The Cincinnati Bengals tried to give away Saturday’s game. Yet, somehow, they’re still alive in the AFC playoff race.
The Bengals had a clock management fiasco in the final two minutes of regulation, which allowed Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix to drive his team downfield and complete a touchdown pass with eight seconds left. The Broncos could have gone for the 2-point conversion and the win, which would have sent them to the playoffs, but they kicked the extra point and took their chances in overtime.
The Bengals had a 33-yard field-goal attempt for the win but Cade York missed it, hitting it off the upright. With a tie, the Bengals would have been eliminated and the Broncos would have clinched a playoff berth.
But Cincinnati’s defense, which has been a problem most of the season, came through. It forced two three-and-outs in overtime, then with a little more than a minute to go Burrow hit Tee Higgins on a huge 31-yard catch down to the 3-yard line. The Bengals won 30-24 on the next play on a touchdown pass to Higgins.
The Broncos would have clinched a playoff spot and the Bengals would have been eliminated with a Denver win or a tie on Saturday night. The Bengals still need plenty of help to make the playoffs, including the Broncos losing in Week 18 to a Kansas City Chiefs team that has already clinched the AFC’s No. 1 seed. But Cincinnati still has hope. And unfortunately for the Broncos, they can’t put their playoff drought to rest yet.
The late win saved a lot of grief for Bengals head coach Zac Taylor, York and the Bengals as a whole. Once again, Burrow carried the Bengals out of a big mess.
Both teams struggle in 1st half
The Bengals came into the game needing the win for a reason. They haven’t been very good this season. That’s why they were 7-8 coming in.
There were moments that reinforced that. They turned it over on downs twice in Broncos territory in the first half, opting to go for it on fourth down instead of attempting field goals each time. The second time the Bengals turned it over on downs, they got to the 2-yard line but couldn’t punch it in, with Burrow missing tight end Mike Gesicki badly at the goal line, Ja’Marr Chase having a horrible drop in the end zone on third down and Burrow getting sacked on fourth down.
In the third quarter, the Bengals had a long touchdown to wideout Andrei Iosivas called back due to an illegal shift penalty. It’s the kind of sloppy execution and mistakes that cost the Bengals eight losses leading up to Saturday’s game.
The Broncos have their limitations too, despite their record. The offense struggled in the first half. Nix has had a good rookie season but he’s still a rookie, and couldn’t get much going before a touchdown drive late in the third quarter.
Luckily for viewers, the game heated up in the second half and overtime.
Bengals, Broncos trade big plays
The offenses started to wake up late in the third quarter. Denver had a 70-yard drive to tie the game 10-10. Higgins scored his second touchdown of the game and the Broncos answered on a nice deep pass from Nix to Marvin Mims Jr. for a 51-yard score.
That was the start of the big plays. Nix had an interception that looked like it would lead to a Bengals win. Linebacker Germaine Pratt picked off Nix. Chase had a couple of huge catches and it appeared the Bengals would kick a field goal as time expired. That didn’t happen.
The Bengals could have taken a knee three times and kicked a short field goal with almost no time left. But they called a run and Chase Brown got injured trying to slide down instead of scoring, which forced the Bengals to take an injury timeout. That changed their strategy. Instead of setting up for a field goal, they had Burrow score with 1:29 left to take the lead. That ended up being a mistake.
Nix brought the Broncos downfield and hit Mims for a game-tying touchdown with eight seconds left. It took a replay review to determine Mims had control of the ball even as he was sliding out of bounds, and the touchdown call on the field stood. The Broncos didn’t go for the 2-point conversion, choosing to kick the extra point and send the game to overtime.
The Bengals won the coin toss to start overtime but couldn’t score and punted. A tie would have clinched a playoff spot for the Broncos. Denver had a quick three-and-out, which gave Burrow another chance to win it. A few completions got the Bengals well within field-goal range for York. But York hit the 33-yard attempt off the upright with 2:43 left. At that point, the Bengals needed to keep the Broncos from getting a first down, because presumably Denver would have played for the tie and run down the clock.
But the Bengals forced another three-and-out, giving Burrow one more chance. They got the ball on their own 38-yard line with 2:20 left. Burrow’s 31-yard pass to Higgins down the sideline was the key play to get a win to stay alive in the playoff hunt.
To make the playoffs, the Bengals need to beat the Steelers in Week 18, and have the Broncos, Colts and Dolphins each lose at least one more game. That’s a lot to ask, but Cincinnati has a chance going into the final week of the season. Given all their issues on Saturday and for the season as a whole, that’s all they could ask for.
