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'It was a good roar' | The Bills react to game-defining plays in comeback win over Cincinnati

Dec 07, 2025 at 06:27 PM

Sydney Ciano

Seasonal writing associate

Buffalo came back in the fourth quarter and beat Cincinnati, 39-34, after trailing for over three quarters on Sunday.

Here are the players' reactions from the biggest moments of the game:

Christian Benford does it again

Cornerback Christian Benford had a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown and an interception in Week 13 against the Steelers. On Sunday, he tapped back into that second half energy from the previous week and put another six on the board from the Bills' defense.

As quarterback Joe Burrow hoped to re-extend the Bengals' lead once Buffalo cut it back down to three, Benford came up with a key play the Bills waited for. Once Burrow let the ball out of his hand looking to connect with wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, Benford leaped up and got his hands on the ball instead. Burrow failed to bring Benford down immediately, and the cornerback had his sight set on the end zone 63 yards away.

"I was expecting to tackle, but I saw [Burrow] crank back, look for like the now throw and I wasn't supposed to jump. The technique is, don't leave your feet," Benford admitted. "I'm sorry, but, and then the rest was history … That changed the game."

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The touchdown put Buffalo up 32-28, and the Bills didn't allow the lead to slip by them from thereon out.

"[Benford] has been playing incredible ball these past two weeks," defensive end A.J. Epenesa said. "it's almost like he can't be in the right or wrong spot."

Against Pittsburgh, Benford's fumble recovery, defensive touchdown and interception paved the way for him to earn AFC Defensive Player of the Week.

"He's CB1 for a reason, and that's what he does," defensive tackle Jordan Phillips said. "You've seen it two weeks in a row. Now he's in the groove, he's in his flow state and … we're all happy he is."

Tight ends standout, but it was the rookie to cap off the afternoon

The tight end room of Dawson Knox, Dalton Kincaid, and Jackson Hawes was back in action with Kincaid back from injury. Knox and Kincaid led the team in receiving yards, each catching all but one pass, totaling 93 and 41 yards, respectively. Kincaid also had a touchdown reception, which opened the second half for the Bills on the right foot.

"It was a great day for tight ends," Kincaid said. "It'll be fun watching film. [Tight ends coach] Rob Boras will be very happy watching the film I think."

While Hawes wasn't quarterback Josh Allen's prime target of the afternoon or the tight end room, the rookie wasn't left behind.

On third-and-goal, Allen needed an open option fast, and Knox was the only possible pass catcher available to him as he was on his way out of bounds. Though Knox caught the pass, it was ruled an incompletion as he wasn't fully in bounds.

Instead of kicking a field goal, the Bills' offense remained out on the field on fourth down. Benford just put them up in the game, and it was Allen's turn to make it as difficult as possible for Cincinnati to come back.

Hawes backed into the end zone after escaping the Bengals defender on him, giving Allen an easy option for the three-yard touchdown.

"It was just the don't blink mentality," left tackle Dion Dawkins said. "We've been talking about finish, finish, finish, and the finish showed up today."

After the catch, Hawes and his teammates were down on the ground, making snow angels to celebrate the score that gave Buffalo an 11-point lead.

"It's just an unwavering belief," Kincaid said. "We don't really matter what the scoreboard is, we just know if we got a chance and the ball's out there and we're out there, that we have a chance to win."

Defense locks in, closing out the game

After Benford's pick six, Cincinnati's opportunity to reclaim the lead was stopped short.

At his own 34-yard-line, Burrow attempted a pass to Chase. Phillips got a hand on the ball, though, deflecting it and giving one of his teammates a chance to grab it. Epenesa finished off Phillips' play with the interception, allowing Buffalo's offense to return to the field and eventually give Hawes his third score of the season.

In the first half, the defense allowed the Bengals to score a touchdown on their first three possessions, stopping them for the first time at the very end of the second quarter. In the second half, the Bills held Cincinnati to 13 points and forced two turnovers.

"Definitely no magic, but just guys locking in and tightening it up and just getting after some fun," Epenesa said.

Answering Hawes' touchdown, the Bengals opted to go for two points in hopes of making it a three-point game.

Burrow had no open options to pass, so he resorted to his legs and tried scrambling into the end zone. Heading forward, Burrow fumbled the ball and Buffalo's defense took him down. Cincinnati never recovered from the five-point deficit.

"It's insane. Takeaways, everybody doing their part of a football game," Dawkins said. "Special teams, defense, offense wins the game."

Josh Allen doing Josh Allen things

The Bengals opened the fourth quarter scoring a touchdown, and Allen wanted his team to answer as soon as possible.

Targeting wide receiver Tyrell Shavers and Kincaid for a 16-yard and 12-yard completion, respectively, he sought out the tight end again. The pass from the Cincinnati 40-yard-line was incomplete, nearly picked off. On the following play, Allen took advantage of the space the Bengals' defense left open for him.

Swiftly escaping defensive end Cedric Johnson, Allen was untouched the rest of the way as he rushed 40 yards into the end zone. This set the record for longest touchdown run by a Bills player in team history and helped the team tie its record for rushing touchdowns of 40 or more yards in a season with three.

"The crowd tells you what's going on in the game, good and bad. I know what a bad roar sounds like because I've been on the other side of it, and I know what a good roar sounds like – and it was a good roar," Dawkins said. "I knew something crazy was happening and 17 is happening for us once again."