On a night where _The Simpsons_ took over an alternative broadcast of the game, the Cowboys lost to the Bengals in a manner that can only be summed up by Homer’s signature catchphrase: D’oh!
Things started out great for the Cowboys. Their defense forced a swift three-and-out from the Bengals and a high-powered offense that’s scored 34 or more points in four of their last five games. The Cowboys responded by moving down the field with ease against a Bengals defense that’s struggled all year long. Cooper Rush found CeeDee Lamb in the corner of the endzone to go up 7-0 early.
Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense woke up on the next drive, and before long he found Ja’Marr Chase in the endzone to tie things up. But Rush and the Cowboys had the defense’s number, and they moved into scoring position quickly after a highlight play from Lamb.
The drive would end soon afterwards, though. Rush tried to hit Lamb on a quick slant, but the receiver was blown up by a defender and never got to his spot, allowing for the pass to be picked off. As Troy Aikman explained, the hit was legal because it occurred within the first five yards from the line of scrimmage.
Cincinnati didn’t do anything with the takeaway, though, as they turned it over on downs near midfield. A big run from Rico Dowdle - who had his second 100 yard rushing performance in as many games - moved things into field goal range, but the drive stalled out and Brandon Aubrey gave Dallas a 10-7 lead.
The Bengals came out on the next drive airing it out, with Burrow completing four of his five passes on the six play drive. The final pass was a screen to Chase Brown, who tiptoed the sideline and scored a touchdown to put Cincinnati up 14-10. The Cowboys would go three-and-out on their final two drives of the first half, with a Bengals field goal sandwiched in between, and they trailed 17-10 at the break.
Still, the Cowboys got the ball to start the second half and felt good about where they were. They had done better against Burrow and that offense than most defenses this year, and the running game was working well.
That continued on their first drive of the third quarter, as Dowdle led the way with 30 yards on three carries before Rush hit Brandin Cooks for a game-tying touchdown. The defense managed to tighten up on the next drive, too, picking off Burrow after giving up some yardage. It was just the third interception Burrow had thrown in his last seven games.
The Cowboys responded with a long, methodical drive that featured plenty of Dowdle. The running back put together 28 yards on four carries, and KaVontae Turpin got a carry in an exciting wildcat formation that picked up 10 yards. An unnecessary roughness penalty killed the drive, but Aubrey drilled a field goal to put Dallas up 20-17 on the first play of the fourth quarter.
The Bengals responded with a field goal of their own to tie things back up, and the two teams proceeded to string together three straight punts. When the Bengals got the ball back with five and a half minutes left, time was slowly ticking away. Consecutive holding penalties backed the Bengals up to second and 26, and then Burrow was sacked on third down.
That’s when this game got crazy:
Nick Vigil broke through the line and blocked the punt, making a massive play just after the two-minute warning. But as the ball rolled forward, Amani Oruwariye tried to catch it on the bounce and make a return. The ball slipped right out of his grasp and was subsequently recovered by Maema Njongmeta.
Since the Cowboys touched the ball beyond the line of scrimmage but did not recover it, the play was treated as a muffed punt, thus giving Cincinnati a fresh set of downs. It was a classic Leon Lett moment, as Peyton Manning remarked on the Manningcast. Welcome to the history books, Mr. Oruwariye!
Three plays later, Burrow hit Chase for a 40-yard touchdown, which sent the ball back to Rush and the offense with 61 seconds and all three timeouts. However, Rush took a sack on second down and then missed Jake Ferguson on fourth down, staring down the tight end right as Lamb came wide open for what would’ve been an easy first down.
The Bengals took one knee and closed out the game with a wild conclusion to a 27-20 nail-biter. The Cowboys did everything right in this game, especially a defense that held Cincinnati to just 27 points, but in the end they found a whole new way to lose the game. Only the Cowboys can turn a blocked punt into a negative.
In many ways, this ending was a microcosm of the way this season has gone, and a harsh return to the reality of things after a nice distraction the past two weeks. Now, the Cowboys fall to 5-8, and they’ll need to run the table if they want to avoid their first losing season since Mike McCarthy’s first year in Dallas back in 2020.