Hey, did you know the Bills are playing the Patriots next Sunday at New Era Field in a battle of 3-0 teams vying for the top spot in the AFC East?

How cool is that going to … oh, wait a minute. There is the matter of the Bills first beating Cincinnati on Sunday and the Patriots defeating the Jets (try to contain your laughter, please) before any divisional showdown transpires.

As anyone who has followed the Bills should know — and I’m counting even the most blindly jingoistic members of Bills Mafia — there have been countless games over the past 20 years that the Bills were “supposed” to win yet somehow found a way to lose.

Nothing should ever be taken for granted with the Bills because they have perfected the art of crushing souls the way few teams in the NFL ever have. There’s no such thing as a “trap game” for this franchise because it can never afford to look past any opponent.

Mad scientist Bill Belichick is probably already studying the Bills rather than preparing for the Luke Falk-led Jets, but Sean McDermott and the Bills don’t have that luxury. They need to keep their focus on Cincinnati and make sure they don’t overlook the 0-2 Bengals who, after their 41-17 decimation at the hands of San Francisco last week, will be loaded for bear in Buffalo’s home opener.

“Just do what we do,” McDermott said. “It’s early in the season, only two games in, so the important piece for us is to continue to focus on our process, our fundamentals, our mindset, our focus and we continue to grow as a football team.”

Part of that growth would be taking care of business against the Bengals because that’s what a good team, a team that fancies itself as a playoff contender, would do.

Here’s my preview of the game:

Three …

1. Is the Bengals defense really as bad as it looked last week? Disgraceful. That’s the only accurate description of how horrible Cincinnati was in its 41-17 loss to the 49ers. After allowing only 232 total yards to Russell Wilson and the Seahawks in their opening loss, the Bengals gave up 571 yards to Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers, fifth-most in franchise history. Big plays were a big problem as they gave up 19 of 10 yards or more, six of those 30 yards or more. Rookie head coach Zac Taylor referenced his team’s poor tackling eight times in his post-game press conference, for good reason, as the 49ers rushed for 259 yards. Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said that based on his film review, he counted 160 yards allowed after initial contact. Think about that. There were gaping holes for the 49ers backs, wide-open expanses in the secondary for their receivers. The Bengals had no sacks of Garoppolo and the only turnover was all on Garoppolo, a bad overthrow. “It’s being one step slow or not being in your gap when you’re supposed to be there, pinning the hip on the edge of the defense so the running back has no space,” said Taylor. “There were missed tackles, but it was more just being sound with your alignment and your technique at the point the ball is snapped.”

2. How can the Bills exploit this sure-to-be angry Bengals defense? Garoppolo used a ton of play-action on his way to passing for 296 yards and three touchdowns, and he also made good use of the screen game. The Bills used no play-action in the win over the Jets, but mixed in some against the Giants, and it would be wise to keep using it. The Bengals CBs, Dre Kirkpatrick and William Jackson, looked baffled by it last week, as did their LBs. Pro Football Focus had Kirkpatrick giving up five receptions for 97 yards, Jackson three for 65 yards, with acres of combined yards after catch. They rank as two of the worst CBs in the NFL based on passer rating allowed (both north of 120). Playing against bad corners three weeks in a row, Josh Allen should be able to continue to get WR John Brown into favorable matchups on the outside, and Cole Beasley should have plenty of success underneath against Cincinnati’s short zone coverage men. One area of concern, though, will be Buffalo’s running game without Devin Singletary. He has worked the edges superbly, but the Bills have not run well between the tackles, and that’s where Frank Gore and T.J. Yeldon typically run. The Bengals have a strong front led by DT Geno Atkins and DE Carlos Dunlap and the Bills’ offensive line needs to assert itself better than it has.

3. Can the Bengals sustain offensive drives against Buffalo’s defense? In two games, 14 of their 23 possessions lasted six plays or less, and only three of those ended in touchdowns, all deep passes from Andy Dalton to speedy WR John Ross. Beyond those home runs, one of which came in garbage time last week, they’ve done very little. The biggest issue has been the ground game. Despite having two good RBs in Joe Mixon and Giovanni Bernard, Cincinnati has just 59 total rushing yards, the second-worst two-game start to a season in the NFL since 1950 (behind only the 2012 Titans with 58). If the Bengals can’t run in this game, they’re in for a long day. Ross, one of the fastest players in the league, has been able to burn the Seattle and San Francisco secondaries deep (he has 270 yards, with 154 coming on his three long TDs), but the Bills have been great at preventing the big play. No doubt CBs Tre’Davious White and Levi Wallace will have tough matchups against Ross and Tyler Boyd, but with safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde lurking, it’s tough to see Dalton topping 300 yards like he has the first two games. Another key will be Buffalo’s pass rush working against a banged-up and inefficient Bengals offensive line that counts ex-Bill John Miller as one of its starters. If the Bills feed off the crowd and generate pressure, Dalton better watch out.

… and Out

For the third week in a row, at least in my evaluation, the Bills are better than their opponent. The better team doesn’t always win in the NFL, but just as there were no excuses for Buffalo to lose either game in New York, the same holds true Sunday against Cincinnati. Even more so because the Bills are back home for the first time and will be playing in front of a rabid crowd already dreaming of January football. Expectations are rising for the Bills and their challenge, unique to them, will be to meet those expectations. The good news for the Bills is that Sean McDermott will not allow this team to get comfortable, to look past that day’s practice or game. And with team leaders like Lorenzo Alexander, Hyde and even Allen preaching that message in the locker room, I think the Bills are fully aware that they’ve done nothing yet and that they need to keep their eye on the task at hand. “Last time I checked,” Allen said, “nobody’s done anything special by just winning two games. We are putting those behind us and focusing on Cincinnati right now.” When you look at the matchups, the Bills have distinct advantages on defense against the Bengals offense, and their own offense could have a big day against a Cincinnati defense that is prone to big plays and looked absolutely clueless last week. If the Bills don’t make the type of egregious mistakes that allow inferior teams to pull off an upset, this shouldn’t be all that worrisome. MY PICK: Bills 27, Bengals 14.

Game information

When: 1 p.m. Sunday

Where: New Era Field

TV: CBS

Satellite TV: DirecTV channel 705

Satellite radio: Sirius 103, XM 228

Radio: 96.5 FM/950 AM

Series: Bills lead 16-13.

By the Numbers

2011 — That was the last year the Bills started a season 3-0. They have opened a season with at least three straight wins on nine occasions and have made the playoffs six times. However, they missed the postseason the last two times (2011 and 2008).

100 — The Bills’ percentage of success in red zone penetrations as they’ve scored a touchdown in all five trips inside the 20-yard-line. Last year the Bills ranked 16th in the NFL at 59.5 percent.

20 — Consecutive games Frank Gore had gone without scoring a rushing TD prior to getting one last week. His previous career-long streak before this one was eight games.

Talking points

► Bengals coach Zac Taylor on last week’s lopsided defeat: “The loss is not something we’re going to run from. We got blown out at home. We could say it was frustrating, but we will not allow our guys to hang their heads.”

► Bills CB Tre’Davious White on playing zone defense: “Just doing what I’m told; we played zone (against the Giants) and that’s that. The way I always played, growing up from Pop Warner, I don’t want the guy in front of me to beat me, so if I can be in man-to-man coverage every play, I wouldn’t be opposed to it. I take those battles seriously.”

► Bills QB Josh Allen on what’s different for him this year: “I just think the nerves really aren’t there. I think I’m very calm in these situations, and I think I do owe a lot of that to coach McDermott and how he’s prepared us, and the things that we practice and the situations that go on during practice. He does a really good job of paying attention to what the league is doing in certain situations that have happened. Bringing those up and letting the team know how we’re going to attack that situation.”

NFL rankings

Bills Bengals

Total offense: 379.0 yards (9th); 372.5 (11th)

Rush offense: 139.5 yards (8th); 29.5 (32nd)

Pass offense: 239.5 yards (18th; 343.0 (2nd)

Points scored: 22.5 (11th); 18.5 (T21st)

Total defense: 294.0 yards (6th); 402.0 (25th)

Rush defense: 96.0 yards (10th); 165.5 (30th)

Pass defense: 198.0 yards (6th); 236.5 (16th)

Points allowed: 15.0 (5th); 31.0 (29th)

Individual leaders

Rushing

Bills: Devin Singletary 10 carries, 127 yards; Frank Gore 30-88; Josh Allen 17-59.

Bengals: Joe Mixon 17-27; Gio Bernard 13-27.

Passing

Bills: Josh Allen 43 of 67, 507 yards, 2 TDs, 2 interceptions

Bengals: Andy Dalton 61 of 93, 729 yards, 4 TDs, 1 interception.

Receiving

Bills: John Brown 14 catches, 195 yards; Cole Beasley 9-123; Devin Singletary 5-28; Zay Jones 3-32; Patrick DiMarco 3-12.

Bengals: Tyler Boyd 18-182; John Ross 11-270; Tyler Eifert 8-36; Alex Erickson 5-42; Joe Mixon 5-17; C.J. Uzomah 4-66; Damion Willis 4-36.

2019 Bills schedule

9/8 at Jets, W 17-16

9/15 at Giants, W 28-14

9/22 vs. Bengals, 1 p.m

9/29 vs. Patriots, 1 p.m.

10/6 at Titans, 1 p.m

10/13 BYE

10/20 vs. Dolphins, 1 p.m.

10/27 vs. Eagles, 1 p.m.

11/3 vs. Redskins, 1 p.m

11/10 at Browns, 1 pm.

11/17 at Dolphins, 1 p.m.

11/24 vs. Broncos, 1 p.m.

11/28 at Cowboys, 4:30 p.m.

12/8 vs. Ravens, 1 p.m.

12/15 at Steelers, 1 p.m.

12/22 at Patriots, 1 p.m.

12/29 vs. Jets, 1 p.m.

MAIORANA@Gannett.com