Jenna’s Outlook Week 9: Bills (5-3) at Bengals (4-3)

It’s rare that a single regular season game carries as much emotional weight as Week 9’s Sunday nightcap does. Between the Damar Hamlin incident and the devastating divisional playoff loss, Buffalo Bills fans no longer seem to associate this current Cincinnati Bengals team with the one that ended their drought era misery just five years ago.

What should we expect on Sunday? Will the Buffalo Bills use their adversity as motivation, or will they collapse under the weight of the memories that Paycor Stadium holds? It’s too bad that they have to go back to Cincinnati for this matchup, because I fear that it may be too much for the Bills to emotionally overcome. I hope I am wrong and that they have no noticeable issues on the field. I want them to show their emotions in a good, competitive way.

Both the Bills and Bengals enter this game after season altering wins which kept the both of them over .500. Each team is trying to rally back to the top of their divisions, and this game may be the key for either to achieve such a goal. The Cincinnati Bengals started the season off extremely slow. However, it was mostly because QB Joe Burrow struggled through a calf injury which sidelined him for a majority of training camp.

Now, after a three-game win streak, they have begun to look like the daunting team that we have come to know over the past two seasons. Burrow is looking more and more like himself. Since Week 5, Joe has completed 78.1% of his passes and thrown for 785 yards, eight touchdown passes, and two interceptions (in three games). Needless to say, the Bengals’ offense is rolling when Burrow is fully healthy.

Is it possible to be semi-confident and semi-nervous at the same time? I think that’s where my head is at for this game. I expect it to be a shootout match given the caliber of quarterback that each team has. I’m certain many other Bills fans feel the same way. Now, here is my matchup to watch out for and my prediction for the game against the Cincinnati Bengals!

Matchup to Watch: Buffalo Bills Linebackers vs. Joe Burrow

It is clear that the Bills linebacker core is missing All-Pro Matt Milano. They tried to plug Dorian Williams into his role in Weeks 6 and 7, but his performance was deemed lackluster. After a few tweaks, Tyrel Dodson replaced him in the lineup. I have some concerns though because of the way that Joe Burrow has been attacking the field. On Burrow’s 264 passing attempts, 47.3% of his throws are within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. He is completing a whopping 78.4% of those throws.

This is where the linebackers come in. Most of these throws will be in front of them. So it will be important for Bernard and company to have full communication with the rest of the defense. It remains to be seen whether newly-acquired CB Rasul Douglas and DT Linval Joseph will play against the Bengals. If they do, I’d feel more comfortable about the state of the Bills’ linebacker room.

Prediction: Dalton Kincaid Scores a Touchdown

We already saw it last week. TE Dalton Kincaid has just started to ramp up in the past two weeks. Since Week 7, he has 13 catches for 140 receiving yards and a touchdown. I am confident that his production will continue as the season progresses. With TE Dawson Knox on injured reserve, Kincaid will be the primary tight end for QB Josh Allen. This means that he is certain to score a touchdown this week! He is building chemistry with Allen, and it will only continue to grow stronger. Josh will begin to trust him in the red zone, just as he trusted Dawson Knox.

Conclusion

I always find it difficult to make concrete predictions for big matchups, let alone one against a team that ended Buffalo’s season less than 11 months ago. I am not looking forward to seeing the Bills players’ faces as they walk through the tunnel of Paycor Stadium. There will be an insurmountable mountain of emotion to climb over because of what they left in Cincinnati that night. The most important thing is that Damar Hamlin is safe, and he has a very high chance to play on Sunday. If this game happened a few weeks ago, we might be having a different discussion about which Cincinnati Bengals team the Bills will be facing. Instead, the Bengals, and Joe Burrow, are turning the corner from their horrific start, and it will be difficult to hamper their firepower unless the Bills’ offense can match. 

We are approaching the half-way point of the 2023 regular season, so be on the lookout for my mid-season rookie report, as well as the next edition of Jenna’s Outlook for the Buffalo Bills’ Monday Night game against the Denver Broncos!

Featured Image Credit: Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images