ORCHARD PARK - The decision by FOX on Nov. 20 to move the Buffalo Bills game at Highmark Stadium against the Cincinnati Bengals from its original big window 4:25 p.m. time slot to the 1 p.m. regional certainly made sense at the time.

The Bengals’ star quarterback, Joe Burrow, was still on the injured reserve list following toe surgery, and his return to action was unknown. And days before the flex occurred, the Bengals were trounced 34-12 by the Steelers to fall to 3-7 and were seemingly buried in the AFC playoff race.

Meanwhile, the Bills - who would lose later that Nov. 20 night in Houston to fall to 7-4 - were in second place in the AFC East, so the matchup simply didn’t have the same luster everyone expected when the schedule was released back in May.

Nearly two weeks later, it’s

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