Bengals shake off late Broncos TD, win in overtime to keep playoff hopes alive

On By Littum

The Cincinnati Bengals tried to give away Saturday’s game. But somehow they are still alive in the AFC playoffs.

The Bengals had a clock management failure in the final two minutes of regulation that allowed Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix to drive his team down the field 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 and hit it upright. With a tie, the Bengals would have been eliminated and the Broncos would have clinched a playoff spot.

But Cincinnati’s defense, which has been a problem most of the season, came through. That forced two three-and-outs in overtime, and with a little more than a minute left, 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 berth and the Bengals would have been eliminated with a Denver win or tie Saturday night. The Bengals still need plenty of help to make the playoffs, including the Broncos, who lost in Week 18 to a Kansas City Chiefs team that has already won 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 just 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.

The Bengals came into the game needing the win for a reason. They haven’t been very good this season. Therefore, they were 7-8 on the way in.

There were moments that reinforced it. They turned it over on downs twice in Broncos territory in the first half, opting to go for it on fourth down instead of trying for 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 and Ja’Marr Chase having a terrible drop in the end zone on third down and Burrow is sacked on fourth down.

In the third quarter, the Bengals had a long touchdown pass 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 also have their limitations despite their record. The offense struggled in the first half. Nix has had a good rookie season, but he’s still a rookie and didn’t get much going before a touchdown drive late in the third quarter.

Fortunately for viewers, the game heated up in the second half and overtime.

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 appeared to lead to a Bengals victory. Linebacker Germaine Pratt picked off Nix. Chase had a couple of big catches and it looked like the Bengals were going to kick a field goal as time expired. It 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 was injured trying to slide down instead of scoring, forcing the Bengals to take an injury timeout. It changed their strategy. Instead of setting up a field goal, they scored Burrow with 1:29 left to take the lead. It ended up being a mistake.

Nix brought the Broncos down the field and hit Mims for a game-tying touchdown with eight seconds left. It took a replay review to determine that Mims had control of the ball even when he slid out of bounds, and the on-field touchdown call stood. The Broncos didn’t go for the 2-point conversion, opting to kick the extra point and send the game to overtime.

The Bengals won the coin toss to start overtime, but could not score and punt. A tie would have secured the Broncos a playoff spot. Denver had a quick three-and-out, giving Burrow another chance to win it. A pair of completions got the Bengals well within field-goal range for York. But York hit the 33-yard attempt from the uprights with 2:43 left. At that point, the Bengals needed to prevent the Broncos from getting a first down, because presumably Denver would have played for a 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. Burrows’ 31-yard pass to Higgins down the sideline was the key play to get a win to stay alive in the playoff chase.

To make the playoffs, the Bengals must beat the Steelers in Week 18 and have the Broncos, Colts and Dolphins lose at least one more game. That’s a lot to ask, but Cincinnati has a shot going into the final week of the season. Given all their problems on Saturday and for the season as a whole, that’s all they could ask for.