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12/07 15:46 CST Bills rally for 39-34 win over Bengals thanks to Josh Allen's 4
TDs, Christian Benford's pick-6
Bills rally for 39-34 win over Bengals thanks to Josh Allen's 4 TDs, Christian
Benford's pick-6
By JOHN WAWROW
AP Sports Writer
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) --- Josh Allen threw for three touchdowns and ran for
one, Christian Benford scored the go-ahead TD on a 63-yard interception return,
and the Buffalo Bills rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat
the Cincinnati Bengals 39-34 on Sunday.
Allen scored on a 40-yard rush, breaking his record of 36 for the longest by a
Bills quarterback, and Buffalo flipped the game with big defensive plays on a
snowy afternoon in western New York. Benford and defensive end A.J. Epenesa
intercepted Joe Burrow on consecutive plays from scrimmage, leading to the
Bills scoring three touchdowns in a span of 4:20 in the fourth quarter.
Benford's interception --- the cornerback leaped to snag Burrow's lob intended
for Ja'Marr Chase --- gave Buffalo its first lead with 5:25 remaining.
The Bills then went up 39-28 after Epenesa's interception, which he caught
after Burrow's pass was tipped by defensive tackle Jordan Phillips. On
fourth-and-goal from the 3, Allen found tight end Jackson Hawes for a touchdown.
The Bills (9-4) have won two straight for the first time in a month, and they
kept pace in the tightly packed AFC.
The Bengals (4-9) saw their already shaky playoff prospects dim even further.
Their only realistic shot entering the weekend was winning the AFC North, but
they fell three games behind Pittsburgh.
Burrow's boost to the Bengals lasted only one week after he oversaw
Cincinnati's 32-14 win over Baltimore in the starter's first game after missing
nine with a toe injury.
The interceptions were Burrow's first in four starts this season. He finished
25 of 36 for 284 yards and four touchdowns while losing for the first time in
nine starts dating to last season.
Burrow completed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins with 2:13 left to give
the Bengals a chance. With Buffalo facing third-and-15, Allen took off up the
middle for a 17-yard gain, allowing the Bills to run out the clock.
Allen finished 22 of 28 for 251 yards. His first TD pass, an 11-yarder on
fourth down to Khalil Shakir, was Allen's 20th of the season, making him the
first NFL player with three seaons of 20 TDs passing and 10 rushing.
Benford, who returned a fumble 17 yards for a touchdown in a 26-7 win at
Pittsburgh last week, became the Bills' first player to score defensive TDs in
back-to-back games.
The field was blanketed with snow throughout, with a temperature at kickoff of
30 degrees Fahrenheit (minus-1 Celsius) that felt about 10 degrees colder
because of persistent wind.
The Bills mdae two costly gaffes on offense, and their defense allowed the
Bengals to convert seven of eight third-down opportunities in the first half.
With Buffalo trailing 21-18, James Cook was stripped of the ball at the
Cincinnati 1 by DJ Turner, and the Bengals' Oren Burks recovered it in the end
zone.
On Buffalo's game-opening drive, Ty Johnson appeared to have a wide-open path
the end zone before he tripped and fell, limiting him to a 23-yard gain. The
drive stalled at Cincinnati's 5 and Buffalo settled for Matt Prater's 26-yard
field goal.
Bengals' Burton suspended
Bengals wide receiver Jermaine Burton did not travel to Buffalo and has been
suspended for one game by the team. The Bengals did not specify a reason for
their decision. The second-year player has yet to appear in a game this season.
He had four catches for 107 yards in 14 games, including one start, last year.
Up next
Bengals: Host division rival Baltimore next Sunday.
Bills: At the AFC East-leading New England Patriots next Sunday.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
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