ORCHARD PARK, NY — The Cincinnati Bengals advance to their second straight AFC Championship game defeating the Buffalo Bills, 27-10, Sunday afternoon at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York.
It’s the first time in franchise history the Bengals advance to back-to-back AFC Championship games.
Joe Burrow threw two first quarter touchdowns, one to Ja’Marr Chase and another to Hayden Hurst. Cincinnati was up, 14-0, after one quarter.
Josh Allen’s one-yard touchdown capped a 15-play, 75-yard drive to cut the deficit to 14-7. The Bengals appeared to score another touchdown when Burrow hit Chase from 10-yards out but replay officials ruled the catch incomplete. Evan McPherson’s 28-yard field goal put them ahead, 17-7, at halftime.
The Bills took the opening kickoff and drove to the Bengals’ eight-yard line but had to settle for a Tyler Bass 25-yard field to get back within seven points, 17-10. Cincinnati responded with a 75-yard, 12 play drive capped a one-yard touchdown run by Joe Mixon to extend the lead to 24-10, after three quarters.
McPherson added a 20-yard fourth quarter field goal to cap the scoring.
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Burrow completed 23 of 36 passes for 242 yards and two scores. Running back Joe Mixon ran 20 times for 105 yards and a touchdown. The Bengals rushed for 172 yards.
Ja’Marr Chase and Hayden Hurst each caught five passes for Cincinnati. Chase had 61-yards receiving and a touchdown while Hurst had 59 yards and a score.
The Bengal defense held the Bills high-powered offense to 325 total yards and 18 first downs. Josh Allen went 25 of 42 for 265 yards. He had rushing one touchdown and threw an interception to Cam Taylor-Britt late in the fourth quarter.
The game between the Bengals and Bills was televised Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. on Channel 7.
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Cincinnati will play the Kansas City Chiefs next Sunday night, January 29, in the AFC Championship at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Chiefs advanced to the AFC Championship game beating Jacksonville, 27-20, Saturday.
The Bengals won last year, 27-24, in Kansas City advancing to Super Bowl LVI.
The two teams met on December 4 in Cincinnati where the Bengals won, 27-24, at Paycor Stadium.
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News Center 7 will have coverage of the Bengals and Chiefs leading up to kickoff.
This includes the Orange Zone Sunday morning, January 29, at 11:30 a.m. with John Bedell and Larry Hansgen.
News Center 7′s Brandon Lewis will also provide live coverage from Kansas City.
Kickoff between the Bengals and Chiefs will be at 6:30 p.m.
The game will be televised on Channel 7.