Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Cincinnati took full advantage of a Dallas Cowboys special teams blunder, Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase delivering a 40-yard game-winning touchdown in a 27-20 NFL victory on Monday. With less than two minutes to play and the score tied at 20-20, the Cowboys appeared to have come up with a massive play when linebacker Nick Vigil blocked a Bengals punt. Dallas would have automatically had possession, but the Cowboys’ Amani Oruwariye tried to field the ball, making it live, and the Bengals’ Maema Njongmeta eventually managed to recover.
Three plays later, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow found Chase, who eluded Dallas cornerback DaRon Bland for a go-ahead touchdown with 1:01 remaining. Cincinnati thwarted the Cowboys’ final drive to deny Dallas a third straight win. Oruwariye’s error recalled the 1993 Thanksgiving game blunder by Dallas’s Leon Lett, who touched a blocked field goal ball to give Miami a second chance in what would be a Dolphins victory.
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For Burrow, it was the kind of lucky break the Bengals haven’t seen too much of this season. “We needed a break,” Burrow said. “We haven’t got many this year. It was nice to get that one, nice to come out of this with a win.” Burrow passed for 369 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to Chase. Chase caught 14 passes for 172 yards, and Chase Brown ran for 58 yards and caught six passes for 65 yards and a TD. It was the fourth straight game of at least 300 passing yards and three touchdowns for Burrow — but the Bengals’ first victory in that span.
Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush connected on 16 of 31 passes for 183 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. The result left both teams with records of 5-8. The Cowboys, who lost star quarterback Dak Prescott last month to a hamstring injury that required surgery, saw linebacker DeMarvion Overshown go down with a right knee injury in the fourth quarter. Dallas rookie center Cooper Beebe was ruled out at halftime with a concussion.
© 2024 AFP
