ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals threw an enormous wrench into the highly anticipated travel plans of the Buffalo Bills, their fans and maybe even the NFL offices.
Burrow threw two touchdown passes and Cincinnati’s defense swarmed Josh Allen on a snow-slicked field in a 27-10 win Sunday to send the Bengals to the AFC championship game for the second straight yr.
And it will be in Kansas City again — as a substitute of in Atlanta, the neutral site where the sport would’ve been played if Buffalo had beaten Cincinnati.
“Higher send those refunds,” Burrow said, referring to the 50,000 or so tickets already sold for a game that may never be played.
“See y’all in Atlanta,” one Bengals player was heard yelling sarcastically while the team made its strategy to the locker room, where cornerback Eli Apple and a few teammates conducted interviews smoking cigars.
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The Bengals entered the sport already feeling disrespected when the NFL began selling tickets for a would-be game at Atlanta, that was depending on the Bills and Chiefs winning this weekend.
The league selected the primary of its kind conference championship neutral site setting since the Bills (13-3) finished the season a half-game behind the Chiefs (14-3) after their game at Cincinnati was canceled on Jan. 2 when Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and needed to be resuscitated on the sector.
As a substitute, it was “Joe Cool” showing poise while playing in a persistent snowfall.
“The larger the moment gets, the calmer he gets,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said of Burrow, who improved his playoff record to 5-1. “Our guys imagine. They walk on the sector able to attack.”
Cincinnati advanced to consecutive AFC championship games for the primary time in franchise history and can prepare for a rematch of last yr’s title game. The Bengals defeated Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs 27-24 to advance to last yr’s Super Bowl, which they lost to the Los Angeles Rams.
“It’s going to be a fun one,” said Burrow, who went 23 of 36 for 242 yards Sunday. “Two of the highest guys within the league, two of the highest teams within the league, great defenses, great overall teams, great coaches.”
Cincinnati has won the past three meetings against Kansas City, including a 27-24 victory last month. The Chiefs are making their fifth straight appearance within the AFC championship game following a 27-20 win over Jacksonville on Saturday.
The Bills’ playoff run led to the divisional round for a second straight season, including a 42-36 extra time loss to Kansas City last yr.
Bills receiver Stefon Diggs was so upset, he was spotted leaving the locker room with much of his gear on shortly after the sport ended before being coaxed by a teammate to return.
“He’s a competitive guy. What makes him good is what you saw,” coach Sean McDermott said of Diggs. “It hurts. I wouldn’t need a guy that doesn’t hurt. We put all of it on the road on the market and tonight it wasn’t adequate.”
It was a dud of an outing for the Bills, who opened the season with Super Bowl aspirations, and eventually ran out of emotional and physical gas. Other than the stunning sight of Hamlin’s collapse, the Bills had their schedule twice disrupted by severe winter storms.
Injuries also played a difficulty. The Bills’ pass rush, missing Von Miller since he sustained a season-ending knee injury in November, generated little or no pressure against a Bengals offensive line missing three starters resulting from injuries.
“We were expecting their best punch and so they got here out and punched us,” said Allen, who finished 25 of 42 for 265 yards, and scored on a 1-yard plunge. “We just didn’t have it today.”
The Bengals mixed of their running attack to maintain the Bills off balance in a primary half during which Cincinnati outgained Buffalo in total yards by a margin of 274-135, and 412-325 overall. Mixon’s 105 yards rushing alone were 1 in need of what number of the Bengals combined of their past two games, each against Baltimore.
“Domination from start to complete,” Burrow added. “That’s what we expected. Job’s not finished.”
The Bengals held one in every of the NFL’s top offenses to season-low 10 points. And the unit got a probability to have a good time by making snow angels in the long run zone after Cam Taylor-Britt intercepted Allen’s attempt on the goal line to essentially end the sport with 62 seconds remaining.
Hamlin was whisked into the stadium in a security vehicle, and led directly into the Bills’ locker room about an hour before kickoff. He was later joined by his mother, Nina, and younger brother, Damir. He watched the sport from a set in a single end zone and was pictured on the videoboard on the 2-minute warning in the primary half, with Cincinnati facing second-and-goal at Buffalo’s 5.
Hamlin raised his arms in his suite to a roar of cheers, before making a heart sign along with his hands. The Bills defense limited the Bengals to a field goal, and trailed 17-7 on the half.
The Bengals prolonged their franchise-best streak to 10 straight wins. They haven’t lost since a 32-13 defeat at Cleveland on Halloween. The Bengals’ 30 first downs were a franchise postseason record.
They were probably the most allowed by the Bills since allowing 30 in last yr’s playoff loss at Kansas City.
The Bills dropped to 13-2 when hosting an NFL playoff game. And so they were 4-0 under McDermott.
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