For three quarters, Joe Burrow was living up to his "Joe Cool" nickname. The cold weather and the snowstorm in Buffalo didn't seem to bother him. Despite the elements, Burrow delivered pinpoint passes to his receivers to give the Bengals a lead that lasted deep into the fourth quarter.
Then, disaster struck. Two late interceptions by the Buffalo Bills' defense — combined with some Josh Allen heroics — sunk theBengals, who fell 39-34 to the Bills. The loss dropped Cincinnati to 4-9 on the season, and likely ended any realistic shot at the postseason the Bengals had.
It didn't look like that would be the case early. Burrow seemed undeterred by the poor weather in Buffalo, and drilled accurate passes to his receivers as the Bengals led most of the game.
His most impressive early throw came in the second quarter, as Burrow placed a perfect pass to Tee Higgins on the boundary of the end zone. Higgins made an excellent hands catch and managed to keep his feet in bounds, giving the Bengals a 14-3 lead.
Allen, as you might expect, wasn't intimidated by the score. He issued an equally dazzling response, leading the Bills down the field on a grueling 12-play drive that ended in a tight-window touchdown throw from Allen to Khalil Shakir.
The Bills were successful on the two-point conversion, making it a three-point game.
Burrow's response? An eight-play touchdown drive that featured a phenomenally-placed pass to Bengals tight end Mike Gesicki and then a diving touchdown catch by Chase Brown on a pinpoint pass as Burrow was backing away from oncoming rushers.
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The back-and-forth continued, with Burrow and Allen each throwing another touchdown. In one of the few moments in the contest that actually looked like a snow game, Allen scrambled for a 40-yard score to bring it back to a three-point game.
That's when everything fell apart for the Bengals. With the team up 28-25, Burrow was picked off by Christian Benford on a quick pass attempt. Benford took it all the way back, scoring a touchdown to give the Bills their first lead of the day.
There was still plenty of time left for Burrow to lead the Bengals back, but the two-time Pro Bowler threw another interception on his next pass attempt. Allen capitalized on that mistake, leading Buffalo to a touchdown on fourth down to make it 39-28 with just three minutes to play.
The Bills' decision to go for it instead of kicking the field goal proved prescient as Burrow threw a 25-yard score to Higgins on the next possession, but Allen sealed the win on the next drive with a 17-yard scramble on third-and-15.
Burrow finished the contest 25 of 36 for 284 yards. He threw four touchdowns and two interceptions in the loss. Allen, meanwhile, completed 22 of 28 passes for 251 yards and three passing touchdowns. Allen also rushed for 78 yards and a score in the victory.
A win pushes the Bills to 9-4 on the year. While Buffalo is in strong position to make the playoffs, the team finds itself trailing the surprising New England Patriots for the AFC East title. Allen and the Bills haven't found themselves in that spot in recent seasons, as the team has won five-straight division titles with Allen under center.
Sunday's win proves why that's the case. Allen is nearly unstoppable when he's firing on all cylinders. And if the Bills' defense can force a few timely turnovers against one of the best quarterbacks in the game, Allen is going to make sure he capitalizes on those opportunities.