‘1985 — Jets 27, Bills 7 — Attendance was 23,122 at Rich Stadium for the final home game of an awful ’85 season for Buffalo. Winds swirled up to 15 mph, chilling the temperature to 24 degrees, but it was Ken O’Brien’s 96-yard touchdown pass to Wesley Walker that “took the sails out of our wind,” Bills coach Hank Bullough infamously said. O’Brien finished with 370 yards passing with two other touchdown passes to Mickey Shuler, and Johnny Hector had a rushing touchdown as the Jets jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first half and moved closer to clinching the AFC East title. Rod Hill intercepted O’Brien in the red zone to prevent the Jets from scoring before halftime, and Bruce Smith forced a fumble on the sixth sack of his rookie season. Bruce Mathison passed for 357 yards with two interceptions, and Greg Ball scored on an 8-yard run in the third quarter for the Bills, on their way to finishing 2-14 for the second year in a row. Buffalo’s franchise was revitalized by the arrival of Jim Kelly for the next game the Jets would play here to start the ’86 season.’
BillsBeat - December 8, 2025
Benford, Epenesa interceptions fuel dramatic Bills comeback victory over Bengals
‘There was James Cook losing a fumble in the end zone, before Josh Allen did Josh Allen things with his legs. But it was two turnovers from the defense that left a lasting impact during a 39-34 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals.’
Carucci Take 2: Once again, Bills plug into resilience gene that defines them
‘That was how the Bills won. That was how they responded to adversity that threatened to make their path to the playoffs a steeper climb. That was how they remained true to form in a season in which more of the victories, beginning with a miraculous fourth-quarter comeback in Week One, have come the hard way. Call it the Bills Way.’
Bills take down Bengals in snowy shootout
‘Huge plays from both the offense and defense helped Josh Allen get his first career win over Joe Burrow and the Bengals.’
Thad Brown: Benford lightning bolt provides maybe last great Old Highmark memory
‘The last two weeks, Benford has found other ways to make CB1 level plays. You can argue the two turnovers against Pittsburgh were right place, right time good fortune. Not this interception against the Bengals. Benford took a point blank throw and picked it out of the air in the middle of barreling forward on a blitz. In the 4th quarter. Of a game his team was trailing by three.’
Bills beat Bengals in back-and-forth affair
‘But the wildest sequence of the game came in the fourth quarter. Trailing by 10, Josh Allen marched for a 40-yard touchdown run. Moments later, Christian Benford picked off Joe Burrow and took it the distance. One play after that? AJ Epenesa picked off Burrow. Over their next two drives, the two teams traded touchdowns, but it was too late for a Bengals comeback as Buffalo came out on top of a dizzying, back-and-forth affair at Orchard Park.’
Bills 39, Bengals 34 | Final score, game recap + highlights
‘The Bills flipped the script on the Bengals on Sunday after Cincinnati kept at least a three-point lead over Buffalo through the first three and a half quarters of play. The Bills came out on top, 39-34, thanks to critical defensive performances late in the game.’
Top three things we learned from Bills vs. Bengals | Week 14
‘”All we had to do was score one more point than them. It didn’t matter how we did it, it didn’t matter how good or bad it looked. We just got to continue to find ways to win football games,” Allen said.’
'It was a good roar' | The Bills react to game-defining plays in comeback win over Cincinnati
‘”I was expecting to tackle, but I saw [Burrow] crank back, look for like the now throw and I wasn’t supposed to jump. The technique is, don’t leave your feet,” Benford admitted. “I’m sorry, but, and then the rest was history … That changed the game.”‘
What They're Saying | NFL Analysts react to a fourth quarter turnaround from the Bills' Week 14 victory
‘”It cannot be overstated how important Buffalo’s comeback win over the Bengals was. After erasing the double-digit, fourth-quarter deficit, the Bills improved to 9-4, which keeps them within range of the Patriots in the AFC East, leading up to their showdown in Foxborough next Sunday. The victory also has them with a solid hold on the top wild card spot.”
BillsBeat - December 7, 2025
Family led Shaq Thompson through his darkest moments – and to become a leader with the Bills
‘Instead of trying to tackle ball carriers, Thompson runs through them. The 11th-year linebacker, who’d spent his first 10 NFL seasons in Carolina, plays with the same brand of controlled violence that defined the position for generations. This isn’t a headhunting veteran. Thompson has been through enough to know the toll football can take on a man’s body and mind. He drives his shoulder into the torso, with a ferocity that can be conjured only by the sport’s fiercest competitors.’
Four keys for the Buffalo Bills to beat the Cincinnati Bengals
‘The Bills’ 1,868 rushing yards this season lead the NFL. Running back James Cook has spearheaded that, but quarterback Josh Allen credited the offense as a whole in the ongoing dominance. “I think it’s obviously our O-line doing a great job,” Allen said on Wednesday. “But it’s our skill position players, too, the willingness to go in there and block and get hands on safeties and stars and linebackers. We’re asking our tight ends to do a lot in the run game and they’ve done it exceedingly well. And we’re gonna continue to need that moving forward, especially once the weather gets like the weather it gets here – being able to run it when the opposing team knows that we’re gonna run it.”’
Bills numbers to know: 4 trends to watch for Buffalo's game against Cincinnati
‘153.3: The Bengals’ defense ranks 31st in rushing yards allowed per game (153.3). They have given up 43 runs of 10-plus yards, sixth-most, and the fourth-most yards before contact per attempt (1.80). Opponents have scored at least two rushing touchdowns in three of Cincinnati’s last five games, and the Bengals have surrendered at least 100 rushing yards in each of their last 11 games. Bills running back James Cook is second in the NFL in rushing (1,228), 54 yards behind the Colts’ Jonathan Taylor, and Cook is averaging 5.3 yards per carry.’
Bills-Bengals: Who you got? Buffalo News writers make their predictions for Sunday's game
‘This is a difficult matchup for the bills’ defense. They are without their best pass rusher, Joey Bosa, for a game in which Joe burrow had extra time to rest and prepare. Bengals running back Chase Brown has totaled at least 100 yards in six consecutive games. It will be a shootout if Buffalo can’t stop the run. If it can, then we’re looking at a blowout win for the bills. burrow will create a few explosive plays − look for Sean McDermott to use Christian Benford to shadow Ja’marr chase − but his defense won’t be able to stop Josh Allen enough times for Cincinnati to keep up. Bills, 35-24’
Bills Mailbag: Darius Slay's rejection of Buffalo continues a tough stretch for Brandon Beane
‘For what it’s worth, Bills coach Sean McDermott seemed none too happy about losing Ingram during his Friday news conference – understandably so. It seems improbable that Beane would have made such a move if he had any idea that Slay may not report. There is some bad luck involved here, but for critics of Beane, it places another log on the fire that’s under his seat.’