The Cincinnati Bengals left Week 13 winners after a 27-24, clutch-filled triumph with the Kansas City Chiefs in town at Paycor Stadium.
Buy Bengals TicketsThese two budding rivals played another must-see game between would-be AFC contenders. Like the two classics from a year ago, it ultimately came down to whichever team made the most mistakes, which in this case happened to be the Chiefs. That, plus some Joe Burrow magic at the buzzer didn’t hurt.
In the immediate aftermath, some notable takeaways pop up. Those include thoughts on the offensive line, Ja’Marr Chase and more as the Bengals start looking ahead to next week against the Browns.
Before that, a look at the takeaways and details worth knowing.
Ja'Marr Chase is just fine
Chase had a couple of downright jaw-dropping plays in the first half. One, a one-handed sideline grab, the other a quick zip past a defender for a huge gain up the field before leaping over a defender. Then in the second, a gritty, shoulder-lowering scamper to pick up a critical first down. Suffice to say, the hip is all the way back.
Offensive line looks great again
While it wasn’t all perfect, the Bengals don’t take a lead or hardly compete in this one without strong pockets from the rebuilt line. It’s becoming less and less of a talking point, which is a good thing. Plus, it keeps making serious headway in the running game, with Samaje Perine again looking good on Sunday, too.
Miscues on miscues on miscues
Jonah Williams penalties. The worst drop of Tyler Boyd’s career on a guaranteed touchdown. Taunting penalties. Personal fouls. Letting Chiefs ball-carriers stretch for first downs and touchdowns. Whiffing on a fourth-and-one end-around. It goes on and on and on. Bengals coaches and players will leave this one with plenty of things to work on in what was a much sloppier game than expected. And yet, when it mattered most, one of the most resilient groups in football overcame it all.
Red zone woes
The Bengals went from cruising recently inside the 20-yard line to a straight-up near-disaster on Sunday. Despite the Chiefs sporting the 32nd-ranked redzone defense, the Bengals went just 3-of-6 in the redzone. Some of it was penalties or blown-up plays. Some of it was just bad luck. But they’ll want to be even better so that games like this are actually blowouts.
More unheralded showcases
Samaje Perine repeatedly made major plays as a runner and receiver. Chris Evans, the third running back, scored a go-ahead touchdown. Germaine Pratt forced a fumble at a key moment. Joseph Ossai recorded a key third-down sack. It all had shades of the last few weeks when guys like Trenton Irwin were putting up big games. The team’s depth is extremely impressive and so is the coaching staff’s ability to put it to work efficiently.
Still ways to climb
Notice a theme? The Bengals made a ton of mistakes, both in execution and self control. Flags, bad redzone showing, just little things that kept this close. They overcame it and won, obviously. But it shouldn’t have been as close as it was, which is actually a really, really good thing for the team’s outlook if they can clean up the small stuff.
In-game notes
— Bengals did absolutely whatever they wanted on the first drive of the game. Samaje Perine ran well and Burrow peppered a variety of targets on their way down the field before the quarterback himself punched it in for the score. A far, far cry from how the two games against the Chiefs looked early.
— Defense got gashed a bit on the Chiefs’ first drive, especially as the Chiefs exploited the weakness to screens it showed last week against the Titans. But the unit held, making it 7-3, and every little stop like that matters greatly.
— Ja’Marr Chase’s hip, based on a few highlight plays in the first half, is just fine. His taunting penalty after a teammate’s touchdown while getting in the face of Justin Reid was incredibly silly, though.
— DJ Reader provided proof after proof of his dominance in the first half.
— Jessie Bates seemed to fake an injury to avoid a penalty.
— Hayden Hurst left with an injury.
— Samaje Perine dribbled Justin Reid off the turf with a nasty stiff arm.
— Bengals had a chance to score before halftime. On fourth down, Burrow had the option to quarterback sneak or run the end-around. Old friend Carlos Dunlap blew up the latter in about half a second, which is a critical point the Bengals will look back on regardless of result.
— Defense coughed up a seven-play drive over 77 yards for a Chiefs touchdown to start the second half.
— The worst drop of Tyler Boyd’s career came on a surefire touchdown. Instead, the Bengals had to settle for a 17-all tie.
— Germaine Pratt had potentially the play of the game with the strip fumble on Travis Kelce in a four-point game in the final quarter.
— Offense capitalized with one of the best drives of the year, carried by Perine and Chris Evans, who scored the go-ahead touchdown.
— HUGE third-down sack by Joseph Ossai with roughly 3:30 left, Chiefs then missed the game-tying field goal.
— Burrow, with the game on the line on third down, casually flips a ball 11 yards upfield to Tee Higgins in traffic to ice it. Unbelievable.
