Bills survive Dolphins; next up are the red-hot Cincinnati Bengals

ORCHARD PARK - The Miami Dolphins have been disposed of, though it was far more difficult than anyone could have possibly imagined. Now, as the Buffalo Bills breathe a hurricane-forced sigh of relief, they switch their sights on the Cincinnati Bengals.

Cincinnati moved on Sunday night with a harder-than-expected 24-17 victory over Baltimore, thus setting the stage for the game a whole lot of people have been eagerly awaiting.

And one thing is for certain: If the Bills play as sloppily as they did in sneaking past the Dolphins 34-31, they will have a tough time beating a confident Bengals team that has now won nine games in a row and will tell you straight to your face that they’re the best team in the NFL.

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The Bills raced out to a 17-0 lead and looked headed for a rout, but they played an absolutely horrible second quarter which allowed Miami to tie the game before a last-second Tyler Bass field goal put the Bills back in front 20-17 to end an interminable two-hour-long first half.

And if Bills fans weren’t worried after the first half, they sure were a minute into the third quarter when Allen was strip-sacked by Eric Rowe on a safety blitz and Zach Sieler returned his fumble 12 yards for a crowd-silencing go-ahead touchdown.

However, the Buffalo defense did a nice job to steady the game after that calamitous play, and Kaiir Elam’s interception midway through the third quarter on a terrible pass by Miami seventh-round rookie quarterback Skylar Thompson at the Dolphins 33 tipped the scales back in Buffalo’s favor.

Josh Allen, who was really struggling to get anything going at this point, took advantage of the turnover and hit Cole Beasley with a six-yard TD to put Buffalo back up 27-24.

Allen then put together a great drive that ended with his pretty 23-yard TD pass to Gabe Davis and that proved to be the winning score.

Though that was far from the end of the game because just when you thought the banged up Dolphins and Thompson were done, back Miami came with a 75-yard march to Jeff Wilson’s one-yard TD plunge that cut the Buffalo lead to 34-31 with 10:53 to go.

However, neither team dented the scoreboard thereafter and a turnover on downs by the Dolphins with 2:22 to go essentially wrapped it up for the Bills.

Who do the Bills play next in the playoffs?

The Bengals (13-4) will come marauding into Orchard Park riding a serious heater. And this one will be must-see TV given the circumstances surrounding their last attempt at playing each other.

That was the Monday night of Jan. 2 when the game many thought would be one of the biggest and best of the regular season was started but not finished after Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field and went into cardiac arrest. Now, the rematch has the added drama of the postseason.

When the NFL canceled the game, it had to alter the AFC playoff format which meant that not only would the Bengals not have a chance to earn the No. 1 seed in the bracket, a potential divisional round game against the Bills (14-3) would be in Buffalo, not Cincinnati, because the Bills had one fewer loss.

When and what time is the Bills vs Bengals game?

∎ Date: Sunday, Jan. 22.

∎ Time: 3 p.m.

∎ Site: Highmark Stadium

How to watch Buffalo Bills vs Cincinnati Bengals game on TV, streaming

Cable/Network: CBS. The game will be available locally via the following stations: WROC (Channel 8, Rochester), WIVB (Buffalo area), WTVH (Syracuse area), WKTV (Utica area), WENY (Elmira area), WRGB (Albany area), and WBNG (Binghamton area).

Online streaming services: NFL.com and the NFL mobile app. Also, the NFL has a new streaming service called NFL+ which replaces NFL Game Pass, though you can’t cast the games to your TV - you must watch on your phone or tablet. The cost is $5 a month or $30 for the season, and a premium tier costs $10/$80 which includes all-22 coaches film and condensed and full-game replays. With it, you’ll be able to watch every local game on Sunday and the national games on Monday and Thursday nights as well as the playoffs and the Super Bowl. You can also stream if you have subscriptions to DirecTV, fuboTV, NFL+, Sling, Vidgo, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, and Paramount+.

On the radio: How to listen to the Bills vs Bengals game

You can listen on SiriusXM satellite radio (channels will be announced Monday). On traditional radio, the Bills Radio Network has stations all across the state. They include:

• Rochester (WCMF 96.5 and WROC 950 AM)

• Buffalo (WGR550, 550 AM)

• Syracuse (WTKW 99.5/WTKV 105.5)

• Binghamton (WDRE 100.5FM)

• Ithaca (WIII 99.9/100.3 FM)

• Bath (WVIN 98.3 FM)

• Newark (WACK 1420 AM)

• Dansville (WDNY 93.9 FM)

• Elmira (WNGZ 1490 AM)

• Auburn (WAUB 98.1 FM/1590 AM)

• Geneva (WGVA 95.9 FM, 1240 AM)

Bills vs. Bengals playoff series history

This will be the third time these teams have met in the postseason, with the previous two games coming in the 1980s, both in Cincinnati.

In January 1982, Cincinnati pulled out a 28-21 divisional round victory when Ken Anderson threw a go-ahead 16-yard TD pass to Cris Collinsworth with 10:39 remaining. Buffalo had a chance to tie in the final three minutes, but an inexplicable delay of game penalty - which came after the Bills had called a timeout to discuss the play call - derailed the rally.

Joe Ferguson converted a fourth-and-3 with a short pass to Lou Piccone, but the play was nullified. On the next snap, Ferguson overthrew Roland Hooks in the end zone with 2:58 left, and that was it. That delay of game was a penalty coach Chuck Knox lamented for years afterward.

In January 1989, the teams met in the AFC Championship Game and Cincinnati prevailed 21-10. That season, the Bills won 11 of their first 12 games, but a damaging loss at Cincinnati meant the title game was played at Riverfront Stadium.

The Bills’ offense, still coming into its own, was invisible. The Bengals possessed the ball for 39:29 because the Bills managed only 10 first downs and 181 total yards. Also, Buffalo committed four personal foul penalties, the most damaging on CB Derrick Burroughs in the third quarter that not only led to his ejection, but set the Bengals up for their clinching touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Both times the Bengals eliminated the Bills, they advanced to the Super Bowl where they lost to Joe Montana and the 49ers.

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.To subscribe to Sal's new twice-a-week newsletter, Bills Blast, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills survive Dolphins in playoffs, Bengals next up in divisional round