2 winners (and 3 losers) for Bengals in devastating Week 14 loss to Bills

The Cincinnati Bengals' season is effectively over after Week 14's 39-34 loss to the Buffalo Bills, barring a shocking collapse by the rest of the AFC North.

Joe Burrow threw interceptions on two straight fourth-quarter pass attempts, including a pick-six, which offset a decent-enough performance by the defense. Those uncharacteristic giveaways ultimately spelled doom by the end of the afternoon for Burrow and Co.

Quite the shootout orchestrated by two superstar quarterbacks through the air considering the snowy conditions. Just a bummer for Cincinnati. Let's get into some winners and losers.

Loser: Joe Burrow

Hard to say Joe Burrow is some big loser since he did throw four TD passes on Sunday, but those two picks were the difference in the game.

You can't even put either of them on 100% on Burrow. He correctly identified Christian Benford crashing in on the corner blitz. Tried to make a savvy hot throw out to Ja'Marr Chase. A great play on paper. Sadly, Burrow just didn't catch the snap quite right, threw a bit of a duck out there, and couldn't tackle Benford as he raced to the end zone.

On the next play from scrimmage, Jordan Phillips got a paw up and the ball went right to Bills defensive end A.J. Epenesa.

Tough breaks. Burrow knows he has to do better than that. He bounced back with a long TD pass to Tee Higgins for a clutch score before the two-minute warning. Gave the Bengals a chance to get one stop on Allen and get the ball back for a winning drive. Just couldn't get it.

Winner: Mike Gesicki

One of the big positives to come out of this game was the reemergence of Mike Gesicki. He's a supreme athlete at tight end who signed a nice free-agent deal to remain in Cincinnati this offseason, only to be slowed by a chest injury.

Gesicki really made his presence felt in this one for a Bengals receiving corps that was without the suspended Jermaine Burton and lacking a solid WR3. The obvious highlight was a sick TD catch:

Beyond that play, Burrow looked to Gesicki time and again on key third downs, trusting him to win on the perimeter. It was awesome to see Big Mike rack up six catches on six targets for 86 yards and a score.

Loser: Bengals run blocking unit

Just as I was talking up the phenomenal job new offensive line coach Scott Peters has done developing one of the Bengals' clear weaknesses of the Burrow era, they go to Buffalo and largely fail in run blocking.

While Cincinnati's guys in the trenches deserve applause for their massive improvement in pass protection, their inability to move Bills defenders in the run game was a big reason for Sunday's loss.

When the Bengals were leading in the final quarter, they couldn't keep Burrow out of third down and medium-to-long. Nor could they bleed the clock with gash rushes.

Chase Brown entered Week 14 with six consecutive games of 100+ yards from scrimmage. He managed only 12 carries for 23 yards and four receptions for 31 yards. Although Brown did have a couple TDs, his overall lack of production as a runner against Buffalo's 30th-ranked run defense was an alarming hiccup by the Bengals' o-line.

Winner: Geno Stone

I've had my issues all year long with the Bengals' starting safety. It apparently took a heart-to-heart from defnesive coordinator Al Golden to get Geno Stone engaged enough to start stepping up as a tackler.

Stone did miss in the open field just before the first-down marker as Allen barreled his way toward a 3rd-and-15 run for 18 yards. Nevertheless, Stone stepped up all day, jumping gaps and fitting the run very well from his deep safety spot.

Part of the reason Bills tailback James Cook wasn't able to get loose all game (4.4 yards per carry, long of 18) was thanks to Stone flying in from the secondary to disrupt plays.

Loser: Bengals linebacker corps

The defensive players who deserve the most blame, as has been the case all season for Cincinnati, is the group of linebackers. "Led" by rookies Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr., the Bengals got gashed for explosive chunk plays by Buffalo's tight ends on loop. It was demoralizing to watch.

Even veteran Oren Burks, who I've advocated for all year, hasn't lived up to his increased responsibilities in recent games to make much of a meaningful impact. Burks recovered the goal-line fumble by Cook that cornerback DJ Turner caused, but was otherwise disappointing again.

Knight and Carter were second- and fourth-round picks respectively. Spending that type of draft capital on off-ball linebackers remains the most baffling personnel decision the Bengals made before the 2025 campaign.

Early numbers show Carter allowed six catches on as many targets for 80 yards, while Knight let up two grabs on two targets for 43 yards and a TD. Yikes.

Duke Tobin has a lot to answer for on those decisions. I thought it was the wrong call in real time during the draft. Nothing about this season dissuades me from that opinion.

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