Geoff Hobson
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. _ A quick look at the Bengals' 39-34 loss to the Bills here at Highmark Stadium.
Play of the Game
With the Bengals leading, 28-25, with 5:25 left in the game, blitzing Bills cornerback Christian Benford plucked Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow's swing pass along the of scrimmage to wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase and returned it 63 yards for a pick-six that gave the Bills the lead for good.
Burrow, who had been so good in staking the Bengals to a 28-18 lead just three minutes before, then suffered another pick on his next throw on a tipped ball at the line of scrimmage by defensive tackle Jordan Phillips and caught by linebacker A.J. Epenesa at the Bengals 29 to set up the last score.
Burrow went seven-and-a-half quarters before suffering his first two turnovers since he came back from his toe injury. It's also his first loss in nine starts.
"Great plays by them. Corner blitz and trying to throw a hot reaction and the guy jumps up and catches it," said Burrow, who finished with four touchdown passes and a 106.7 passer rating. "Great play.
"The next one, tipped ball, lands right in that guy's hands. Good plays by them."
Bengals Player of the Game
Wide receiver Tee Higgins, who missed the Nov. 27 win in Baltimore concussion, won the day's Tough Man Competition, came back from a trip to the medical tent during a day he made two acrobatic touchdown catches and was their leading receiver with six catches for 92 yards. He also made a couple of third-down catches in game the Bengals converted nine of their first 11.
"Tee's great. Tee's great. Both of those guys, Ja'Marr and Tee, know that teams are going to have different plans to take one of them away. They did not want No. 1 to beat them today," Burrow said of Chase's 44-yard day.
"So when that happens? Then has to step up and make big plays, which he did. And some that we would have liked to have back, too. Mike (Gesicki) made a ton of plays today. We had guys making plays all over the field. Unfortunately, we just weren't able to pull it out."
Gesicki, the veteran tight end, finished with a season-high six catches for 86 yards and his first touchdown of the season on a 12-yarder from a scrambling Burrow, put them up 28-18 with 8:44 left.
"That's something we talked about in practice Friday," Gesicki said. "I was supposed to run a 10-yard sit over the ball. In practice, I kin d of turned it into a high cross. Joe was like, Hey, if it's man, do what you want. Get open.' That's kind of what happened."
Bills Player of the Game
Quarterback Josh Allen missed just six passes, threw for 251 yards, and added two killer runs in the fourth quarter on the way to rushing for 78 yards.
Allen, who scrambled for a 40-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 28-25, ended the game when he converted a third-and-15 on a 17-yard scramble with 1:06 left.
"We have to be more intentional," said Bengals safety Jordan Battle. "We know he's a big guy who is going to scramble if nobody is open. He's fast when he gets out and you have to get him down anyway."
Confident Call
When Burrow hit Higgins for a 25-yard touchdown pass with 2:13 left to cut it to 39-34 (Burrow fumbled on the two-pointer), head coach Zac Taylor had confidence in his defense not to on-side kick.
"Get a stop and we were right there in a position to do that and get the ball," Taylor said. "I felt much better about the decision than trying to get an onside kick. It was going to play out like we hoped. You held them to three yards on the first play and went to the two--minute warning and we got the sack (by Stone) on the second play and called the timeout, and obviously the third play is what it is. We got them against the chains and got them in a good spot and they came through and made a play."
Quote of the Day
Burrow on Higgins:
"Tee's a tough guy. I think he has gotten tougher over the years. Back in the day he would get hit and I would hold my breath because he would lay there for a second and then pop back up. I think everyone remembers that. Now I think his pop-up game is pretty good. That's good to see. Doesn't scare me quite as much. He's as tough as they come and he's going to continue to make these big-time plays in big-time spots."
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What's Next
The Ravens (6-7) limp into Paycor Stadium next Sunday (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Local 12) just 17 days after losing to the Bengals at home, 32-14, and a mere week after the Steelers beat them Sunday, also at home.
The 7-6 Steelers now have a one game-lead over Pittsburgh in the AFC North and Burrow, at 4-9, got the answer he didn't want when he asked for the score Steelers-Ravens score.
""I think that makes it a little tougher. That probably lowers our chances even more, but that's how the cookie crumbles," Burrow said. "I knew it was going to be an uphill battle for us when I was coming back and that wasn't really in my thought process too much. I just wanted to come back and put on a show and play well in front of everybody."
