CINCINNATI — A brutal end to a hopeful rally.
Matt Ammendola hit a 31-yard field goal as time expired to led the visiting Houston Texans (5-4) past the Bengals (5-4), 30-27, Sunday. Ammendola was elevated from the practice squad to take the place of regular injured kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn.
Now the Bengals need to get ready on a short week for the Baltimore Ravens on the road Thursday night.
CJ Stroud followed up his record-setting rookie performance by throwing for 356 yards on 23-of-39 passing while Devin Singletary ran for 150 yards on 30 carries and a touchdown to lead the Texans, who blew a 10-point lead with three minutes remaining, only to rescue the game at the end.
Noah Brown added seven catches for a team-leading 172 yards and set up the game-winning score with a 22-yard reception over the middle.
Joe Burrow threw 27-of-40 for 347 yards and two touchdown. But he threw fourth quarter interceptions on back-to-back drives before engineering a late rally. Ja’Marr Chase played through his sore back and caught five passes on six targets for 124 yards and a 64-yard touchdown. Tyler Boyd caught eight passes on 12 targets for 117 yards but dropped a potential go-ahead touchdown with just over a minute remaining, as the Bengals settle for a game-tying field goal.
The Bengals saw their four-game win streak come to an end.
After back-to-back intercepted passes thrown by Burrow, Cam Taylor-Britt gave the Bengals new life when he intercepted Stroud and returned it to the Houston 4. Joe Mixon’s one-yard TD run made it 27-24 with 3:18 left in the fourth quarter.
The Bengals held the Texans and forced a punt. Burrow then led the Bengals down field on a 64-yard pass to Tyler Boyd that put the Bengals at the Houston 6. But Burrow was sacked and then the Bengals had to settle for Evan McPherson’s 31-yard field goal to tie it with 1:33 left.
That allowed Stroud to march the Texans down for the game-winning drive.
The Bengals were without starting defensive end Sam Hubbard and starting wide receiver Tee Higgins due to injury.
For the fifth straight game, the Bengals scored a touchdown on their opening drive.
With Higgins inactive due to a hamstring injury and Ja’Marr Chase coming off a deep bruise to his back after a fall to the Paycor Stadium turf seven days earlier, Burrow used Chase as a decoy on the opening drive. Burrow targeted tight end Tanner Hudson five times for five catches and 28 yards, including a 3-yard gain on fourth-and-3.
Tight end Mitchell Wilcox and running back Joe Mixon were also targeted in the pass game on the opening drive. But it was Trenton Irwin, filling in for Higgins, who made the biggest catch of the drive, a 32-yard touchdown grab down the right sideline on a perfect pass from Burrow.
Bullseye 🎯#EasyToCelebrate | @budlight pic.twitter.com/wOXNFBYIiy
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) November 12, 2023
Another streak continued on Houston’s second drive when the Stroud led the Texans down to the Bengals 10. Stroud mishandled the shotgun snap and fumbled the ball. It was recovered by former Texan DJ Reader at the Bengals 11 to end the first quarter. It marked the fourth straight game that the Bengals defense forced a turnover in the red zone.
Against Seattle, the Bengals came up with a pair of turnovers on downs in the game’s final three minutes. Against San Francisco, Germaine Pratt intercepted Brock Purdy inside the 10. Last Sunday vs. Buffalo, Pratt forced a fumble and Nick Scott recovered.
But the Bengals offense went three-and-out and had to punt.
The Texans tied the game when Stroud orchestrated a seven-play, 66-yard drive, capped by Stroud’s pass to Tank Dell, who caught the ball at the Cincinnati 3 and did the rest of the work, lunging the ball across the goal line for the game-tying score.
With the Texans driving across midfield, the Bengals forced another turnover when Logan Wilson and Trey Hendrickson arrived at Stroud simultaneously and forced a fumble recovered by Mike Hilton at the Cincinnati 28. Again, the Bengals offense was stagnant and couldn’t do anything with the good fortune.
After amassing 75 yards on the opening drive, the Bengals could gain just 34 yards the rest of the half.
The Texans took a 10-7 lead with ten seconds left in the half when Matt Ammendola booted a 45-yard field goal, capping a 61-yard, nine-play drive.
The Texans open the second half with another field goal drive, as the Bengals caught a break when Robert Woods stepped out of the end zone and stepped back in to catch a pass in the end zone, nullifying a touchdown on third down as the Texans settled for a 22-yard Ammendola field goal.
Cincinnati’s offensive futility continued on their first drive of the second half, as Tyler Boyd dropped a pass and Burrow was sacked for 13 yards in a three-and-out, giving the Bengals a total of 22 yards since their opening touchdown drive.
Stroud’s drove the Texans 59 yards for their next score, a six-yard Devin Singletary run off the right side, putting Houston up, 20-7.
The Bengals finally showed signs of life when they marched 43 yards, ending with a 50-yard Evan McPherson field goal. After the Bengals got a three-and-out, Burrow struck gold on second-and-11 on a scramble extend play.
Burrow escaped pressure up the middle and scrambled out to his left, spotted a racing Chase splitting the Houston defense and threw across his body and hit Chase in stride for a 64-yard bomb to pull the Bengals within three, 20-17, with 10 seconds left in the third quarter.
"F it. Ja'Marr is down there somewhere"#HOUvsCIN | 📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/0PsOq4vYZY
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) November 12, 2023
But the Texans and Stroud answered with another long drive, 75 yards in just six plays, as the Texans again gashed the Bengals with three explosive plays, including a 34-yard play to an uncovered Noah Brown. Stroud finished off the drive with a eight-yard run up the middle for a touchdown to make it 27-17.
