Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals finally got a break.
The Dallas Cowboys had flashbacks to one of the most painful moments in franchise history.
Burrow on Monday threw a tiebreaking 40-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Marr Chase after Dallas botched a blocked punt to give the ball back to Cincinnati in the final two minutes, and the Bengals beat the Cowboys 27-20.
Photo: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images
The Cowboys were about to get the ball back with the score tied on the first play after the two-minute warning when Nick Vigil blocked a punt by Cincinnati’s Ryan Rehkow.
Amani Oruwariye tried to field the bouncing ball when leaving it alone would have given Dallas possession. Oruwariye could not hold on, and the Bengals’ Maema Njongmeta recovered at the Cincinnati 43-yard line with 1 minute, 53 seconds remaining.
Three plays later, Burrow threw to Chase, who evaded DaRon Bland and ran untouched the rest of the way for the lead with 1:01 to go as the Bengals (5-8) ended a three-game losing streak.
The second one-score victory in a puzzling season for the defensively challenged Bengals came after all three losses during their second three-game skid — and seven of their eight defeats this season — were by seven points or less.
“We needed a break,” Burrow said. “We haven’t got many this year, but it was nice to get that one and nice to come out of this with a win.”
For the Cowboys, the scene that set up the Burrow-Chase winner was hauntingly familiar to a snowy Thanksgiving Day in 1993 at Texas Stadium.
Leon Lett inexplicably slid in on the snow-covered field to try to recover a blocked field goal in the final seconds that would have given Dallas a victory over Miami. The Dolphins recovered and kicked a field goal on the final play for a 16-14 victory.
Oruwariye’s gaffe came in his first game back off injured reserve after missing five games with a back injury. Fellow defensive backs Jourdan Lewis and C.J. Goodwin kept reporters away from Oruwariye in the locker room after the game.
Special teams coach John Fassel frantically waved from the sideline for all his players to get away from the ball after the block, but Oruwariye never hesitated to try and grab it.
“You see why it happened,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said. “He turns and the ball’s there, and he reacted to it. I haven’t seen the video. I saw it live. It’s definitely a tough learning opportunity.”
The winning touchdown secured a fourth consecutive game of at least 300 yards passing and three touchdowns for Burrow, who finished with 369 yards and three scores, two to Chase. It was the first victory in that stretch.
Chase, the NFL leader in yards receiving and touchdowns, had 177 yards on a season-high 14 catches and is up to 15 touchdowns. Chase easily navigated his way past Bland on the winning play.
“Me and Joe were on the same page,” Chase said. “He threw to my inside shoulder so I can turn upfield after the catch.”
Cooper Rush threw two touchdown passes and Rico Dowdle ran for a career-high 131 yards as the Cowboys (5-8) saw the end of a modest two-game winning streak after losing five in a row.
A fourth consecutive playoff trip was already a long shot for Dallas, and is all but out of reach now.
“We understand that we dug ourselves a hole,” McCarthy said. “We had to have this one tonight. This is a very disappointing loss.”
The Bengals ended a five-game losing streak against the Cowboys with their first victory in the series since 2004.
The Cowboys lost linebacker DeMarvion Overshown to a knee injury in the fourth quarter. McCarthy said the injury was serious.
Burrow was walking with a limp after the game, but said his knee would not prevent him from playing.
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
VALUABLE POINT: Relegation-threatened Valencia snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw at CA Osasuna thanks to a remarkable backheel volley by Umar Sadiq Barcelona on Sunday secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Real Sociedad to move back top of La Liga. Aritz Elustondo’s early red card gave Hansi Flick’s side a comfortable afternoon, with Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski on the score sheet. Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to temporarily knock the Catalans from their perch, while Real Madrid, third, lost at Real Betis Balompie. Flick was able to rotate his side a little ahead of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 visit to face SL Benfica tomorrow and still move one point above Atletico. “There were a lot of things that
Donovan Mitchell on Wednesday scored 26 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a hard-fought 112-107 victory over the Miami Heat. A seesaw battle in Cleveland saw the Heat threaten to end the Cavs’ 11-game unbeaten streak after opening up a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs clawed back the deficit in the closing minutes to seal their 12th straight victory and a place in the post-season. The Cavaliers improved to 52-10, maintaining their stranglehold on the Eastern Conference with 20 games of the regular season remaining. Mitchell was one of six Cleveland
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
RSS