ARLINGTON, Texas — Finally the Bengals caught a break. And what a break it was.
Joe Burrow connected with Ja’Marr Chase on a 40-yard touchdown pass with just over a minute left to lead the visiting Cincinnati Bengals past the Dallas Cowboys, 27-20, Monday night.
The Cowboys were on the verge of a huge swing in the game when former Bengal Nick Vigil blocked a Cincinnati punt. But Amani Oruwariye muffed the recovery beyond the line of scrimmage and Cincinnati’s Maema Njongmeta recovered giving Cincinnati one final chance in the closing two minutes. Three plays later, Burrow connected with Ja’Marr Chase on a 40-yard touchdown for the decisive score with 61 seconds left.
The irony of the play was that it was Njongmeta who missed the block that allowed Vigil to break through and block the punt.
“We could’ve used that luck all year but it was nice to get that one tonight,” Burrow said.
The play had all the trappings of the 1993 Thanksgiving debacle in Dallas when Leon Lett fumbled through the snow after a field goal was blocked and touched the ball, trying to recover when all the Cowboys had to do was let the ball alone. The same could be said Monday night. The Cowboys would’ve been in field goal range immediately with a chance to wind down the clock.
Instead the battered Burrow came though with a four-play drive that won the Bengals (5-8) their first primetime game of the season in four tries. Burrow was 33-for-44 for 369 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Bengals, who snapped their second three-game skid of the season.
Burrow stood up under heavy Dallas pressure all night, taking a twist to the facemask on a fourth-quarter drive that wasn’t called. On the same play, he took a hit to his left knee and played the rest of the game with a protective sleeve on his left knee.
Afterward, he acknowledged that it was likely a bursa knee injury. He said it was sore and would be sore going forward but it’s nothing that will keep him from playing.
“It’s like playing football, I was never not able to go out,” Burrow said. “I was able to do everything that I needed to do to go out and
perform well. This isn’t something that would keep anybody out of the game.”
Ja’Marr Chase caught 14 passes on 18 targets for 177 yards, including a pair of touchdowns to reclaim the NFL lead in receptions, yards and touchdowns.
Cade York hit on a pair of field goals for Cincinnati in his first game taking over for the injured Evan McPherson.
It was just Cincinnati’s second win in Dallas in nine visits.
Cooper Rush was 16-of-31 for 183 yards and two touchdowns in his fifth start for Dallas filling in for the injured Dak Prescott. The Cowboys (5-8) saw their modest two-game win streak come to an end.
Rush directed a nine-play, 60-yard drive in just four minutes, 29 seconds, capped by a perfect fade pass to CeeDee Lamb on fourth-and-2 from the 11 for a 7-0 Dallas lead.
But the Bengals, who went three-and-out on their first possession, answered the Cowboys score with one of their own. Burrow led Cincinnati on an 11-play, 70-yard drive, finishing with a five-yard pass to Ja’Marr Chase in the right corner of the end zone.
Not surprisingly, Burrow and Chase were the key components of the Bengals offense in the first half, with Burrow completing 19-of-26 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns. Chase was targeted 10 times – with seven catches for 87 yards and a touchdown.
After Cincinnati claimed a 17-10 halftime lead, Dallas took the opening drive of the second half 70 yards in eight plays, tying the game when Rush connected with Brandin Cooks from three yards out.
Malik Hooker picked off Burrow with 6:50 left in the third quarter as the Bengals were driving at the Dallas 38. It was the 69th interception by the Cowboys secondary since 2021, best in the NFL.
The Cowboys lost their starting center Cooper Beebe to a concussion, suffered in the first half. Beebee was ruled out at halftime and Brock Hoffman took his place. The Cowboys then lost starting linebacker DeMarvion Overshown with 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter to a knee injury.
