Root for a Cinci win to avoid desperation or a loss to avoid confidence/momentum

[BillsFan619]

I sometimes get conflicted on these two thought processes and was wondering what the board’s thoughts are.

 

I lean towards a loss against the 49ers but a wounded animal can be dangerous.

 

What are your thoughts?

 

Go Bills!

Edited October 27, 2023 by BillsFan619

[Warcodered]

They're playing an NFC team they can go ahead and lose, unless they're playing the Chiefs or at this point maybe the Ravens or Dolphins who are ahead of them, they can lose and lose and lose some more.

[BBFL]

Huh… I don’t think it matters if we roll into Cinci with a team who’s won or lost. It certainly hasn’t made a difference for us so far this season…

[78thealltimegreat]

I’d honestly rather have Cincy get blown out and let doubt creep in their minds that it just isn’t their year.

 

Last week in the Seahawks game if Geno Smith wasn’t old Geno the Seahawks win that game going away. 

So I understand the idea I just don’t think the Bengals are anywhere near as good as they’ve been. 

 

So go 49ers!

[strive_for_five_guy]

Want to see Bengals lose this week, but expect a really tough game against them next week either way.  I will feel a whole lot different about this team’s outlook at 6-3 w a win over Cincy, versus 5-4.

[BuffaloBillyG]

Beat em, keep winning and it really doesn't matter what Cincinnati does. 🤷🏼‍♂️

[Jauronimo]

6 minutes ago, Warcodered said:

They're playing an NFC team they can go ahead and lose, unless they're playing the Chiefs or at this point maybe the Ravens or Dolphins who are ahead of them, they can lose and lose and lose some more.

Cinci losing to an NFC team would only increase their position when it comes to tie breakers.  Hate to see us lose the #1 seed just because Cinci blew a game to the hapless Niners.

[BillsFooteball]

Until seeding and bills actually (if) clinch a playoff spot, 100% of time I root NFC over AFC. As we get deeper in year for teams that won’t make the playoffs in afc i then will root for some wins to hurt draft status. There is zero benefit to the bills on having bengals beating the niners.  Go niners 

[Process]

Yea, no lol. I'd like to end their season next Sunday night.

[Success]

I used to think along these lines, but it never seems to work.

 

I want Cincy to lose more games than they win, so I'm rooting for the Niners. There is as much chance a loss for Cincy starts another swoon for them as there is they get more motivated because of it..

 

[BillsfaninSB]

Want a Bengals loss.  Bills equally desperate so it doesn’t matter.  Both teams, win or loss for Cincy, will have major urgency. 

[Gary Marangi]

Don't think it matters we don't match up well against them

[Drew21PA]

Idk it’s going to be a brutal November sheesh

 

2-2?  3-1?

 

not sure 4-0 is possible 

[Scott7975]

Root for whatever helps the Bills more, a Cinci loss to the 49ers.

[Charles Romes]

We simply need them to lose as much as possible.  Mahomes goes down and 12-5 can take the 1 seed.  I don’t put it past the bengals to go on a ten game heater.  We all saw it first hand. 

[billsfan89]

Cincy will have a sense of urgency regardless of whether they win or not. If they win they will still need to keep up with the three teams in their division that are in front of them that are currently 1-2 games ahead and will at best be even of 1 game ahead. If they lose they will be desperate to get back to .500. The urgency of the Bengals is high in either scenario. I am rooting for the Bengals to lose, a loss eats away at a teams confidence a win helps you gain confidence. You can see it with the Bills the last few weeks. After the Jags lost they played tight against a Giants team they should have been able to win comfortably against. That led to a tight performance against the Pats. The Bills played more confidently against the Bucs and got away with a win that was a bit tighter than it should have been. 

 

I think the Bills getting the "mini-bye" desperately need the few extra days rest. Josh's shoulder, Ed's toe, Morris's ankle, Von's long return from the ACL, and all the other dings that caused guys like Groot, Shaq and others to miss a game or be limited in practice get the chance to heal up a bit. 

5 minutes ago, Drew21PA said:

Idk it’s going to be a brutal November sheesh

 

2-2?  3-1?

 

not sure 4-0 is possible 

 

Cincy has not played well most of the season, the Jets and Broncos home are very winnable games the only game that's tough is @ Philly. If the Bills can pull a minor upset against Philly 4-0 is legit possible. I would be fine with 3-1 as that puts the team at 8-4 going into the bye but if the Bills continue to get Shakir and Kincaid going on offense while maybe adding a reinforcement or two on defense via trade I don't see why 4-0 is that daunting. Get the win at Cincy and you can then see 4-0 being really a legit possiblity. 

[dave mcbride]

1 hour ago, Jauronimo said:

Cinci losing to an NFC team would only increase their position when it comes to tie breakers.  Hate to see us lose the #1 seed just because Cinci blew a game to the hapless Niners.

Brav-o!

[buffblue]

Much rather them lose. Don't want them to get in a groove before playing us by getting a big victory on the west coast. The game is going to be difficult enough. 

Edited October 27, 2023 by buffblue

[90sBills]

No matter what Cincy does this week it’s a must win for the Bills next week to keep momentum going. Losing next week would keep the narrative of an inconsistent team that’s barely .500. Also would be a mental boost for the team to prove they can beat the Bengals. 

[zow2]

I think it’s better for Cincinnati to lose.  I’m rooting for any of our competition in the AFC to stack up losses. 

I used to think it mattered but i don’t anymore. Look at San Francisco.  They are an excellent team and i’m sure they were extremely upset after losing to Cleveland.  They were 7.5 favorites over Minnesota.  I’m sure the Vikes were shaking in their shoes. Not. Minnesota dominated.

[145B4IDIE]

I’m rooting for free 🍺

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

We are trying to make the playoffs. Need these other AfC teams to lose. No don’t root for turn. Get them as many losses as possible 

[Breakout Squad]

I’m glad we’re playing the Bengals early(ish) in the season. Burrow doesn’t look like himself yet IMO. Hope this mini-bye helps!

[Low Positive]

You think Bengals fans were rooting for the Bills to win? 

[RiotAct]

A loss, no question.  If they were playing an AFC opponent in the playoff picture, I’d say it gets a little more complicated as to which team to root for, but…

[Straight Hucklebuck]

Hand Cincinnati another loss as quickly as possible.

 

That drops them to 3-4.

 

They have the Bills. Then Texans. Then Ravens, Steelers, Jags. They also have the Chiefs later in the year, and of course Browns again.

 

So hope that division takes a toll on them and ruins their conference record. 

 

So take actual L on their resume over how their feelings. 

[Buffalo_Stampede]

I’m rooting for a tie so they’ll be confused. 

[BillsFan619]

5 hours ago, billsfan89 said:

Cincy will have a sense of urgency regardless of whether they win or not. If they win they will still need to keep up with the three teams in their division that are in front of them that are currently 1-2 games ahead and will at best be even of 1 game ahead. If they lose they will be desperate to get back to .500. The urgency of the Bengals is high in either scenario. I am rooting for the Bengals to lose, a loss eats away at a teams confidence a win helps you gain confidence. You can see it with the Bills the last few weeks. After the Jags lost they played tight against a Giants team they should have been able to win comfortably against. That led to a tight performance against the Pats. The Bills played more confidently against the Bucs and got away with a win that was a bit tighter than it should have been. 

 

I think the Bills getting the "mini-bye" desperately need the few extra days rest. Josh's shoulder, Ed's toe, Morris's ankle, Von's long return from the ACL, and all the other dings that caused guys like Groot, Shaq and others to miss a game or be limited in practice get the chance to heal up a bit. 

 

Cincy has not played well most of the season, the Jets and Broncos home are very winnable games the only game that's tough is @ Philly. If the Bills can pull a minor upset against Philly 4-0 is legit possible. I would be fine with 3-1 as that puts the team at 8-4 going into the bye but if the Bills continue to get Shakir and Kincaid going on offense while maybe adding a reinforcement or two on defense via trade I don't see why 4-0 is that daunting. Get the win at Cincy and you can then see 4-0 being really a legit possiblity. 

I totally understand what you mean by it being a mild upset if we beat the Eagles. That said, the ESPN analytics matchup predictor surprisingly has us winning 58% of the time vs the Eagles winning a little under 42% of the time.

 

https://www.espn.com/nfl/game/_/gameId/401547558

 

3 hours ago, FrenchConnection said:

You think Bengals fans were rooting for the Bills to win? 

I don’t know, bro.
 

Do you want to ask them for me? If you do, you can say “asking for a friend“ and you’d legitimately mean that. 🤣
 

1 hour ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

I’m rooting for a tie so they’ll be confused. 

YES!!! That’s the spirit. 😃

[Doc Brown]

I always root for injuries because I'm a terrible person.

[Buffalo Junction]

I just hope it’s a draining, physical game that goes into overtime. If I had my druthers they’d both beat each other up and wind up with a tie. 

[Low Positive]

15 minutes ago, BillsFan619 said:

I totally understand what you mean by it being a mild upset if we beat the Eagles. That said, the ESPN analytics matchup predictor surprisingly has us winning 58% of the time vs the Eagles winning a little under 42% of the time.

 

https://www.espn.com/nfl/game/_/gameId/401547558

 

I don’t know, bro.
 

Do you want to ask them for me? If you do, you can say “asking for a friend“ and you’d legitimately mean that. 🤣
 

YES!!! That’s the spirit. 😃

I live in Cincinnati. They’re in a full panic.

[Blackbeard]

Cinci loss and it’s not even really debatable. 
 

Miami could very well push us into needing wild card.  Cinci may be our competition for that.  

[BillsUberAlles]

I'm not rooting for a win. If you are that scared to play a team coming off a loss take up something more your speed like crocheting or knitting.

[strive_for_five_guy]

16 hours ago, billsfan89 said:

Cincy will have a sense of urgency regardless of whether they win or not. If they win they will still need to keep up with the three teams in their division that are in front of them that are currently 1-2 games ahead and will at best be even of 1 game ahead. If they lose they will be desperate to get back to .500. The urgency of the Bengals is high in either scenario. I am rooting for the Bengals to lose, a loss eats away at a teams confidence a win helps you gain confidence. You can see it with the Bills the last few weeks. After the Jags lost they played tight against a Giants team they should have been able to win comfortably against. That led to a tight performance against the Pats. The Bills played more confidently against the Bucs and got away with a win that was a bit tighter than it should have been. 

 

I think the Bills getting the "mini-bye" desperately need the few extra days rest. Josh's shoulder, Ed's toe, Morris's ankle, Von's long return from the ACL, and all the other dings that caused guys like Groot, Shaq and others to miss a game or be limited in practice get the chance to heal up a bit. 

 

Cincy has not played well most of the season, the Jets and Broncos home are very winnable games the only game that's tough is @ Philly. If the Bills can pull a minor upset against Philly 4-0 is legit possible. I would be fine with 3-1 as that puts the team at 8-4 going into the bye but if the Bills continue to get Shakir and Kincaid going on offense while maybe adding a reinforcement or two on defense via trade I don't see why 4-0 is that daunting. Get the win at Cincy and you can then see 4-0 being really a legit possiblity. 

Totally agree about the outlook after Cincy, would be huge if the Bills can get this next win to get themselves a little more breathing room in the standings and show that they can still be at the top of the AFC.

[Goin Breakdown]

Buffalo just won and I'm not confident they'll beat Cinci. So I hope cinci loses a lot. 

[Low Positive]

Just now, Goin Breakdown said:

Buffalo just won and I'm not confident they'll beat Cinci. So I hope cinci loses a lot. 

This is the current Bengals team, not the one that beat us in January. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=bengals+seahawks&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS959US960&oq=ben&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqCwgAEEUYJxg7GIoFMgsIABBFGCcYOxiKBTIGCAEQRRg8MgYIAhBFGDwyBggDEEUYPDIGCAQQRRg8MgYIBRBFGDsyBggGEEUYOzIGCAcQRRg5MgYICBBFGDwyDQgJEC4YkQIYsQMYigXSAQgxMDc3ajBqOagCALACAA&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

[Goin Breakdown]

1 minute ago, FrenchConnection said:

This is the current Bengals team, not the one that beat us in January. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=bengals+seahawks&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS959US960&oq=ben&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqCwgAEEUYJxg7GIoFMgsIABBFGCcYOxiKBTIGCAEQRRg8MgYIAhBFGDwyBggDEEUYPDIGCAQQRRg8MgYIBRBFGDsyBggGEEUYOzIGCAcQRRg5MgYICBBFGDwyDQgJEC4YkQIYsQMYigXSAQgxMDc3ajBqOagCALACAA&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

I understand fully. But they are better than the giants, pats and TB. With poor tacking, dumb penalties and, conservative coaching any team worries me. Just being honest about how I feel right now

[Joe Ferguson]

I hope Sam Darnorld will not be seeing ghosts

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

Desperation could be a bad thing for a team just as often as it’s a good thing.  There’s no reason to root for a team that is likely to be a potential wildcard competitor 

 

I don’t think they are the elite squad they once were,  defense has taken a step back and really that was the strength of the team in big games.  Might be a fun shootout next week 

Edited October 28, 2023 by Generic_Bills_Fan

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

13 minutes ago, Goin Breakdown said:

I understand fully. But they are better than the giants, pats and TB. With poor tacking, dumb penalties and, conservative coaching any team worries me. Just being honest about how I feel right now

They aren’t as well coached as the pats and their head coach didn’t design our whole offense also to be fair lol. If the last three games taught me anything it’s that most coaches are stubborn idiots that won’t adapt from what they like to do for their current opponent.  The giants and pats both sprinkled in a bunch of things that gave us trouble and Todd Bowles just completely abandoned it despite having more defensive talent than both lol 

 

the giants defense is kind of underrated also in my opinion…they have some absolute beasts on the defensive line but you’d never know it because their offense hangs them out to dry nearly every game..  I don’t think they’re far off this years bengals squad talent wise on defense 

 

tldr of this is division games are tough because of the familiarity, road division games are very tough, and the Brian Daboll giants essentially are a division game