What channel is the Bills game on? How to watch Buffalo Bills vs. Cincinnati Bengals

ORCHARD PARK - Monday Night Football is wrapping up its 53rd season this week with quite a crescendo as it will air what is arguably the game of the year in the NFL, the Buffalo Bills’ visit to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals.

This will mark just the third game in Monday Night Football history involving two teams with 11-or-more wins. In 1997, San Francisco (12-2) defeated Denver (11-3) in what proved to be the Broncos’ last loss of that season en route to a Super Bowl 32 victory. And in 1985, the Los Angeles Raiders (11-4) won the league’s final regular-season game at the Los Angeles Rams (11-4).

It is also just the third time since 1978 when the 16-game schedule was instituted that teams will face each other while riding winning streaks of six-or-more in the final two weeks of a season. The Bengals have won seven straight, the Bills six.

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There have been plenty of duds in these island games this season - just ask ESPN play-by-play man Joe Buck, or Amazon Prime’s play-by-play man Al Michaels. This one doesn’t figure to disappoint, though as it pits two red-hot teams, each quarterbacked by superstars in Josh Allen and Joe Burrow who will be meeting for the first time.

Even though each team has already qualified for the playoffs, and Buffalo has additionally clinched the AFC East, the stakes are enormous because both are in play for the No. 1 seed in the AFC bracket along with the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Bills control their own destiny in that endeavor and if they win, all they would need to do to clinch homefield advantage would be to defeat the Patriots at home in Week 18.

Getting that top seed is vitally important for three reasons: Obviously, you get to play all of your AFC postseason games at home; you get a week of rest because only the No. 1 seed gets a first-round bye; and for the Bills, it would mean that they would only have to play either the Chiefs or Bengals on the road to the Super Bowl.

If the Bills lose, things get complicated and there’s a very good chance they would slip to the No. 3 seed behind both the Chiefs and Bengals. That would mean they’d have to play wild-card weekend, then likely have to go through both the Bengals and Chiefs on the road to win the AFC.

What time is the Bills vs. Bengals game?

∎ Date: Monday, Jan. 2

∎ Time: 8:30 p.m.

∎ Place: Paycor Stadium

Who is favored to win Bills vs. Bengals game

∎ Tipico betting line: Bills -1

∎ Over-under: 49.5

∎ Money line: Bills minus-115 (bet $115 to win $100) and Bengals minus-105 (bet $100 to win $105). The over-under is 49.5.

Who is announcing the Bills vs. Bengals game

∎ Play-by-play: Joe Buck

∎ Analyst: Troy Aikman

∎ Sideline reporter: Lisa Salters

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

Network TV: ABC. The game will be available locally via the following stations: WHAM-TV Channel 13, Rochester); WKBW (Buffalo area); WSYR (Syracuse area); WUTR (Utica area); WENY (Elmira area); WTEN (Albany area); WIVT (Binghamton area).

Cable TV: ESPN. With your TV subscription you can also watch on your phone or tablet on ESPN.com, the ESPN mobile app, and ESPN Deportes.

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 DirecTV, fuboTV, Sling, Vidgo, Hulu + Live TV, or YouTube TV.

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

You can listen on SiriusXM satellite radio on channel 226 (Bills) and channel 225 (Bengals). 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)

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: What channel is Bills vs. Bengals game on? Time, TV, streaming info