The Cincinnati Bengals have snapped their three-game skid.
Cincinnati defeated the Dallas Cowboys on the road in the Week 14 edition of “Monday Night Football,” 27-20.
Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase continued his incredible run with two more touchdowns, including a 40-yard catch-and-run that ended up being the game winner. That score made it eight touchdowns for the wideout in his last four games and extended his league lead to 15 receiving touchdowns this year.
Chase might not have had a chance to score that touchdown if not for a wild sequence a few plays earlier.
Bengals punter Ryan Rehkow’s punt was blocked by a Cowboys defender on fourth down coming out of the two-minute warning. But the tipped ball ended up bouncing off of the arms of cornerback/special teamer Amani Oruwariye, and Cincinnati recovered the fumble just shy of midfield.
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Three plays later, Chase took the game-winner to the house.
Here’s the full story of how the Bengals finally won a one-score game after dropping three straight entering this week:
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A Bart Simpson-to-Lisa Simpson touchdown play won the game for the Bengals during “The Simpsons” alt-cast.
Cooper Rush’s pass attempt to Jake Ferguson on fourth-and-7 from the Cowboys’ 48-yard line and 31 seconds remaining in the game fell incomplete.
The Bengals prevailed, 27-20, thanks to that wild muffed blocked punt-to-long touchdown sequence.
The Cowboys’ Amani Oruwariye attempted to field a blocked punt, and it turned out to be quite costly for Dallas.
Oruwariye couldn’t field the blocked kick cleanly and turned it over the Bengals, who immediately took advantage of their great fortune.
Instead of getting the ball back with two minutes remaining, the Cowboys got burned by Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase for a 40-yard touchdown pass from Joe Burrow. Chase finished the game with 14 catches for 177 yards and two touchdowns. The 14 receptions ties a record for the most in a “Monday Night Football” game.
It was a stunning turn over events at AT&T Stadium. And for Cowboys fans, Oruwariye’s muff might live in infamy alongside Leon Lett’s gaffe on Thanksgiving Day 1993.
Cade York knocked through his second field goal attempt of the night, this one from 29 yards out, to draw the game back even.
Early in the fourth quarter, DeMarvion Overshown was in on a tackle of Bengals running back Chase Brown. After the play, the Cowboys’ linebacker remained on the ground and needed the help of two Cowboys trainers to walk off of the field. Overshown has been declared out with a knee injury.
Overshown, a member of the 2023 NFL draft class, missed the entirety of his rookie season after tearing his ACL in a preseason game. He had played in all 12 games for the Cowboys entering Monday night’s game.
Former MLS first-round draft pick Brandon Aubrey nailed his second field goal attempt of the night to give the Cowboys another lead.
Dallas leads, 20-17, five seconds into the fourth quarter.
Dallas has the ball on Cincinnati’s 29-yard line on fourth-and-10 and will attempt a field goal to begin the fourth quarter.
Joe Burrow overthrew Ja’Marr Chase deep downfield, and his pass ended in the hands of the Cowboys’ safety instead.
Dallas will take over possession on its own 17-yard line with 6:50 to play in the third quarter.
Over on “The Simpsons” alt-cast, it was Cowboys safety Homer Simpson who intercepted Bengals quarterback Bart Simpson on the play.
The Cowboys scored on their first possession of the second half thanks to Brandin Cooks’ efforts in the end zone. The receiver ripped through a defensive hold by cornerback Josh Newton, and Cooper Rush found him in the back of the end zone for the score.
It’s 17-17 with 10:32 left in the third quarter.
The Cowboys went three-and-out on their final possession of the first half, and this “Monday Night Football” matchup goes to halftime with the Bengals holding a seven-point lead.
Dallas will receive the second half kickoff.
The Bengals drove down to the red zone before they were stopped by Dallas’ defense at the 19. Cade York hit a 37-yard field goal to give Cincinnati a 17-10 lead with 30 seconds left in the second quarter.
Dallas will have one last possession before it receives the second half kickoff.
Did you know York is dating a Cowboys cheerleader?
Chase Brown took a swing pass from Joe Burrow to the house and celebrated his score by jumping into the Salvation Army kettle behind the end zone. Though the running back was initially declared out of bounds at the 3-yard line, the call was overturned after a review.
The touchdown gave Cincinnati its first lead of the game. The Bengals lead, 13-10, with 3:30 left in the first half.
Over on “The Simpsons” alt-cast, Lisa Simpson — who displayed her athletic abilities as a hockey goalie in the episode “Lisa on Ice” — came into the game for the Bengals as the running back and took Joe Burrow’s pass to the end zone.
Dallas is unable to take full advantage of the good field position when its drive stalls at the Bengals’ 17-yard line.
Brandon Aubrey knocks through a 35-yard field goal to make it 10-7 Cowboys with 6:23 left in the second quarter.
The Bengals opted to go for it facing a fourth-and-3 in Dallas territory. DeMarvion Overshown managed to break forward to defend Joe Burrow’s touch pass attempt to running back Chase Brown, which fell to the ground incomplete.
The Cowboys will take over near midfield with just under 10 minutes to go in the first half.
On the first play of the second quarter, Cooper Rush’s pass attempt was tipped by cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt and intercepted by Geno Stone inside the Bengals’ 5-yard line.
Cincinnati takes over on its own 4 five seconds into the period.
Dallas and Cincinnati are knotted at one score apiece after 15 minutes, but the Cowboys will have second-and-10 from the Bengals’ 12-yard line to start the second quarter.
After CeeDee Lamb caught a screen pass behind the line of scrimmage, Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt got his hands on the receiver almost immediately. The veteran wideout was able to escape the tackle and ran across the width of the field before turning upfield for a massive gain.
The play brought the Cowboys from their own 33-yard line to just outside of the red zone with less than two minutes left in the first quarter.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow marched his team down the field on an 11-play, 70-yard drive that concluded with Ja’Marr Chase hauling in a contested catch in the end zone. It’s the wideout’s seventh touchdown in his last four games.
This game is tied, 7-7, with 2:45 remaining in the first quarter.
Over on “The Simpsons” alt-cast, Bart Simpson enters the game to play quarterback for the Bengals and throws a touchdown pass to Ralph Wiggum, who somehow got position for the reception against the Cowboys’ Pro Bowl cornerback DaRon Bland. Bart Simpson has shown significant improvement at the position ever since his infamous tenure as a quarterback in the episode “Bart Star.”
After a three-and-out by the Bengals’ offense, Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush led a nine-play, 60-yard touchdown drive to open the scoring. Rush found Lamb in the back-right corner of the end zone on a fourth-and-1 play from the Cincinnati 11-yard line.
Over on “The Simpsons” alt-cast, quarterback Homer Simpson came in to connect with Lamb for the touchdown play.
The Bengals head south to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, to take on the Cowboys in prime time on Monday night.
ESPN again is the broadcast home of “Monday Night Football.” The longtime team of Joe Buck (play-by-play) and Troy Aikman (color) will be on the call, with Lisa Salters adding reports from the sideline.
Viewers can also tune to ESPN2 for the “ManningCast” featuring Peyton and Eli Manning. The “ManningCast” guest list includes Bill Belichick — who is a regular on the show — as well as singer-songwriter John Legend and NBC analyst (and former Bengals wide receiver) Cris Collinsworth.
For cord cutters looking for a live stream for the matchup, you can turn to Fubo. Fubo carries NBC, as well as CBS, FOX, NFL Network and the ESPN family of networks, meaning you can catch NFL action through the remainder of the season.
ESPN+, ESPN’s proprietary streaming service, will also carry the game.
Mike McCarthy as a Homer Simpson avatar is no longer something fans of the NFL and “The Simpsons” have to imagine.
Welcome to 2024 and this battle of the streaming wars, as Disney and ESPN unveil its most alternative alt-cast for “Monday Night Football” as the Cowboys host the Bengals.
“We were just so lucky also that the Cowboys are sort of like a Homer Simpson-type team, American team, and Mike McCarthy might be a Homer-type guy, one might imagine,” “The Simpsons” showrunner Matt Selman said on a conference call last week. “And then you have Joe Burrow on the other side who is a cool young, spiky-haired, blonde bad boy – he’s like Bart. And that fits our character archetypes so perfectly.” — Chris Bumbaca
Here’s how the USA TODAY Sports staff feels the Cowboys vs. Bengals “MNF” matchup will sway:
The Bengals are favorites to defeat the Cowboys, according to the BetMGM NFL odds. Not interested in this game? Check out expert picks and best bets for every NFL game this week.
Dak Prescott suffered a partial hamstring avulsion – a tear during which part of the tendon rips off the bone – during Dallas’ 27-21 loss to the Falcons in Week 9. He told reporters after the contest that he wasn’t sure if the injury occurred while he was running or being tackled.
“It’s something I’ve never felt,” Prescott said while describing the injury. “I saw the medical team and asked could I make it worse. At that point they said I wouldn’t be able to protect myself and made the call to hold me out.”
According to BetMGM Sportsbook, the Cowboys have +3000 odds to to make the playoffs entering Week 14. That implied probability gives Dallas a 3.23% chance of qualifying for the postseason.
That’s greater than the estimated 1% chance that the New York Times gives the Cowboys to win their way into the postseason. That speaks to the fact that Dallas would likely need to win out and receive plenty of help to claw its way back into the NFC playoff race after a 3-7 start to the season.
The Cowboys’ five remaining opponents have a combined winning percentage of .508, per Tankathon. That makes Dallas’ remaining schedule the 17th toughest of the NFL’s 32 teams entering Week 14.
The said, the Cowboys will face a test on “Monday Night Football” in Week 14 against a high-flying Cincinnati Bengals offense. Dallas will also end the season with two divisional games, so that will make it difficult to win out.
That makes it easy to understand why oddsmakers aren’t bullish the Cowboys’ chances of making a playoff push, especially considering that they would need a team in front of them, like the Commanders, to falter.
Below is a full look at Dallas’ schedule:
In the hunt:
x – clinched playoff berth
Should the Cowboys opt to move on from Mike McCarthy following the 2024 season, there are several options who could be targeted as next Dallas head coach:
The Bengals travel to Jerry World on Monday night. The Week 14 “MNF” matchup will kick off at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
AT&T Stadium has hosted one Super Bowl — Super Bowl XLV between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers. It also was the host site for the 2018 NFL draft. The stadium also hosted the first College Football Playoff national championship game in 2015, which was won by the Ohio State Buckeyes against the Oregon Ducks.
➤ Ranking NFL’s stadiums from 1 to 30: Where does Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium rate?
The roof is closed at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, so weather will not be a factor in Monday night’s game.
The New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers are tied for the most Super Bowl wins with six.
The Dallas Cowboys are tied with the San Francisco 49ers for the second-most Super Bowls titles with five. While the Cowboys have made eight Super Bowl appearances (tied for the second-most with the 49ers and Steelers), the team hasn’t played for the NFL title since the 1995 season when it won Super Bowl XXX. The Cincinnati Bengals have made three Super Bowl appearances, the most recent being during the 2021 season when they lost to the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 56. The Bengals are one of 12 NFL teams that have never won a Super Bowl.
NFL franchises with most Super Bowl wins:
➤ Super Bowl winners: All-time scores, results for NFL title game
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➤ Best (and worst) from NFL Week 14: Rams win shootout, Chiefs ‘doink’ for division
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