buffalo Bills will host Cincinnati Bengals in AFC divisional playoff matchup

The Buffalo Bills will host the Cincinnati Bengals at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, NY next weekend in an AFC divisional round playoff game. The game will be played on Sunday, January 22, and kick off at 3:00 p.m. EST.

Buffalo advanced to the divisional round by way of a 34-31 win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday afternoon, and the Bengals punched their ticket after holding off the Baltimore Ravens, 24-17, at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, OH.

Widely considered two of the NFL’s elite teams, and bona fide Super Bowl contenders, both the Bills and the Bengals survived scares from undermanned division rivals in the wild card round to move on. Buffalo beat a Dolphins team quarterbacked by rookie Skylar Thompson, while Cincinnati knocked off a Ravens outfit helmed by Tyler Huntley.

Now, the stage is set for these two teams to square off after their January 2 Monday Night Football matchup was declared a no contest after Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest. Hamlin has since been released from the hospital and continues his recovery.

Cincinnati is currently on a nine-game winning streak, while Buffalo’s winning streak stands at eight games. Something has to give. These two conference powerhouses will meet back on the field in a week to determine half of the participants in this year’s AFC championship game.

Here is next weekend’s divisional round schedule, in full:

Saturday, January 21, 2022

• 4:30 p.m. EST: No. 4 Jacksonville Jaguars (10-8) at No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs (14-3), NBC
• 8:15 p.m. EST: No. 6 New York Giants (10-7-1) at No. 1 Philadelphia Eagles (14-3), FOX

Sunday, January 22, 2022

• 3:00 p.m. EST: No. 3 Cincinnati Bengals (13-4) at No. 2 Buffalo Bills (14-3), CBS
• 6:30 p.m. EST: No. 5 Dallas Cowboys OR No. 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 2 San Francisco 49ers (14-4), FOX