Fresh off of their first division win, the Bengals were looking to keep the ball rolling against a conference foe, the Tennessee Titans. It was a rematch of last year’s divisional round playoff matchup, and the Titans were looking for revenge. Still missing Chase, and now Mixon, the shorthanded Bengals were up against a tough task. But as we have seen in recent weeks, they’re not the team to underestimate.
It was a slow offensive start for each team. The Bengals punted on their first three drives, while the Titans punted on their first two. Tennessee eventually opened the scoring via a Shudak 33 yard field goal. On their next drive, the Bengals would tie it up, with McPherson nailing an impressive 47 yarder with the wind blowing from left to right.
The Titans needed only one play from scrimmage to retake the lead. It was a screen pass to Derrick Henry, who proceeded to burst away for a 69 yard gain. Cam Taylor-Britt showed unbelievable effort to catch up and punch the ball loose right near the goalline. The ball ended up bouncing into the endzone where Treylon Burks fell on it for the TD.
The Bengals responded a couple of drives later. They were pinned back on their own 8 following a Titans punt. A 12 yard pass to Hurst and a 13 yard scramble by Burrow were the early highlights. Burrow then found reserve running back Treyveon Williams for a nice 24 yard gain. On 3rd & 12. On the next play, Samaje Perine ran it into the endzone from 7 yards out to tie it at 10. The Titans would go on a big drive before the end of the half, but their field goal attempt was no good. It remained 10-10 at the half.
Cincinnati kicked off the scoring a few drives into the 2nd half with a 38 yard McPherson field goal. It was answered by Tennessee on their next drive. It was a 24 yarder for Shudak, who was playing in his first career game. 13-13.
On their next drive, the Bengals moved the ball downfield better than they had been all game. Burrow found Tee Higgins for 24 yards to get into Titans territory. On a key 3rd & 12, Burrow completed his pass to Trenton Irwin, who made an impressive back shoulder catch. The play had to be reviewed, but the call stood, and the 1st down was given. On the very next play, Joe Burrow found Tee Higgins down the right sideline for a 27 yard TD. This score put the Bengals up 20-13.
After the Titans added a field goal, the Bengals got the ball back, hoping to run out some clock. It turned out to be a lengthy drive. A couple of shorter completions kicked things off, before Treyveon Williams picked up 16 yards on a run. Late on, the Burrow-Higgins connection remained hot, as the QB found his receiver for a 29 yard gain, setting up the offence at the Tennessee 12 yard line.
The Titans finally stalled the Bengals drive, forcing them to attempt a field goal. The field goal attempt was good, and the Titans were set to get the ball back. But wait. An unnecessary roughness penalty on Tennessee negated the field goal, instead giving the Bengals an automatic 1st down. With the Titans having used all of their timeouts, the Bengals were able to run out the remainder of the clock.
It was a hard fought 20-16 win for the Bengals, and they improve to 7-4. With their road trip complete, the team will return home to face arguably their toughest task yet. The Kansas City Chiefs.
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