Week 4: Bills vs. Bengals
at
Sunday, Oct. 2nd
1:00pm ET
The Bills head to Cincinnati to take on a Bengals team they have beaten 10 consecutive times. That is the current longest winning streak in the league thanks to the Bills beating the Patriots last week to break a 15 game New England winning streak. The Bengals come in to the game coming off a loss that made them fall to 1-2. The Bills are favored on the road for the first time since they won in Kansas City in November of 2008.

FACTS AND FIGURES

Matchup: Buffalo (3-0) vs. Cincinnati (1-2)
Place: Paul Brown Stadium
TV/Radio: Network: CBS; DirecTV: 704; Sirius: 106
Announcers: Andrew Catalon and Steve Tasker
Spread: Bills by 3
Series: Bills lead 15-9 (Bills 0-2 in playoffs)
Streak: Bills Won 10
Last Meeting: Bills 49-31 in Cincinnati (2010)
Bengals Offense: Rush (17th); Pass (24th); overall (25th)
Bengals Defense: Rush (7th); Pass (5th); overall (3rd)
Bills Offense: Rush (4th); Pass (11th); overall (3rd)
Bills Defense: Rush (24th); Pass (24th); overall (26th)


INJURY UPDATE

The Bills will be without Terrence McGee and Aaron Williams making them thin at cornerback. Chris White is also out with a hamstring injury. The team hopes to have Kraig Urbik, Kirk Morrison, and Torrel Troup back this week.

The Bengals are pretty healthy DE Robert Geathers is expected to return after missing the past two games with a shoulder injury. LB Dontay Moch has been sidelined with a foot injury. The Bengals lost LB Keith Rivers, WR Jordan Shipley, and TE Bo Scaife for the season during the summer.

Check out our Bills Daily Injury Page throughout the week for the latest updates on the injured players.

KEY MATCHUPS

CB Drayton Florence vs. WR A.J. Green:
Florence may have his hands full against the rookie Green who has played very well so far this year and has developed nice chemistry with the other rookie, Andy Dalton. Florence is looking to keep the momentum going and hopes not get jinxed by being on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

LB Nick Barnett vs. TE Jermaine Gresham:
Barnett does a good job in pass coverage against opposing tight ends. Gresham is an up and coming one who is off to a good start this year.

DL Kyle Williams and Marcell Dareus vs. RB Cedric Benson:
This is likely the last game for a while for Benson before he begins to serve a suspension. He will likely be focused and determined to have a big gain. Williams and Dareus will be the first line of defense to slow him down.

RT Eric Pears vs. DE Robert Geathers:
Pears gets to lineup against a good pass rusher in Geathers. He is expected to return to the lineup after missing two games and is finally healthy.

TE Scott Chandler vs. LB Thomas Howard:
Chandler has allowed the tight end to become a huge part of the Buffalo offense once again. Howard will likely draw the tough assignment of covering the big man.

WR Stevie Johnson vs. CB Nate Clements:
Johnson gets to line up against the former Bill who is playing his first season in Cincinnati. This makes for an interesting matchup as Johnson looks to extend his TD streak to four games.

GAME PLAN

When The Bills Have The Ball: The Bills will spread the field with multiple receiver sets and try to mix in the run out of that formation. The Bengals will try to breakup the timing of the pass patterns with a lot of bump and runs.

When The Bengals Have The Ball: They will likely lean heavily on Cedric Benson while he is still active. They likely won't want to make Dalton win it for them. He will throw however to fellow rookie Green.

BILLS DAILY PREDICTION

This could be a trap game with the Eagles coming to town next week. (How cool is it that we can talk about a trap game for the Bills?) The team seems focused however and don't appear to be looking past the Bengals. I think they will win it but the offense will likely come back down to earth a bit, they have to sooner or later. The Bengals are solid defensively so don't look for a shootout this week, but look for a close one:
Bills 21, Bengals 17

Season Prediction Record: (1-2)
Season Record Against The Spread: (2-1)

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