Bills host Bengals in matchup of AFC teams with recent history of dominant December records

Cincinnati - at Buffalo - Sunday p m EST Fox BetMGM NFL Odds Bills by Against the spread Bengals - Bills - Series record Tied - Last meeting Bengals beats Bills - at Cincinnati on Nov Last week Bengals beat Ravens - at Baltimore Bills beat Steelers - at Pittsburgh Bengals offense overall rush pass scoring Bengals defense overall rush pass scoring Bills offense overall rush pass scoring Bills defense overall rush pass scoring Turnover differential Bengals minus- Bills minus- Bengals performer to watch QB Joe Burrow Cincinnati s franchise quarterback looked solid in his first challenge back after missing nine weeks because of a turf toe injury passing for yards and two touchdowns in the win over Baltimore The Bengals have won their past eight games when Burrow has been the starting quarterback Bills athlete to watch RB James Cook This might be Josh Allen s offense but Cook has been the constant this season The fourth-year participant is the NFL s second-leading rusher with a career-best yards coming off his seventh -yard outing of the season and he faces a defense that s allowed yards in every outing except the opener Key matchup Bengals WR Ja Marr Chase vs Bills CB Christian Benford Even with Burrow sidelined for all but three games Chase is yards shy of his fifth straight -yard receiving season and receptions short of his third straight -catch season He ll line up against Benford a fourth-year performer who has been Buffalo s the bulk consistent defender this season Benford is coming off his best outing of the season in limiting Pittsburgh s D K Metcalf to three catches for yards had his first interception of the season and returned a fumble yards for a touchdown Key injuries Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson hip pelvis is expected to miss his fifth straight competition WR Tee Higgins and RB Tahj Brooks could return after missing last week s challenge because of the concussion protocol Bills Edge rusher Joey Bosa hamstring and LB Terrel Bernard elbow have been ruled out WR Joshua Palmer s status is uncertain because of knee and ankle issues LT Dion Dawkins concussion carries no injury designation and is expected to play while RT Spencer Brown right shoulder is listed as questionable TE Dalton Kincaid hamstring knee has a chance to return after missing three games Series notes The Bengals have won six of the past eight meetings including a - win in the AFC divisional round of the playoffs The playoff win came three weeks after a regular-season meeting at Cincinnati was canceled when Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and was resuscitated on the field Buffalo has lost two straight since a - home win in The Bills dominated the series by winning straight in a stretch spanning - Stats and stuff The Bengals are - in regular-season games played in December and January since the season The wins are tied with Buffalo for the bulk Burrow has -yard passing games which is tied with Kurt Warner for third bulk in a member s first six seasons RB Chase Brown has six straight games with at least scrimmage yards the longest developing streak in the league He has at least six catches in three of the past four games Cincinnati s defense forced a season-high five turnovers last week The Bengals lead the league with missed tackles but only have come in the past two games DE Joseph Ossai had a career-high two sacks last week LB Demetrius Knight Jr is one of two NFL rookies with at least five tackles in or more games S Jordan Battle has at least six tackles in six straight road games K Evan McPherson has made his past nine field goals including a franchise-record -yarder against New England two weeks ago The Bills lead the NFL with a combined - record in regular-season games played in December and January since with two of their losses coming last season Allen s -yard TD run last week was the th of his career in a regular-season championship latest the NFL record among quarterbacks previously held by Cam Newton Allen has committed seven giveaways six interceptions and a lost fumble over his past four starts and overall this season Four of his interceptions have occurred inside an opponent s He s - when committing a turnover including - this season Buffalo is - when Cook tops yards rushing this season Buffalo s first downs rushing against Pittsburgh was the squad s preponderance since having in a - win over Dallas on Dec Buffalo is - this season when scoring a TD on its game-opening drive The Bills have scored touchdown returns in consecutive outings Aside from Benford s fumble return Ray Davis returned a kickoff yards for a TD against Houston Buffalo limited Pittsburgh to first downs the fewest against the Bills since they allowed four in a - win over the Jets in the season finale Fantasy tip Allen is a must start even with his new rash of turnovers and Buffalo s middling group of receivers Allen s dual threat presence provides a healthy floor in a season he s had outings with multiple touchdowns and six with three or more AP NFL https apnews com hub nfl Source