Typically following each Cincinnati Bengals game, I go through and list the winners and losers from the matchup. Well, with the stripes taking down the darlings of the NFL by a 27-10 final score, I couldn't justify putting any members of the Bengals on the losers' side of things.
Let's put this win into perspective here.
The Bengals were big underdogs entering this game for whatever reason. They made it clear from the jump that they weren't going to let the NFL have the kind of storyline they were dreaming of and dominated Buffalo from beginning to end.
It was an impressive win and now this team is one of four remaining. That's a heck of a story after starting out 0-2.
There weren't any losers but let's take a look at FIVE of the biggest winners from this game. It was tough to narrow it down to five but by golly I did it.
Bengals biggest winners from divisional round
Offensive Line
Okay kind of cheating here I know but I couldn't just list one offensive lineman and not list the others.
Cincinnati entered this game without three of their starting o-linemen yet you wouldn't have known it watching the game. Only one sack was allowed on Joe Burrow and the unit somehow looked better without the likes of Jonah Williams, Alex Cappa, and La'el Collins.
Joe Mixon
After a lot of lackluster games, Mixon finally popped off a big-time performance. He finished the game with 105 rushing yards and a touchdown and the Bengals needed their run game to have a dominating performance considering what the weather looked like in Buffalo.
Mike Hilton
The defensive back led the team in tackles with eight and had some big plays down the stretch to help clinch the victory. He's been forced to step up more this season with the injury to Chidobe Awuzie and has done just that.
Evan McPherson
It hasn't been the kind of season that McPherson was probably hoping for after putting on a show as a rookie but he made all five kicks asked of him on Sunday. That's all you can ask for from the young kicker.
Cam Taylor-Britt
Tasked with slowing down the Bills weapons, Taylor-Britt had several massive plays including the game-clinching interception in the final minutes. The game was pretty much over then anyway but that pick put a stop to any crazy voodoo that could have taken place and flipped the script.
Taylor-Britt also had a big pass breakup to Gabe Davis in the second half. The rookie has played pretty dang well in these big moments. Let's see what he can do in the AFC title game.
It was hard narrowing this list down to just five players but these are the guys who I opted to include. Joe Burrow was a notable exclusion and that's simply becaus he's the quarterback and we've praised him plenty this week. I wanted this to be a moment to highlight other guys and their positive contributions.