CINCINNATI — Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase nearly rescued the Bengals Sunday in miraculous fashion.
Evan McPherson connected from 41 yards with 6:15 left in overtime to give the Bengals their first lead of the game. But Brandon Aiyuk stretched out his right arm with the football in hand over the pylon to complete an 11-yard touchdown with 1:53 left in overtime as the San Francisco 49ers beat the Bengals, 26-23.
Burrow led the Bengals back from a 20-6 fourth quarter deficit with a pair of touchdown passes to Ja’Marr Chase, including the game-tying score with 1:17 left in regulation. That touchdown gave Chase a franchise-record 10 receiving touchdowns in his rookie season, breaking the previous mark of nine by Isaac Curtis in 1973.
FROM THE BAYOU TO OHIO #ProBowlVote + #JaMarrChase + #JoeBurrow
Watch on CBS | #BudLightCelly pic.twitter.com/yyT7BTmr2B
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) December 13, 2021
George Kittle made a 19-yard leaping, diving grab with 17 seconds left at the Cincinnati 29. But Robbie Gould pushed a 47-yard field goal attempt wide right on the last play of regulation to send the wild game to overtime.
Two muffed punts from Darius Phillips led to 10 points and an inconsistent offense and a porous offensive line couldn’t take advantage of a battling, banged-up defense.
The Bengals (7-6) missed a golden opportunity to move into first place in the AFC North, as the Browns beat the Ravens in Cleveland earlier in the day.
Unforced errors and a lack of discipline defined the first half for the Bengals. After their defense forced a three-and-out on the first series, including a 10-yard sack by Trey Hendrickson, the Bengals couldn’t take advantage of exceptional field position.
A Darius Phillips return to the San Francisco 44 put the Bengals in business. But Joe Mixon lost two yards on his first run of the day. Linebacker Fred Warner got through the line and forced Burrow to throw early and incomplete to C.J. Uzomah. Burrow then threw a sharp, accurate pass to Ja’Marr Chase over the middle for a first down that went right off the receiver’s hands.
The Bengals ended up punting and San Francisco punted again, only this time Darius Phillips muffed the punt, giving the 49ers the ball at the Bengals 23. The Bengals defense again came up big, holding the Niners to a 33-yard Robbie Gould field goal.
On the ensuing kick, Stanley Morgan muffed the kickoff and the Bengals were pinned at their own 14. The Bengals drove 67 yards before settling for a McPherson 37-yard field goal and a 3-3 tie.
The Niners drove 75 yards in six plays, featuring a 21-yard completion to Brandon Aiyuk and a 29-yard Deebo Samuel run around the right end, beating Eli Apple and Vonn Bell to the end zone.
The Bengals drove down and appeared to have tied the game on a 37-yard diving catch by Chase in the end zone on a beautiful lob from Burrow. But the ball hit the turf as he was hauling it in and the touchdown was overturned to incomplete. The Bengals decided not to go for fourth-and-2 at the Niners 10 and settled for a 28-yard field goal.
It only got worse from there.
The Bengals forced the Niners to punt on pressure on Jimmy Garoppolo but two players landed on Trey Hendrickson and lay on the ground. The cart was called out with Hendrickson initially grabbing his right leg. But Hendrickson got to his feet and limped to the locker room and was ruled out for the rest of the game.
Hendrickson left the game after setting a new franchise record with a sack in his ninth straight game on the first possession of the game. It also marks the longest active streak in the NFL.
Following a second Darius Phillips muffed punt that put San Francisco at Cincinnati’s 31 with 1:07 left, the Bengals appeared to have San Francisco stopped for another field goal attempt when Cam Sample, Hendrickson’s replacement, stunted and forced an incompletion to the left side. But Vonn Bell was called for taunting for pointing in the face of center Alex Mack.
Brutal swing there for the #Bengals. They stop the #49ers after the fumbled punt and should have forced a field goal attempt. Instead, Vonn Bell gets called for taunting after the 3rd down incompletion and then, on the next play, TD from Jimmy G to Kittle. Here's the taunting… pic.twitter.com/0T7lfkHS3W
— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) December 12, 2021
On the next play, Garoppolo hit George Kittle from 14 yards in the left flat. Kittle dove for the pylon and made it for a touchdown and a 17-6 halftime lead over the Bengals, who were booed off the field.
The People's Tight End gets it done ? #ProBowlVote @gkittle46 #SFvsCIN on CBS pic.twitter.com/7jEm73oOrb
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) December 12, 2021
The Bengals inexplicably ran it three times on their first drive of the second half and punted, drawing even more boos from the crowd. The Bengals fans that showed up Sunday mocked every Bengal kick return for a touchback for the rest of the second half.
The Bengals finally got their offense going on a drive in the fourth quarter, and found the end zone only when Joe Burrow scrambled on fourth-and-5 at the 49ers 17. Burrow scrambled to his right and threw a pass to Ja’Marr Chase, who toe tapped on the back line of the end zone for his ninth touchdown of the season.
Speechless. #ProBowlVote + #JaMarrChase + #JoeBurrow
Watch on CBS pic.twitter.com/rPxhN58UnC
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) December 12, 2021
