Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow appeared to have the finger nail ripped off of his right index finger. The finger was bloody, leaving athletic trainer Mike Houk to work on the finger when Burrow came to the sideline.
But Burrow didn’t miss a play or a beat.
He threw for 181 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, leading the Bengals to a 21-7 lead over the Bills at halftime.
The Bengals had 214 yards in the first half, scoring on three of five possessions. They had a chance for a field goal on another possession, but with the field goal unit on the field, Orlando Brown had a false start. Evan McPherson’s 55-yard field goal, which didn’t count, was good.
But the Bengals elected to punt after the penalty pushed them back 5 yards to make it a 60-yard try.
Burrow has completed 18-of-24 passes, targeting his tight ends far more frequently than he did in the first seven games.
Bengals’ tight ends had only 20 catches for 132 yards all season before Sunday night. They had seven in the first half Sunday for 74 yards and two touchdowns. Irv Smith scored on a 7-yard reception, and Drew Sample’s touchdown went for 22 yards.
Joe Mixon had the team’s other touchdown on a 2-yard run.
The Bills have only 122 yards, with 85 coming on the opening touchdown drive. They went punt, interception, punt and end of half on the next four drives.
Josh Allen is 9-of-15 for 120 yards with cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt picking him. He scored on a 2-yard run, earning a taunting foul for pointing at safety Nick Scott as he ran into the end zone.