Bills return to Cincinnati 302 days after the Hamlin incident.
The Buffalo Bills will once again head to Southwest Ohio for a big regular-season matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals in primetime. This will be the teams’ third meeting in just over 300 days and the Bills’ first trip back to Cincinnati since safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on the Paycor Stadium field.
With three matchups over the last 300 days, the Bengals are familiar foe, but let’s take a moment to catch up on them below — especially if you haven’t been following the Bengos this season.
2023 Season Summary
The Bengals are currently 4-3 and sitting in last place in a crowded AFC North. Their slow start to the season has mostly been attributed to quarterback Joe Burrow’s calf injury, which he sustained in training camp. They have looked like the Bengals of the past few seasons in recent weeks, however. Cincinnati’s coming off its best game of the season, a road win over the San Francisco 49ers.
Head Coach: Zac Taylor
The 40-year-old Taylor is in his fifth season as the Bengals’ head coach. The Bengals hired him away from the Los Angeles Rams, where he was the quarterbacks coach under head coach Sean McVay. Taylor has a 32-39-1 (0.451%) regular-season career record.
Offensive Coordinator: Brian Callahan
Callahan has been the offensive coordinator for the Bengals during the entirety of Taylor’s tenure. Prior to joining the Bengals, Callahan was the quarterbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders. Callahan has shared the play-calling duties with Taylor over the years. The Bengals’ offense is currently ranked 28th in yards per game and 24th in points per game.
Defensive Coordinator: Lou Anarumo
Anarumo has also been with the Bengals since Taylor arrived in Cincinnati. Before being named the Bengals’ DC, Anarumo spent one season as the New York Giants’ defensive backs coach and six seasons prior to that as defensive backs coach for the Miami Dolphins. Cincinnati’s defense is currently ranked 27th in yards per game against and 16th in points per game against.
Offensive Starters
- QB: Joe Burrow
- HB: Joe Mixon
- WR: Ja’Marr Chase
- WR: Tyler Boyd
- WR: Tee Higgins
- TE: Irv Smith Jr.
- LOT: Orlando Brown Jr.
- LG: Cordell Volson
- C: Ted Karras
- RG: Alex Cappa
- ROT: Jonah Williams
Defensive Starters
- LDE: Sam Hubbard
- NT: DJ Reader
- DT: B.J. Hill
- RDE: Trey Hendrickson
- LB: Logan Wilson
- LB: Germaine Pratt
- NCB: Mike Hilton
- CB: Cam Taylor-Britt
- CB: Chidobe Awuzie
- S: Nick Scott
- S: Dax Hill
