The Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills met last season, with the former on the skids and the latter jockeying for playoff seeding. Joe Burrow was in only his second start back from a catastrophic turf toe injury that required surgery. His counterpart, Josh Allen, had a superior defense backing him, and the benefit of home-field advantage.
With all that working against the visitors, Burrow was about to will the Bengals to an epic road victory until two interceptions on as many pass attempts that epitomized Joe Shiesty's cruel misfortune in 2025.
Nevertheless, all told, Burrow still hung 34 on the Bills' heads — only to watch Allen scamper for 17 yards on a 3rd and 15 to ice the game before a chance at a winning drive.
Despite the fact that the Bengals have had perhaps their best, most pivotal offseason ever and the Bills haven't done jack of note, Buffalo has a more favorable perception in the eyes of one expert and many by proxy.
Bills best Bengals for top spot in teams most likely to end Super Bowl drought...but why?
CBS Sports' Bryan DeArdo assembled a well-intended but flawed power rankings list of the 14 NFL teams ordered by likelihood of snapping their championship dry spells. This included teams like the Bengals who've never won a Lombardi Trophy.
Although our beloveds check in at No. 2, it's straight-up odd that Buffalo reigns supreme. Look no further than DeArdo's own words. Here's most of his blurb on the Bengals:
"Cincinnati's championship odds are significantly higher if Burrow stays healthy. During his three healthy seasons in Cincinnati, Burrow led the Bengals to a Super Bowl and two AFC Championship Games while also winning a passing title and leading the league in touchdown passes. Cincinnati's chances are also buoyed by a defense that received significant upgrades this offseason with the additions of veterans Dexter Lawrence, Jonathan Allen, Boye Mafe and Bryan Cook."
Not mentioned here is the relative ease of Cincinnati's schedule, which Sharp Football has as the third-easiest, compared to Buffalo's 14th.
So look at all those reinforcements on defense for a stud QB in Burrow who has an 11-6 record in his last 17 starts despite horrendous form on that side of the ball.
Lawrence is legit the best nose tackle in the sport. Allen is a dynamic interior pass rusher in his own right. Mafe has had a nine-sack season before and just won a Super Bowl. Cook is a Cincinnati native who won two Lombardi Trophies in Kansas City.
Now dig on this: DeArdo's commentary on why the Bills are No. 1 on his list.
"The Bills haven't been back to the Super Bowl since losing four straight from 1990-93. The Bills' current Super Bowl window will remain open as long as Josh Allen plays MVP-caliber football. Buffalo is hoping that new coach and former offensive coordinator Joe Brady can get the Bills over the finish line. Allen is also going to need more from a defense that has often let him down in the postseason."
Setting aside the faux pas monotony of starting consecutive sentences with, "The Bills", the writer here is telling on himself.
This current Bengals core of Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins has been to the Super Bowl more recently than Buffalo by literal decades.
Nowhere in DeArdo's column do you see any mention of the Bills' most Allen-impactful offseason addition, wide receiver DJ Moore. GM Brandon Beane made a desperate over-trade for Moore, who's one of the most low-effort big names in the sport. The man loafs as much as anyone you'll ever see on a professional football field.
Maybe a change of scenery and playing with the best QB he's ever played with in Allen will snap Moore out of it. But just watch the film, y'all. This dude seldom shows heart as a run blocker. He quits on routes. Jogs during scramble drills. Changes his gait to miss otherwise-accurate balls.
I have a feeling DJ is gonna drive Josh Allen absolutely bananas.
Oh, and the Bills are adjusting to an internally promoted head coach in Joe Brady. If anyone is under more pressure than that guy, I don't know who it is.
That Buffalo defense has declined of late, which is part of why Brady's predecessor Sean McDermott got fired. But name one acquisition from this offseason who will meaningfully improve that unit. Aging, declining Bradley Chubb? Awful-by-NFL-standards nickelback Dee Alford? Overrated headcase defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson?
So what, Allen is just going to transcend all these issues? And he's more capable of doing that than Burrow? Even though Burrow has made it further in the playoffs than Allen ever has? YeahOK.
It's Joe-ver, y'all. The Bengals are inevitable this year.
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