Quick Hits: Bengals, Joe Burrow Let One Slip Away, 39-34, And With It Likely The Season

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Joe Burrow was so good for so long Sunday. Then in two consecutive pass attempts, it all changed.

Christian Benford picked off a swing pass for Ja’Marr Chase and raced 63 yards for the go-ahead score with 5:25 remaining to put the Bills up 32-28 and A.J. Epenesa picked off a tipped pass to set up another Bills touchdown to lead Buffalo past the Bengals, 39-34, Sunday at Highmark Stadium.

The Bengals led 28-18 with 8:44 left in the fourth quarter before Buffalo scored 21 straight points to stun the Bengals and likely knock them out of the playoff race.

Josh Allen ran for 17 yards on a third-and-15 at the Bills 25 to ice the clock late in the third quarter to seal Cincinnati’s ninth loss of the season, clinching Cincinnati’s first losing season since 2020. The Bengals fall to 4-9 on the season while the Bills improve to 9-4. With Pittsburgh beating Baltimore Sunday, the Bengals now trail first place Pittsburgh by three games with four to go.

Joe Burrow finished 25-of-36 for 284 yards on the day, with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Allen was 22-of-28 for 251 yards for three touchdowns and no interceptions while rushing nine times for 78 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown.

Burrow led the Bengals right down the field for a game opening drive that featured four third down conversions. The drive was capped off by a Chase Brown rugby scrum right up the middle for five yards for a 7-0 lead.

The Bengals started the game 7-for-7 on third down before Burrow just missed an open Higgins downfield on third-and-18.

Burrow was 13-for-18 in the first half for 130 yards and two touchdowns.

Chase Brown ran for a touchdown on the first drive and caught a 10-yard pass in front of the front right pylon as Burrow threw off his back foot. The touchdown put the Bengals up 21-11 with 3:18 left in the first half. But Brown had just 16 yards on nine carries through three quarters.

The Bengals had a chance to tack on more before the half after Allen was hit on fourth down near midfield and the Bengals took over at their own 43. Burrow was sacked on a corner blitz from Christian Benford before Burrow’s throw downfield sailed off the hands of Higgins.

But the biggest story in the first half was Burrow. He started by completing 13 of his first 16 passes and was finding targets like Brown, Higgins and tight end Mike Gesicki all over the field. His touchdown throw to Tee Higgins that made it 14-3 was on Higgins’ back shoulder to the outside in the back right corner of the end zone. Higgins, who came out of concussion protocol to play in this game, came out briefly in the first half and went into the medical tent.

The Bills’ only first half touchdown came thanks to a pair of Josh Allen fourth down conversion passes, including the final play of the drive when he was scrambling out to his right and near the Bills sideline and about to be clobbered by Joseph Ossai, he found Khalil Shakir for an 11-yard touchdown pass.

Trailing 21-11 at the half, the Bills took the opening drive of the second drive and moved down the field, thanks to a defensive pass interference call on DJ Turner on second-and-18 at the Buffalo 17. The pass was incomplete to Brandin Cooks but Turner was called for the penalty.

Allen found Khalil Shakir in the end zone for the touchdown that made it 21-18 midway through the third. The Bills had possession for 13:03 of the third quarter but only had those seven points to show for it.

The game’s most significant play came on Buffalo’s next drive after the Bengals went 3-and-out. The Bills drove to the Cincinnati 24. James Cook ran up the middle then off to his right and down the sideline. The run was ruled a touchdown but there was holding on the play on the Bills. But the Bengals challenged the touchdown and thought that the ball was fumbled out of the end zone for touchback. Instead, the ball was fumbled out at the one so the Bengals took the holding.

The Bills drove to the Bengals 2 where they had first-and-goal. But on the next play, Cook, who earlier prematurely celebrated his touchdown with a dive into the snow in the end zone, fumbled when DJ Turner punched it out at the 1 and Oren Burks recovered in the end zone for a touchback.

The Bengals answered with an 80-yard drive, capped by Joe Burrow’s step up in the pocket and a throw to a wide-open Mike Gesicki for a 12-yard touchdown to make it 28-18 with 8:44 left in the fourth.

Josh Allen answered with his legs on a 40-yard scramble when Cedric Johnson whiffed on setting the edge and Allen ran untouched to the end zone. Joseph Ossai was out of the game with a shin injury.