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Week 11: Bills vs. Bengals
 at 
Sunday, Nov. 21st
1:00pm ET
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The Bills look to build on the momentum gained from their first win of the season. The Bengals are looking for anything positive after losing their sixth straight game last week. Buffalo has fared very well against Cincinnati as they have won nine straight against them. The last time the Bengals beat the Bills was in the 1988 AFC Championship Game. This game will be a reunion game as the Bills will play against Terrell Owens and Ryan Fitzpatrick goes back to his old stomping grounds as well.
FACTS AND FIGURES
| Matchup: |
Buffalo (1-8) vs. Cincinnati (2-7) |
| Place: |
Paul Brown Stadium |
| TV/Radio: |
Network: CBS; DirecTV: 706; Sirius: 108 |
| Announcers: |
Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker |
| Spread: |
Bengals by 5½ |
| Series: |
Bills lead 14-9 (Bengals 2-0 in playoffs) |
| Streak: |
Bills Won 9 |
| Last Meeting: |
Bills 33-21 in Buffalo (2007) |
| Bengals Offense: |
Rush (26th); Pass (8th); overall (15th) |
| Bengals Defense: |
Rush (22nd); Pass (12th); overall (15th) |
| Bills Offense: |
Rush (15th); Pass (28th); overall (28th) |
| Bills Defense: |
Rush (32nd); Pass (7th); overall (26th) |
INJURY UPDATE
The Bills will be without C.J. Spiller and Spencer Johnson as both are out with hamstring injuries suffered in the win over the Lions. Shawne Merriman will also be out with an Achilles injury.
The Bengals will be without K Mike Nugent who tore an ACL attempting an onside kick in the loss to the Colts. Everyone else should play. Aaron Pettrey will take over the kicking duties. DEs Antwan Odom and Jonathan Fanene have been ruled out this week. RT Andre Smith has been put on injured reserve ending his season. RB Cedric Benson is missing practice time with a foot injury. Also banged up are CB Jonathan Joseph, LB Rey Maualuga, DT Tank Johnson, S Chinedum Ndukwe, and DE Frostee Rucker.
Check out our  Bills Daily Injury Page throughout the week for the latest updates on the injured players.
KEY MATCHUPS
CB Drayton Florence vs. WR Chad Ochocinco:
The trash talk has already started between these two on twitter. Florence is fired up to be going against Ochocinco and possibly Owens as well. He will look to jam Ochocinco on the line and he has warned Florence if he does that he will get burned.
CBs Leodis McKelvin and Terrence McGee vs. WR Terrell Owens:
T.O. will be highly motivated to beat his former team. McKelvin and McGee will likely split duties at that cornerback spot going against Owens. T.O. will likely make a big play or two. They need to keep those plays down to a minimum.
S Donte Whitner vs. TE Jermaine Gresham:
The Bills have struggled against tight ends all year. Gresham has 40 receptions and is developing into a top tier tight end. Whitner is coming off his best game of the year in the win over Detroit and will need to contain Gresham for the Bills to have a chance to win.
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick vs. CB Leon Hall:
Fitzpatrick will be fired up to beat his old team and prove that he is an NFL starting quarterback to some who doubted him in Cincinnati. Hall is a playmaker on the Bengals defense as he leads the team with four interceptions. Fitz may look to throw to the other side of the field.
WR Stevie Johnson vs. CB Jonathan Joseph:
If Fitzpatrick does look to the other side that is where Johnson will hook up with Joseph if he is healthy enough to play. If not, another banged up player Brandon Ghee would get the call. Could be a big game for Johnson.
RB Fred Jackson vs. MLB Dhani Jones:
Jackson is coming off his best game of the year and seems to have regained his form from last year and 2008. Jones it the big tackler for Cincinnati as he leads the team easily with 73 tackles. Jackson needs another big day for the Bills to pull off the upset.
GAME PLAN
When The Bills Have The Ball: Fitzpatrick will be fired up to beat his former team so he may want to put up the ball early and often. Expect the Bills to feature Jackson however as the Bengals can be run on and the Bills were very successful last week keeping the ball on the ground.
When The Bengals Have The Ball: Make no mistake the Bengals are a passing team but Marvin Lewis said this week he'd like to establish more of a running game. They haven't been able to run much because they are usually playing from behind. Even with that statement, look for them to throw a lot to their talented receivers. T.O. would love to stick it to his former team even though there isn't bad blood there. Ochocinco and Gresham can kill the Bills as well.
BILLS DAILY PREDICTION
The Bills now feel they know how to win. The Bengals would like to have that feeling again since they haven't won in seven weeks. Buffalo has played pretty well on the road and has taken better teams to the wire. I can't help to think that there could be some sort of letdown after their first win. Cincinnati wants a win desperately and Owens will be fired up to get it as well:
Bengals 27, Bills 23
Season Prediction Record: (7-2)
Season Record Against The Spread: (4-5)
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