ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Anybody who had tickets for an AFC Championship Sport in Atlanta may need to get their a reimbursement.
Because the Cincinnati Bengals walked again up the tunnel in Highmark Stadium following Sunday’s 27-10 win over the Buffalo Payments within the divisional spherical of the playoffs, a number of gamers burdened that any of the 50,000 individuals who snagged presale tickets for a possible recreation between the Payments and Kansas Metropolis Chiefs ought to search a refund.
“There was not no stress about that in any respect, man,” Bengals large receiver Ja’Marr Chase mentioned. “Simply proving folks unsuitable, the NFL doing stuff like that for the Payments to go to the Tremendous Bowl. They attempting to make it seem to be we’re not prepared. So we simply got here in right here and proved it. That is all.”
Cincinnati, the defending AFC champion, is headed on the street to face the Chiefs within the convention championship recreation for the second straight yr. The Bengals secured their spot as one of many final 4 groups left within the playoffs with their most convincing postseason win lately.
Cincinnati led 14-0 early and maintained management all through. The beginning was much like the Week 17 recreation between the 2 groups, when the Bengals took a 7-3 lead within the first quarter and had been driving down the sphere earlier than Payments security Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest. The sport was finally canceled, which led to the NFL creating a possible neutral-site recreation with Kansas Metropolis and Buffalo if each groups superior to the AFC Championship Sport.
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However that first assembly gave Cincinnati confidence that it may thwart the league’s contingency plans.
“We knew what we had been able to,” Chase mentioned. “I imply, take a look at the primary recreation. We knew what we had been able to from the leap. We had been simply excited to play these guys.”
The Bengals held the Payments to a season-low 10 factors. That was Cincinnati’s second-fewest factors allowed in postseason franchise historical past.
Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen, who was briefly subbed out of a drive after successful however didn’t go away the sport, was 25-of-42 passing for 265 yards, no touchdowns and an interception on the Payments’ last drive of the sport.
“I do not assume you ever take a look at the scoreboard and see the Payments having 10 factors, even within the first half,” Bengals security Jessie Bates III mentioned. “That is what we do.”
Cincinnati was additionally bolstered by one other sturdy offensive begin. Courting to Week 16 of the common season, the Bengals have outscored opponents by a mixed complete of 39-0 within the first quarter.
Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow performed a significant function in that. He accomplished his first 9 passes and completed the day by going 23-of-36 passing for 242 yards and two touchdowns. He additionally broke Ken Anderson’s franchise file for many profession postseason passing yards (1,321).
Bengals operating again Joe Mixon tallied 20 carries for 105 yards, marking his highest yardage complete in any of the staff’s six postseason video games over the previous two seasons.
Burrow’s and Mixon’s numbers had been indicative of how properly the Bengals thought they performed Sunday regardless of Cincinnati having three reserves beginning on its offensive line.
“It was simply considered one of their finest video games of the yr, dashing [and] move blocking,” Burrow mentioned of the unit’s efficiency. “It is perhaps our most full recreation of the season as a staff.”
The Bengals quarterback mentioned the staff did not use the presale tickets for the potential Kansas Metropolis-Buffalo recreation as motivation. However Burrow referenced in it his postgame TV interview, telling CBS that the league “higher ship these refunds.”
The Bengals’ 17-point win exceeded Cincinnati’s mixed margin of victory — 13 — in three postseason wins in 2021.
Final season, the Bengals went on the street within the divisional spherical and knocked off the top-seeded Tennessee Titans. Bates, who mentioned Sunday’s win was the most important win over the previous couple of seasons as a result of it was the newest one, identified the parallels between then and now.
“We go into Tennessee and we whooped their ass,” Bates informed ESPN. “And we come right here [to Buffalo] and we whooped their ass right here.”
