Buffalo Bills at Cincinnati Bengals first-half open thread

The Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals are set to meet for the third time in this calendar year, and the first time in the 2023 NFL season. After last year’s 27-10 playoff drubbing at the hands of the Bengals, the Bills are definitely looking for revenge this evening. For Cincinnati, they’re looking to stay on a roll, as they’ve locked in after a poor start to the season.

This one features two of the league’s best quarterbacks, as both Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow can count themselves among the NFL’s elite. Burrow is in the top half of the league in passing yardage, touchdown passes, and completion percentage. Allen currently leads the league in completion percentage, is fifth in passing yards, and is second in touchdown passes. With the potential firepower of both of these offenses, an over/under of 50.5 points doesn’t seem absurd at all.

With a win, the Bills would move into first place in the AFC East thanks to the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory over the Miami Dolphins earlier today. With a loss, Buffalo would fall out of the playoff picture for the moment, as they’d drop to eighth in the conference (the three teams in the wild-card slot would then all come from the AFC North division, as a win would tie the Bengals at 5-3 with every other team in their division aside from the Baltimore Ravens).

Your first-half open thread is here, friends. Please remember to be civil with each other. If you’re interested in the classic game-thread experience, toggle the comments to “oldest.” And most importantly, enjoy the game wherever it is that you’re watching.

Go Bills!