Top 3 things learned from Bills vs. Bengals AFC Devisional round

The top three lessons learned from the Bills vs. Bengals AFC Divisional Round are as follows:

1. The Bills' season ends abruptly at home

With a 27-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Divisional game, the Buffalo Bills' 2022–23 season—one that had been full of dramatic narratives, particularly during the previous two months—ended quietly and suddenly.The Bills' playoff journey has ended in the divisional round for the second consecutive season, and this is just the second time in the history of the Buffalo Bills franchise that the team has been eliminated at home during the postseason.Buffalo held a tenuous hold on the game from the Bengals' first play from scrimmage—a six-yard Ja'Marr Chase reception—to the Bills' last play from scrimmage-a Josh Allen interception.Bills quarterback Josh Allen stated, "They had a solid game plan; we were anticipating their best punch, and they came out and hit us.Joe Burrow and the Bengals only needed six plays to take the lead, and Ja'Marr Chase had plenty of room for a 28-yard touchdown. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Chase was the most open he's ever been on any of his 25 career touchdowns with 8.3 yards of separation on the broken coverage by the Bills.The Bills' day didn't get any better as they continued to trail by scores of 14-0, 17-7, 24-10, and 27-10 in the end. Allen scored their only touchdown of the game on a 1-yard TD run in the quarter two. On their subsequent possession, the Bengals ate up more than five minutes of time and scored a field goal to reduce the score to two possessions once more.According to Bills head coach Sean McDermott, "they got into a rhythm really fast offensively and we had a hard time breaking them out of that rhythm."The Bills struggled to find their rhythm and regain momentum so that they could actually mount a comeback. Eight drives by the Bills lasted fewer than two minutes on five occasions."Offensively, it may have a little bit of an impact on the energy when you're not on the field and extending drives. The men seemed to have the right amount of intensity when they first started, but once they get into a groove offensively and you can't leave the field since doing so might drain your energy, "McDermott explained.

2. Bengals control the front line

The Bengals O-line vs the Bills D-line was one of the main themes going into the game because Cincinnati was without three starters. Buffalo, however, was unable to profit.Burrow had been sacked two or more times in each of his previous four games going into the day, but Buffalo only managed one sack and three QB hits, leaving the Bengals QB with a clear pocket from which to pass. In the first quarter, Burrow completed 10 of 13 passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns, giving Cincinnati a 14-0 lead.The Bengals' excellent run game and quick passes nullified Buffalo's pass pressure. In this point: Burrow tossed the ball to RB Joe Mixon late in Cincinnati's second drive, and Mixon gained five yards to go to the Buffalo 15-yard line on first down. Burrow faked a screen to Chase on the next play before finding an open Hayden Hurst along the sideline for a score. LB The Cincinnati tight end went untouched for the score after Matt Milano bit on the fake screen.In maintaining the tempo at their pace and being able to manage everything, they did exceptionally well, according to DT Tim Settle, who took on a bigger defensive role in DaQuan Jones' absence. We simply didn't perform in those areas as they dominated the game and the possessions.Burrow completed 23 of his 36 throws for a 64 percent completion rate and two touchdowns as the Bengals continued to harass Buffalo's defence. Running the ball, Joe Mixon had one of his greatest days of the year. The seasoned running back gained 105 yards on the ground and scored a touchdown in the third quarter, marking just his second 100-yard rushing effort of the year. Allen was being coerced during crucial times of the game on the other side of the ball. Allen just had one sack but eight hits and only completed fewer than 60% of his throws.Dion Dawkins, a seasoned offensive lineman, remarked, "It was just pressure, dude." "Man, it was just a lot of single rockets. Just guys from various backgrounds are involved.angles. Corners were taking longer than expected, and men were conducting activities both inside and outdoors to keep us moving and alert.The Bengals ran for 172 yards on 34 tries (5.1 yards per carry), compared to the Bills' 19 rushes for 63 yards (3.3 yards per carry)."I would say that generally, we didn't do enough at the line of scrimmage tonight." Give the Bengals credit, but I'm sure you noticed the same thing I did, McDermott remarked.

3. Diggs and Allen restrained

The Bills have a history of falling behind early in games before regaining the initiative on offence in the final minutes, but that wasn't the case on Sunday. Allen had a season-low through the opening 15 minutes of a game, going 2 of 4 for 6 yards in the first quarter.For the first time this season, Allen was kept without a touchdown throw at home and finished the year with at least one interception in four straight games.Just couldn't find it, we said. When we had some of our possessions, I believed we were moving the ball, but the two early three-and-outs and general stalling throughout the game bothered me. Allen remarked, "You can't win football games that way.The QB tried to establish WR Stefon Diggs early in the game. Diggs received two of the team's first four targets, but on the team's first drive, Allen's third-down ball went high, denying the QB/WR combination the chance to make a major play.There was no shortage of effort in the lacklustre performance. Though the results weren't there, Diggs' 10 targets equaled for the most in his past seven games with the Bills. Diggs had four catches for 35 yards in total.He is a fierce competitor who craves the ball, and whatever it was that prevented us from getting it to him tonight, Allen remarked, "We're going to have to learn from it."