Tee Higgins kept the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC playoff picture with a game-saving fourth-quarter touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday — without any body part hitting the ground in the end zone.
Higgins’ stunning 21-yard reception from Jake Browning with 39 seconds left in the contest — during which he had the wherewithal to extend the ball out over the goal line as he was brought down — tied the score at 24 shortly after teammate Ja’Marr Chase exited with a shoulder injury. It was Higgins’ second touchdown of the day.
Cincinnati (8-6) went on to win 27-24 on a field goal in overtime after both teams failed to score on their first possessions. The Bengals, who entered the fourth quarter trailing 17-3, snapped a losing streak of 25 straight games in which they trailed by 14 or more points entering the fourth quarter.
Brian Flores’ Minnesota defense was the story of the first half as the Vikings (7-7) held the Bengals, who scored 34 points in each of their two previous games, to 101 total yards.
Browning went 29-of-42 passing for 324 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Minnesota quarterback Nick Mullens went 26-of-33 passing for 303 yards with two touchdowns and a handful of high-profile mistakes as he became the fourth QB to start for the Vikings this season.
Vikings rookie WR Jordan Addison hauled in six catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns, extending his rookie lead to nine touchdown catches this season. Running back Ty Chandler put up a career-high 132 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.
Cincinnati’s Joe Mixon added 47 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.
The Bengals also lost two defensive players to injuries in the first quarter as tackle D.J. Reader and rookie cornerback D.J. Ivey were both carted off the field with knee injuries.
Cincinnati guts it out
Don’t question the heart of this Bengals team. Saturday was a microcosm of this team’s season. Just as they looked left for dead when Joe Burrow saw his season end, the Bengals came from off the deck down 14 in the fourth quarter against a team that hadn’t allowed a touchdown in 13 consecutive quarters. They needed a third-and-21 conversion, Higgins jump ball absurdity and a running 44-yard desperation heave to Tyler Boyd to set up an overtime game winner.
Oh yeah, toss in two stops from an inch away with the Vikings about to kick the game winner to boot. The Bengals are, incredibly, 8-6. They’ve won three straight. They have a playoff pulse. And they have one hell of a beating heart of resiliency. — Paul Dehner Jr., Bengals senior writer
Reader’s injury looms large
The injury to Reader is monumental. Earlier in the week, when asked who the most consistent player on the defense has been, Lou Anarumo nearly interrupted the question to interject Reader’s name. He’s a captain and the backbone of the entire unit. He’s played a Pro Bowl level since arriving in 2020. More importantly, the Bengals have struggled mightily against the run all season but appeared to finally be fixing the issues. Not having one of the best run-stuffing defensive tackles in the league reopens that wound. It will be critical against Pittsburgh and Cleveland, in particular, who will look to pound the rock with iffy passing games. — Dehner
Much room to improve despite win
The Bengals defense needed to be better. Once again, two red zone turnovers and the fourth-down stop masked a performance that just has not been good enough all season. The offense did few favors through the first three quarters, but too often all year there have been players running open downfield for explosive competitions. Or no-name running backs busting free on repeat for career games. Or small mistakes turning into season-changing swings. Those all were front and center Saturday.
Cincinnati’s defense did just enough to get the win and deserves credit for the final stop on fourth and inches, but in the bigger picture, the Bengals still need to tighten up on that side of the ball. — Dehner
What happened to the Vikings’ offense?
Needing a yard in overtime, Vikings coach and play caller Kevin O’Connell opted for the same play: a tush push involving Mullens and, stationed behind him, 5-foot-8 wide receiver Brandon Powell. Both attempts failed. The Vikings turned the ball over on downs, and the Bengals responded with the game-winning field goal. The play-call failure is the headliner of the Vikings’ loss, but the offensive inconsistency remained with Mullens at the helm. He threw two interceptions in the red zone in the first half. And although he finished with 303 yards and two touchdowns on 26-of-33 passing, and Chandler ran 23 times for 132 yards and a touchdown, Minnesota was not able to overcome the critical turnovers, which have been a theme throughout the season. — Alec Lewis, Vikings staff writer
Minnesota’s defense also collapsed
Flores’ defense, which had gone nearly a month from Nov. 19 to the beginning of Saturday’s fourth quarter without giving up a touchdown, lost its momentum in the fourth quarter against the Bengals. Browning, the former Vikings practice squad member, charted the Vikings to three touchdowns as well as the game-winning field goal in overtime. Even without Chase, the Bengals attacked Flores’ defense by dissecting open areas in zone coverage. Higgins hauled in two critical touchdowns as well, including a high-pointed pass atop cornerback Akayleb Evans.
The offensive outpouring seems astonishing in light of the way the Vikings’ defense has played since Week 7, ranking second in DVOA over that span. But in the end, the Bengals were able to overcome Flores’ deceptive scheme. — Lewis
Required reading
(Photo: Kareem Elgazzar / USA Today)
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