Bills host Bengals in matchup of AFC teams with recent history of dominant December records

Cincinnati (4-8) at Buffalo (8-4)

Sunday 1 p.m. EST, Fox

BetMGM NFL Odds: Bills by 5 1/2

Against the spread: Bengals 5-7; Bills 6-6

Series record: Tied 17-17

Last meeting: Bengals beats Bills 24-18 at Cincinnati on Nov. 5, 2023.

Last week: Bengals beat Ravens 32-14 at Baltimore. Bills beat Steelers 26-7 at Pittsburgh.

Bengals offense: overall (22), rush (30), pass (11), scoring (16).

Bengals defense: overall (32), rush (31), pass (32), scoring (32).

Bills offense: overall (2), rush (1), pass (10), scoring (5).

Bills defense: overall (8), rush (30), pass (1), scoring (13).

Turnover differential: Bengals minus-3; Bills minus-2;

QB Joe Burrow. Cincinnati's franchise quarterback looked solid in his first game back after missing nine weeks because of a turf toe injury, passing for 261 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Baltimore. The Bengals have won their past eight games when Burrow has been the starting quarterback.

RB James Cook. This might be Josh Allen’s offense, but Cook has been the constant this season. The fourth-year player is the NFL’s second-leading rusher with a career-best 1,228 yards, coming off his seventh 100-yard outing of the season, and he faces a defense that’s allowed 100 yards in every outing except the opener.

Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase vs. Bills CB Christian Benford. Even with Burrow sidelined for all but three games, Chase is 29 yards shy of his fifth straight 1,000-yard receiving season, and 14 receptions short of his third straight 100-catch season. He’ll line up against Benford, a fourth-year player who has been Buffalo’s most consistent defender this season. Benford is coming off his best outing of the season, in limiting Pittsburgh’s D.K. Metcalf to three catches for 32 yards, had his first interception of the season and returned a fumble 17 yards for a touchdown.

Bengals: DE Trey Hendrickson (hip/pelvis) is expected to miss his fifth straight game. ... WR Tee Higgins and RB Tahj Brooks could return after missing last week's game because of the concussion protocol.

Bills: Edge rusher Joey Bosa (hamstring) and LB Terrel Bernard (elbow) have been ruled out. ... WR Joshua Palmer's status is uncertain because of knee and ankle issues. ... LT Dion Dawkins (concussion) carries no injury designation and is expected to play, while RT Spencer Brown (right shoulder) is listed as questionable. ... TE Dalton Kincaid (hamstring/knee) has a chance to return after missing three games.

The Bengals have won six of the past eight meetings, including a 27-10 win in the AFC divisional round of the 2022 playoffs. The playoff win came three weeks after a regular-season meeting at Cincinnati was canceled when Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and was resuscitated on the field. Buffalo has lost two straight since a 21-17 home win in 2019. The Bills dominated the series by winning 10 straight in a stretch spanning 1989-2010.

The Bengals are 14-3 in regular-season games played in December and January since the 2022 season. The 14 wins are tied with Buffalo for the most. ... Burrow has 17 300-yard passing games, which is tied with Kurt Warner for third most in a player's first six seasons. ... RB Chase Brown has six straight games with at least 100 scrimmage yards, the longest active streak in the league. He has at least six catches in three of the past four games. ... Cincinnati's defense forced a season-high five turnovers last week. ... The Bengals lead the league with 138 missed tackles, but only 12 have come in the past two games. ... DE Joseph Ossai had a career-high two sacks last week. ... LB Demetrius Knight Jr. is one of two NFL rookies with at least five tackles in 10 or more games. ... S Jordan Battle has at least six tackles in six straight road games. ... K Evan McPherson has made his past nine field goals, including a franchise-record 63-yarder against New England two weeks ago. ... The Bills lead the NFL with a combined 23-4 record in regular-season games played in December and January since 2020, with two of their losses coming last season. ... Allen’s 8-yard TD run last week was the 76th of his career in a regular-season game, breaking the NFL record among quarterbacks previously held by Cam Newton. ... Allen has committed seven giveaways (six interceptions and a lost fumble) over his past four starts, and 10 overall this season. Four of his interceptions have occurred inside an opponent’s 20. He’s 47-31 when committing a turnover, including 3-4 this season. ... Buffalo is 6-1 when Cook tops 100 yards rushing this season. ... Buffalo’s 16 first downs rushing against Pittsburgh was the team’s most since having 20 in a 31-10 win over Dallas on Dec. 17, 2023. ... Buffalo is 5-2 this season when scoring a TD on its game-opening drive. ... The Bills have scored touchdown returns in consecutive outings. Aside from Benford’s fumble return, Ray Davis returned a kickoff 97 yards for a TD against Houston. ... Buffalo limited Pittsburgh to 10 first downs, the fewest against the Bills since they allowed four in a 27-10 win over the Jets in the 2021 season finale.

Allen is a must start, even with his recent rash of turnovers and Buffalo’s middling group of receivers. Allen’s dual threat presence provides a healthy floor in a season he’s had 10 outings with multiple touchdowns, and six with three or more.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) scores a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) joined by safety Geno Stone (22), defensive end Myles Murphy (99) and center Ted Karras (64) talks with NBC Sports sideline reporter Melissa Stark, right, after NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday quashed Justice Department subpoenas issued to the Federal Reserve in January, a severe blow to an investigation that has already attracted strong criticism on Capitol Hill.

The investigation into testimony last June by Chair Jerome Powell about a $2.5 billion building renovation has also delayed Senate consideration of Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's pick to replace Powell when his term ends May 15.

Judge James Boasberg said that the government has “produced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime” and called its justifications for the subpoenas so “thin and unsubstantiated" that they were simply a pretext to force Powell to cut rates, as Trump has repeatedly demanded.

“There is abundant evidence that the subpoenas’ dominant (if not sole) purpose is to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the President or to resign and make way for a Fed Chair who will,” he wrote.

The unprecedented investigation into Powell and the Fed is the latest in a series of moves by the Trump administration pressure the central bank, which has for decades been considered as independent from day-to-day politics. Trump has also sought to fire Lisa Cook, a member of the Fed's governing board, after a member of his administration accused her of mortgage fraud, though no charges were ever filed. The Supreme Court has blocked Cook's firing for now.

Boasberg's ruling blocks U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who issued the subpoenas, from obtaining records from the Fed related to the building renovation. Pirro blasted the ruling at a news conference and said she would appeal it.

Pirro said an “activist judge” has quashed the subpoenas, and has “neutered the grand jury’s ability to investigate crime“ and leaves Powell “bathed in immunity.”

“This is wrong and it is without legal authority,” she said.

The Justice Department’s investigation centers on testimony last June by Powell before the Senate Banking Committee, when he was asked about cost overruns on the Fed’s extensive building renovations. The most recent estimates from the Fed suggest the current estimated cost of $2.5 billion is about $600 million higher than a 2022 estimate of $1.9 billion.

Powell at the time disputed that the renovation included “rooftop gardens ... VIP elevators” and other amenities. But administration officials charged that earlier construction plans included some of those features, suggesting Powell was either lying or hadn't filed updated building plans.

Pirro, in her news conference, said she wanted to investigate “an atrocious cost overrun of $1 billion" but has so far been thwarted from doing so by Boasberg's decision.

Powell revealed the investigation in an unprecedented video Jan. 11, which prompted Senator Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican and member of the Banking committee, to block consideration of Warsh until the investigation is dropped.

Tillis said the ruling confirmed “just how weak and frivolous the criminal investigation of Chairman Powell is.” Tillis has vowed to blockade all Federal Reserve nominees until the criminal probe into Powell is dropped.

“We all know how this is going to end and the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office should save itself further embarrassment and move on,” Tillis said Friday. “Appealing the ruling will only delay the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed Chair.”

Tillis has also said that he has compiled a list of seven members of the committee who were present the day Powell testified, and none considers themselves “victims” of a crime.

In his ruling, Boasberg said he offered to let the government submit further evidence against Powell directly to him, so that they wouldn't have to tip their hand to the Fed or Powell. But the government declined to submit evidence under those conditions.

“The Court is thus left with no credible reason to think that the Government is investigating suspicious facts as opposed to targeting a disfavored official,” the judge wrote in his ruling.

Boasberg, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic President Barack Obama, has been at odds with the White House on other legal fronts since Trump returned to office last January. The Justice Department sought Boasberg’s removal from a high-profile case in Washington after he barred the Trump administration from carrying out a wave of deportation flights under wartime authorities from an 18th-century law.

Trump called for Boasberg’s impeachment, calling him an unelected “troublemaker and agitator.” The president’s searing criticism of Boasberg prompted a rare rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts, who rejected calls for impeaching judges.

AP Writers Michael Kunzelman, Alanna Durkin Richer, and Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.

FILE -Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, at the Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

FILE - Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)