ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Down three points with 5:35 left Sunday, the Bills had a 16.2% win probability against the Bengals.
Cincinnati was driving and answers were in short supply for the Buffalo defense.
But then cornerback Christian Benford jumped in front of a Joe Burrow pass and flipped everything. He took it 63 yards to the end zone, jumping that win probability to 77% and propelling the Bills to a 39-34 victory that moved them to 9-4.
It marked the biggest win-probability swing in the NFL on a play outside of the last two minutes since 2016.
Benford came away with the ball off a blitz as Burrow tried to quickly find wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase. As the fourth-year cornerback acknowledged afterward, he did not use the technique defensive backs are taught, which is not to leave their feet, and instead leapt in the air.
"Corner blitz and trying to throw a hot reaction and the guy jumps up and catches it. Great play," Burrow said.
The pick-six gave the Bills their first lead of the game. They went on to their second win this season after trailing by 10-plus points in the final 10 minutes (Week 1 vs. Baltimore Ravens), the first time they've done that since the 1970 merger.
"While I was running though, I thought Chase was about to get me. I ain't gonna lie to you," Benford said. "At first, I wasn't really running running. I thought it was just me, and maybe like some linemen. ... I saw Chase like really running. I said, 'Oh shoot.' So, I really put my wheels on and thanked God he couldn't catch me. The rest is history."
It was Benford's second career touchdown and he also had a sack. In last week's win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, he had a fumble recovery and a score.
Just 16 seconds after Benford's interception Sunday, Bills defensive tackle Jordan Phillips tipped a Burrow pass and defensive end AJ Epenesa picked it off.
"Just big-time moment in the game," coach Sean McDermott said of Benford's pick. "That's this time of year. You're looking for moments, guys doing their job, and when you do your job, good things happen. That's what we saw happen. It was just a phenomenal play, phenomenal call. Just great to see."
Benford had a strong day, holding Chase to zero receptions on two targets, along with the pick-six, in their 16 matchups. He's only the third defender to hold Chase catchless this year (Greg Newsome II, Kevin Byard) and did so after shutting down Emeka Egbuka, DK Metcalf and Drake London (zero receptions for each) previously.
"It's fan mode for sure, and it's a lot of swear words," quarterback Josh Allen said the reaction to Benford's score. "Hopefully they weren't showing me on the sideline because I said a lot of bad ones. No, I mean, it's fun to see your brother who works extremely hard, a guy that's as humble as they come, a guy just does his job, and he can make plays for your team in big moments of the game."
Allen played a big part in the Bills' comeback, including his longest regular-season rushing touchdown (40 yards). He also threw two touchdown passes on fourth down for the first time.
"Never a doubt," he said. "That was obviously a really tough game. Really good team that we just played. Guys made plays tonight. It was cool to see our fans stay in the fourth quarter. So, we all learned."
Information from Next Gen Stats was used in this report.