The Browning-led Bengals entered Saturday’s matchup against the Vikings riding a 2 game winning streak. Last week’s win was over a Colts team that is battling with them for a Wildcard spot in the playoffs, and with the season’s end right around the corner, every win is crucial as the race remains tight. The Bengals were favoured coming into the game, as the Vikings have struggled as of late. But with Nick Mullens now in at QB, they proved to be a tougher test, especially given the talent spread around throughout their roster.
Browning led a promising drive to start the game. He would have had Higgins for a chunk gain on the opening play, but the pass was dropped. Still they kept on. Like last week, Chase Brown was involved early in this game, as he now officially seems to be the number 2 back. Browning completed passes to TE’s Mitchell Wilcox, Irv Smith, and Tanner Hudson on the drive, and a 21 yard completion to Chase was the highlight. Things were looking good, but on 3rd & 1 at the Minnesota 12, a trick play was called. Which saw Tanner Hudson take a sweep and roll out to his right with the intention of passing the ball. However, nothing developed, and Hudson ran out of bounds for a 4 yard loss. It was credited officially as a sack. McPherson’s 34 yard field goal gave the home team an early 3-0 lead.
The Vikings offence, after scoring only 3 points last week, looked much better this week. Their improvements were seen right from the opening drive. Nick Mullens, who was making his first start of the season, had no problem passing down the field, as he found Justin Feferson for a big gain. Ty Chandler also had some nice runs, and his life in this game was made easier by DJ Reader’s quad injury, which we found out later, is a season ender. Eventually, they got down to the 1, and Chandler was able to punch it in. 7-3 Vikings.
Cincinnati would then punt on their next 3 drives. Minnesota punted on their second drive of the game, but would then go on 2 longer drives. But luckily, despite bending and giving up chunk plays, the defence was able to come up with a turnover on both of those drives. The first one was by Mike Hilton, who caught the ball at the 1 yard line. The second also came deep in Cincy territory. Mullens was under pressure, and his intention seemed to be to just spike it into the ground to avoid the sack. However, the ball was thrown right into the lap of BJ Hill, who did well to hang on to it. It remained 7-3 Vikings as they went into the half.
The 2nd half started about as brutally as it could have for the Bengals. Minnesota went on a 92 yard TD drive out of the half. Chandler’s 24 yard run got the ball rolling, and it ended with a 37 yard TD catch by Addison on 3rd & 8. He had to reach low to get it, and was just barely able to snatch it up. Then, Browning threw a brutal pick, trying to take the deeper route that just wasn’t open. That led to a field goal for the Vikings. Quickly, the Bengals were down 17-3.
From there, things began to pick up. The offence finally woke up, and string together some shorter plays, before completing consecutive 14 yard passes to Tanner Hudson and Irv Smith, respectively. A 16 yard completion to Chase set the Bengals up at the Vikings 13, and on the next play, Browning dropped it in the bucket to Higgins in the back corner of the endzone. The Vikings led 17-10.
The Bengals forced a punt, and then proceeded to go on another TD drive to tie the game. Mixon and Chase had plays of 10+ yards early, but adversity then hit when Browning was called for intentional grounding. Facing 3rd & 21, Browning threw a dot to Chase for 24 yards, picking up the 1st. Unfortunately, Chase suffered a shoulder injury on the play, and exited the game. He did not return. But the Bengals kept on without him. Reserve TE Mitchell Wilcox made his 2nd catch of the day, for 10 yards. A handful of plays later, on 4th & goal from the 1, Joe Mixon was able to find his way across the goalline. 17-17.
Mullens completed a 19 yard pass to Jefferson to kickoff the Vikings next drive. Two plays later, he was intercepted by Germaine Pratt, who returned it 41 yards for the TD. But wait… flag on the play. Trey Hendrickson was called offside, on a play that looked like he might have timed it perfectly. Even in slow motion it is extremely close and tough to make a concrete decision on the play. Nevertheless, the TD was negated and the Vikings carried on. After a few moderate pickups, Chandler ran the ball for a 30 yard gain, taking it to the Bengals 1 yard line. On the next play, Mullens found Addison in the endzone for his second TD of the game. 24-17 Vikings.
Cincinnati world hard to claw their way back, but now found themselves down yet again. But they didn’t quit. Browning found Hudson for 13 on the drive starter. They would pick up a few more 1st downs, via completions to Boyd, Higgins, and Iosivas. Now at the Minnesota 21, on 2nd & 10, Browning chucked up a prayer ball down the right sideline for Higgins. It was into double coverage and looked like it might get picked off. But Higgins came back to the ball, using his large catch radius to go up and get it at the 1 yard line. It was a spectacular catch, but maybe not quite as spectacular as the play he made to stretch out his hand, allowing the ball to cross the goal line. His second TD of the game tied it up (after McPherson’s extra point) with less than a minute left. 24-24, and the game went into overtime.
The Bengals received the kickoff, but soon found themselves facing 3rd & 18 at their own 17 yard line. Browning again looked in Higgins’ direction on a deep ball. Higgins was blatantly interfered with, but no call was made. The Bengals sideline was up in arms, but they were still forced to punt.
Nick Mullens had the Vikings driving, after completing a 12 yard pass to Hockenson, and then another to him for 8 yards. They were at the Cincy 42, right on the edge of field goal range, but got stuffed on 3rd & 1. Instead of attempting a 59 yard field goal, they kept the offence out there on 4th & inches. Mullens attempted another QB sneak, but he slightly bobbled the snap, which prevented him from generating much forward momentum. It was another stuff for the Bengals defence, and also a turnover on downs.
Set up with good field position at their own 42, the Cincinnati offence quickly found themselves in a 3rd & 9 situation. The Vikings brought pressure, and Browning felt it. He rolled out to his right, continuing to scan the field while escaping pass rushers. As he got near the sideline he let one go deep for Tyler Boyd, who had broken off his route after noticing Browning on the run. In some traffic, the pass was completed, and Boyd picked up additional yards after the catch. The play amounted to 44 yards, and set the Bengals up at the Minnesota 13 yard line. A few plays later, McPherson kicked a 29 yard field goal to win the game. 27-24 final.
The Bengals improve to 8-6 on the year, and will head to Pittsburgh next week to take on the Steelers in another Saturday game. The hunt for a Wildcard spot continues.
Modified Homescreen Image Via: Van Ha