CINCINNATI — At this point, it feels like Jake Browning and the Bengals are daring anyone to count them out.
The first half Saturday was a collection of depressing and disappointing moments. The team had already lost two key DJ’s to injuries, defensive lineman and locker room glue DJ Reader was carted off with a right knee/torn quad tendon in the first quarter. Several minutes later, DJ Ivey, the talented rookie corner out of the University of Miami went down with a left knee injury.
Alex Cappa and Ted Kappa were dinged up, both limping to the sideline, including the surreal sight of Karras holding his left arm to his side as the field was being prepped for a halftime ceremony honoring him as Cincinnati’s Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee and recipient.
Even when the Vikings were giving the Bengals lifelines with a pair of Nick Mullens interceptions, the offense just couldn’t get out of its own way. A bomb to a wide open Charlie Jones on third-and-15 fell just incomplete when Browning couldn’t put quite enough air under the route post.
Eventual hero Tee Higgins thought he had brought in a 40-yard bomb with 15 seconds left before half to give the Bengals a chance at a quick three points after BJ Hill came up with another turnover. But replay overturned the hip catch from Higgins and the Bengals went to the locker room down, 7-3.
With 9:15 left in the third quarter, and the Bengals already down 14-3 after Minnesota scored on its opening drive of the second half, the Bengals quarterback threw an out route intended for Irv Smith Jr. It was picked off by Akayleb Evans at the Minnesota 42.
The Vikings then marched down the field to the Bengals 21 but the defense somehow held and the Vikings could only manage a field goal to make it 17-3. That was just the first of many game-defining moments that helped the Bengals turn in one of the most improbable wins of the Zac Taylor era, a 27-24 overtime classic at Paycor Stadium.
Playoff hopes at that point were on life support. But these Bengals weren’t ready to pull the plug.
Somehow the defense found a way one more time to bow its collective neck and hold the Vikings to a 17-3 lead. Josh Tupou and second-year tackle Zach Carter filled in for Reader and BJ Hill did his thing. Edge Joseph Ossai even moved inside to help Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard. With Reader down it truly was all hands on deck.
Browning, needing to put together a TD drive and fast, smoothly and calmly drove the team 75 yards in eight plays, capped by a perfect dime dropped into the hands of Tee Higgins on the first play of the fourth quarter.
The next huge moment was the result of a big mistake from Browning. Facing second-and-10 at the Minnesota 32, the Bengals quarterback took an intentional grounding penalty. The Bengals had third-and-21 with 11:19 left in the game. The Bengals were desperate. Browning was desperate. He gunned a pass for a streaking Ja’Marr Chase over the middle. The pass found its way to Chase for a first down and a 30-yard gain.
But it came at a cost. Chase injured his right shoulder. He would not make another contribution the rest of the afternoon. The Bengals had 4th-and-goal from the one and Joe Mixon was inches from being stopped but kept going for a second-effort that forged a 17-17 tie.
The Vikings appeared to be hitting disaster when Mullens threw a pass for Justin Jefferson. It was picked off by Germaine Pratt and returned 42 yards for a go-ahead touchdown – or at least the crowd thought so. But upon closer review, Trey Hendrickson was clearly offsides and the pick came back.
Instead of crumbling, the Vikings were re-energized and following a 30-yard run by Ty Chandler, the Vikings scored the go-ahead TD when Mullens rolled to his right and found Jordan Addison for a touchdown with 3:48 left in the fourth quarter. 24-17 Minnesota.
Like the season itself, the Bengals had come this far. Was this really how the contest and realistic playoff hopes were going to end?
Nope. Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd were going to make sure of it. Facing second-and-10 at the Minnesota 21 with 39 seconds left, Browning rolled to his right and lofted the ball down the right side. Higgins read the play perfectly, sprinted to the Minnesota 2, caught the ball over Adayleb and in one fell swoop, spun his upper body around to allow him to extend the ball over the goal line.
“I happen to know where I was on the field and at the same time I was right there on the sideline, so I had to stay in bounds and then I knew I caught it around the one (yard line),” Higgins told me. “So, I just took a wild guess and reached back and looked up at the ref and he had his arms up with a touchdown.”
Asked Tee Higgins about his acrobatic one-arm reach TD. “Took a wild guess” also on first TD since Week 2 “that s$&@ felt good” pic.twitter.com/J6Tev0OJDe
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) December 16, 2023
Unbelievably, with 39 seconds left, the Bengals had tied the game for the second time in the fourth quarter.
The fun was just beginning.
The Bengals won the toss in overtime but couldn’t move the ball as the offense moved backwards. The Vikings were – as they did in the 2021 season oepner – at the Bengals 42 yard line. They needed to get inside the 41. Just a half yard and the Vikings would be able to run down the rest of the clock or kick a field goal and win it right there.
They never got that chance. On third-and-inches and fourth-and-inches, BJ Hill and the defense stepped up and didn’t let the Vikings get the push. Almost miraculously, the Bengals did it again with their defense.
“It took everybody. I’m really proud of how our defense played the whole game and got us some big stops,” Zac Taylor told me. “In the first half, they kept us in (the game) to be quite frank, because we didn’t have much momentum on offense outside of that first drive. They got those two takeaways in the red zone, and so that game, really — it could have been up or down.
“It could have been similar to the Tennessee game in Week 4 when they got the ball to start the second half and then scored a bunch of points. This time, our defense just bowed up, and the offense was able to find some momentum in the second half. Again, it was a collective effort in all three phases.”
But there was the not-so small matter of the offense needing to wake up. Browning threw a dangerous incompletion over the middle on first down and got nowhere on second down. Facing third-and-9 at the Cincinnati 43, Browning rolled to the Cincinnati sideline and threw a strike down field for Tyler Boyd, who nearly collided with Higgins.
Tyler Boyd was just hoping not to collide with Tee Higgins on 44 yard play pic.twitter.com/KngbFF273a
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) December 16, 2023
The Bengals were in business at the Vikings 13. Three plays later, Evan McPherson’s boot from 29 yards sailed through and the Bengals stood 8-6 on the season.
“It took everybody — players, coaches (and the) crowd. It took everybody, and we found a way to regain the momentum in the fourth quarter,” Taylor said. “That was as hard-fought a game as I’ve ever had at home, but our guys found a way at the end, and you just couldn’t help but think about on the fourth-and-one where the ball was at — that was the same situation we were in against them a couple of years ago.
“(The defense) created a turnover — we got a turnover on downs — and the offense found a way to hit a big play and keep it moving. Evan (McPherson), just like he did in his first career game-winner against the Minnesota Vikings (in 2021), found a way to do it again. I just couldn’t be more proud of everybody involved in this whole thing. (For) anyone that represents the Bengals, this is a good day.”
Despite everything, the Bengals had just found a way to win a game they trailed by 14 when the fourth quarter began. To sit back and look at Saturday’s game is to appreciate that something incredibly special is happening.
“I feel like I need a beer, but I’m right off of a cramping incident, so I’m probably going to pass on that,” Browning said. “Yeah, that was a roller coaster. Obviously, the overtime was similar to Jacksonville, but in Jacksonville we were always kind of right even with them. This one, we got down and hadn’t played great in the first half. Then, I threw the pick in the second half, and (then) rallied from there. So, there were some big-time plays being made.”
Browning made a point of going down a roll call of those who deserve special mention, like Drew Sample playing through a stomach virus, Joe Mixon for his second effort, Ted Karras fighting through pain and the offensive line in general.
Take it all in. The smiles of Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd. Both may be gone this time next season. The self-deprecating humor of Jake Browning. The resilience of a defense that lost its heart and soul. What the Bengals pulled off Saturday is the biggest proof yet that this isn’t any ordinary team looking to just make the playoffs. They still believe – as they chanted coming into the locker room Saturday – that they have a real chance of fulfilling some super special dreams.
