The Bengals’ painful goal-line fumble with Chase Brown backfires in the worst possible way

The Cincinnati Bengals put on a masterclass in how to coach bad situational football against Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos in a must-win game to stay alive in the postseason. As the Bengals marched for what appeared to be a game-winning drive, their execution was so poor that it injured running back Chase Brown.

Cincinnati tried to run out the clock after getting the ball down to the Broncos’ red zone. This means you are knocking on the stone with Brown.

When Brown tried to stop himself in bounds, his leg bent back at an awkward angle. Brown was subsequently taken out of the game. Not only was Brown hurt, but the Broncos didn’t even have to use their final timeout after the game was stopped to tend to him. He was ruled out with an ankle injury.

In an even more confusing move that makes head coach Zac Taylor’s decision-making, the Bengals opted not to run down the clock after Denver was able to hold their final timeout. Burrow managed to sneak in a one-yard touchdown run that put Cincinnati up 24-17.

Bengals RB Chase Brown injures leg trying to run out clock vs. Bengals

Brown has been on fire since being promoted to the starting lineup. Since Week 4, which is when Brown began earning the lion’s share of snaps and touches in the backfield, the Illinois alum has put up numbers that would put him on pace for over 1,500 yards from scrimmage in a 17-game season.

While the severity of Brown’s injury is unknown, playing a must-win game in Week 18 against the Pittsburgh Steelers with either a disabled or hobbled running back in Brown could be the difference between a competitive showing and humiliation.

The Bengals’ tissue-thin defense came back to haunt them again. After getting the ball back, Nix led his team down the field for a game-ending layup with a beautiful throw into the end zone that tied the game at 24-24. The Bengals have only themselves to blame for this mess.

Between Brown getting hurt, Taylor taking points off the board multiple times against one of the better defenses in the league, and a terrible second half showing that made Nix look like John Elway, this certainly hasn’t been a banner night for the Bengals.