TIME: 1 p.m. Sunday
PLACE: Ralph Wilson Stadium (A-Turf Titan)
LOCAL RADIO: Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Dave Lapham (analyst) led by "triple cast," Cincinnati flagship stations WLW-AM (700), WCKY-AM (ESPN 1530) and WEBN-FM (102.7) on the 41-station Bengals radio network.
NATIONAL RADIO: Westwood One Sports with Kevin Lee (play-by-play) and Ross Tucker (analyst).
TV: CBS broadcast team of Spero Dedes (play-by-play) and Solomon Wilcots on Channel 12 in Cincinnati, Channel 7 in Dayton, Ohio, and Channel 27 in Lexington, KY.
INJURIES
CIN:
QUESTIONABLE: Slot CB Leon Hall (back). Hall left after 14 snaps last Sunday. He sat Wednesday and went limited Thursday and Friday.
PROBABLE: Starting CB Adam Jones (groin) after having a full practice Thursday and Friday following being shelved Wednesday. Same with other starters CB Dre Kirkpatrick (hip), WR Marvin Jones (foot), RG Kevin Zeitler (elbow) and RT Andre Smith (elbow). Backup WR Brandon Tate (illness) also went full last two days.
BUF:
OUT: Starting S Aaron Williams (neck); Backup RB Karlos Williams (concussion), Backup RB Cierre Wood (knee).
QUESTIONABLE: Starting QB Tyrod Taylor (knee) was limited all week and didn't take the majority of snaps; Starting WR Sammy Watkins (calf) limited all week after missing last two games; Starting WR Percy Harvin (hip) went limited after going full Thursday and missing Wednesday.
*PROBABLE: Starting RB LeSean McCoy (hamstring) has missed the last two games and been limited all week; Starting DT Marcell Dareus (hip), Starting TE Charles Clay (calf), starting LT Cordy Glenn (ankle), Starting RG John Miller (groin) were limited all week. *
* *
THE SERIES
The 3-2 Bills lead 5-0 Bengals, 15-13, 9-4 in Buffalo.
NOTEWORTHY
»» Bills head coach Rex Ryan, who coached at the University of Cincinnati for two seasons and worked under Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis for three seasons, faces Lewis for fifth time as head coaches and holds a 3-1 lead.
»» After the Bills interviewed Lewis for their head coaching job in 2001, they hired Gregg Williams. Since the Bengals hired Lewis Cincinnati is 105-90-2 with six playoff appearances. The Bills are 81-116 with no playoff appearances as Lewis faces his sixth different Bills head coach.
»» The Bengals, who are coming off an OT victory vs. Seattle, have played OT games on two of their last three visits to Buffalo. Mike Nugent, who kicked a 42-yarder to beat Seattle last week, kicked a 43-yarder to beat the Bills last year with 6:44 left in OT. On Oct. 5, 2003, Travis Henry scored on a two-yard run to beat the Bengals with 11:07 left in OT.
»» The last time a team was unbeaten in this series, Nugent kicked another 43-yarder, this one at the regulation gun at Paul Brown Stadium, for a 23-20 win on Oct. 2, 2011 that dropped the Bills to 3-1 in Bengals rookie QB Andy Dalton's first fourth-quarter comeback.
»» Bills starting C Eric Wood (Elder) and starting LB Preston Brown (Northwest) were Cincinnati prep stars.
»» Bills offensive coordinator Greg Roman is the nephew of Jack Clary, the New York and Boston sportswriter who collaborated with Bengals founder Paul Brown to write his autobiography.
»» Both Bengals' trips to the Super Bowl included playoff wins over the Bills. The 28-21 win at Riverfront Stadium on Jan. 3, 1982 in a divisional game was Cincinnati' s first post-season win ever. Rookie Cris Collinsworth caught a 16-yard TD pass from Ken Anderson with 10:39 left to snap a 21-21 tie. In the 1988 AFC title game at Riverfront, the Bengals were told two hours before the game their no huddle offense was illegal and they still racked up 175 yards on 50 rushes and two Ickey Shuffles in a 21-10 victory.
NFL RANKINGS
CIN: 4th in scoring, 2nd in offense (10th rushing, 5th passing); 10th in scoring defense, 21st in defense (18th rushing, 22nd passing), 13th in turnover margin at plus-two.
BUF: 9th in scoring, 24th in offense (6th rushing, T-27th passing); T-13th in scoring defense, 16th in defense (3rd rushing, 24th passing), T-9th in turnover margin at plus-4.
COACHES
CIN: Marvin Lewis 105-96-2 in 13th season, 2-5 vs. Bills.
BUF: Rex Ryan in 6th season overall at 53-54,first season in Buffalo at 3-2, 3-1 vs. Bengals and Lewis.
* *
PHILIP RIVERS WEATHER UPDATE
The National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio is calling for a 50 percent chance of rain under cloudy skies with a wind out of the northwest at about 10 miles per hour. The kick-off temperature of 41 degrees should hold up all game.
NUMBERS GAME
.459 - Lewis' winning percentage on the road
3-0 - Ryan's record at home vs. Lewis
45 - Career wins for Bengals QB Andy Dalton
6 - Career wins for Bills backup QB EJ Manuel
21 - Career road wins for Dalton
16 - Career TD passes for Manuel
25 - Passes Bengals have completed longer than 20 yards, first in the NFL
19 - Passes Bills have completed longer than 20 yards, tied for fifth
27 - Bengals rushes and passes longer than 20 yards, tied for first in the NFL
26 - Bills rushes and passes longer than 20 yards, third in the NFL
16 - Rushes and passes of at least 20 yards Bills have allowed, tied for sixth in NFL
6 - TD catches last season by Bills WR Sammy Watkins in his rookie year
5 - Combined TD catches by Bengals WRs Marvin Jones and Mohammed Sanu in their rookie years
78.8 - Combined passer rating for opposing QBs vs. Bills
85 - Dalton's career passer rating on road
33 - Sacks for Bengals' Geno Atkins, most by a DT since 2011
29.5 - Sacks by Bills' Marcell Dareus, second most sacks by a DT since 2011
20.5 - Sacks by Bengals LE Carlos Dunlap, tied for fourth most in AFC since 2013
29.5 - Sacks by Bills LE Mario Williams, second most in AFC since '13
21 - Sacks by Bill RE Jerry Hughes, third most in AFC since '12
99 - Bengals WR A.J. Green's projected number of catches, making him the most prolific receiver ever in his first five seasons.
