NFL

Where are the Bills and Bengals Playing the NFL Divisional Round Playoff Game?

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Tim Crean
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Tim Crean Sports Editor

Tim Crean started writing about sports in 2016 and joined Sports7 in 2021. He excels with his versatile coverage of the NFL and soccer landscape, as well as his expertise breaking down sports media, which stems from his many years downloading podcasts before they were even cool and countless hours spent listening to Mike & The Mad Dog and The Dan Patrick Show, among other programs. As a longtime self-professed sports junkie who even played DII lacrosse at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, Tim loves reading about all the latest sports news every day and considers it a dream to write about sports professionally. He's a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan from Western New York who mistakenly thought, back in the early '90s, that his team would be in the Super Bowl every year. He started following European soccer — with a Manchester City focus — in the early 2000s after spending far too much time playing FIFA. When he's not enjoying a round of golf or coaching youth soccer and flag football, Tim likes reading the work of Bill Simmons, Tony Kornheiser, Chuck Klosterman, and Tom Wolfe.

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Sports Editor

Updated21 Jan 2023

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Where are Bills and Bengals playing, Bengals Bills, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Where is Bengals-Bills being played

The Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals squared off in Week 17 on Monday Night Football for what should have been one of the best games of the 2022 NFL season between superstar quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Josh Allen. However, just over eight minutes into the game, Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest on the field, and only the quick action of the teams’ medical staffs saved his life. The league canceled the game, ultimately giving the Kansas City Chiefs the AFC title, making the Bills the No. 2 seed and the Bengals No. 3. The NFL did make some concessions, though, including putting a potential Bills-Chiefs AFC Championship Game at a neutral site in Atlanta. Now, as fans get ready for Bengals-Bills in the Divisional Round, many are asking, where are the Bills and Bengals playing the NFL Divisional Round playoff game?

Where is Bengals-Bills being played?

The Buffalo Bills vs. Cincinnati Bengals Divisional Round playoff game is being played at the home of the Buffalo Bills, Highmark Field, in Orchard Park, NY.

Kickoff is scheduled for 3:00 pm ET on Sunday, December 21, 2023.

Bengals-Bills is being played in Buffalo because the Bills finished the season with a 13-3 record, while the Bengals ended the season at 12-4. The Chiefs received the No. 1 seed and the Wild Card Round bye because, at 14-3, they had a better winning percentage than the Bills, despite Josh Allen and company beating Patrick Mahomes and his crew back in Week 6.

The Bengals also beat the Chiefs 27-24 in Week 13 and held a 7-3 lead over the Bills when the league called the Week 17 matchup.

This isn’t an ideal situation for the Bengals or Bills, and both fan bases have griped a bit about the unfairness of the outcome. However, Roger Goodell and the NFL did the best they could in the wake of a horrible situation and got it mostly right trying to answer the question, where are the Bills and Bengals playing the Divisional Round?

Joe Burrow vs. Josh Allen I

Where are Bills and Bengals playing, Bengals Bills, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Where is Bengals-Bills being played
Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals carries the ball during an NFL football game against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills at Paycor Stadium on January 2, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio | Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images

“Where is Bengals-Bills being played?” questions aside, this game will finally give us the elite young quarterback matchup NFL fans have been waiting for.

While Joe Burrow has gone head-to-head with Patrick Mahomes three times (owning an impressive 3-0 record), Josh Allen has produced a 2-3 record against the Chiefs QB. The Bengals and Bills signal-callers haven’t faced each other yet, though.

This season, Burrow and Allen were two of the best passers in the NFL. Here are their 2022 statistics:

  • Joe Burrow: 414-of-606 for 4,475 passing yards, 35 passing touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 75 carries, 257 rushing yards, zero rushing TDs.
  • Josh Allen: 359-of-567 for 4,283 passing yards, 35 passing touchdowns, 14 interceptions, 124 carries, 762 rushing yards, seven rushing TDs.

These two young QBs can do it through the air or on the ground and will likely have many more playoff matchups after this one. However, whichever QB plays better on Sunday will likely take his team within one step of the Super Bowl, and that’s ultimately what we will remember, as opposed to the answer to the question, where are the Bills and Bengals playing the NFL Divisional Round playoff game?