The Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals are set to make “Monday Night Football” history in more ways than one when they square off in Week 17.
The Bengals (11-4) have a chance to catapult themselves into the No. 1 spot in the AFC playoff picture if they can defeat the Bills (12-3) and if the Kansas City Chiefs (12-3) fall to the Denver Broncos on Sunday. Cincinnati holds a potential tiebreaker over the Chiefs due to their head-to-head win in early December.
Buffalo has already clinched the AFC East and a top-three seed in the postseason, but the Bengals could potentially drop all the way down to the No. 5 seed with losses in their final two contests.
The Baltimore Ravens (10-5) have clinched a playoff berth, but trail Cincinnati in the AFC North, yet could take the division crown if they win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on “Sunday Night Football” and then defeat the Bengals in Week 18.
With Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts nursing a shoulder injury, Allen and Burrow have put themselves near the top of the NFL’s MVP race, though Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes is certainly in the mix as well.
Burrow is second in the NFL in passing yards (4,260) and passing touchdowns (34) — trailing only Mahomes in both categories — while ranking tied for second in completion percentage (69.0%) and tied for third in completions (389). Allen is third in passing touchdowns (32) and sixth in passing yards (4,029) but has stronger rushing numbers than Burrow.
Buffalo’s signal-caller is third in the league in yards per carry (6.5) and has produced 746 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 115 attempts. Burrow has five rushing touchdowns on the season but has just 72 carries for 247 yards.
