Cowboys linebacker Nick Vigil's blocked punt was the beginning of the end . . . for his team on Monday night.
Cowboys linebacker Nick Vigil's blocked punt was the beginning of the end . . . for his team on Monday night.Gareth Patterson/Associated Press
ARLINGTON, Texas — Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals finally got a break.
The Dallas Cowboys had flashbacks to one of the most painful moments in franchise history.
Burrow threw a tiebreaking 40-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Marr Chase after Dallas botched a blocked punt to give the ball back to Cincinnati in the final two minutes, and the Bengals beat the Cowboys, 27-20, on Monday night.
The Cowboys were about to get the ball back with the score tied on the first play after the two-minute warning when Nick Vigil blocked a punt by Cincinnati’s Ryan Rehkow.
Amani Oruwariye tried to field the bouncing ball when leaving it alone would have given Dallas possession. Oruwariye couldn’t hold on, and the Bengals' Maema Njongmeta recovered at the Cincinnati 43-yard line with 1:53 remaining.
Three plays later, Burrow threw to Chase, who evaded DaRon Bland and ran untouched the rest of the way for the lead with 1:01 to go as the Bengals (5-8) stopped a three-game losing streak.
A wild last few minutes 😳 pic.twitter.com/Fl6NR5KMM3
— NFL (@NFL) December 10, 2024
The second one-score victory in a puzzling season for the defensively challenged Bengals came after all three losses during their second three-game skid — and seven of their eight defeats this season — were by 7 points or less.
“We needed a break,” Burrow said. “We haven’t got many this year, but it was nice to get that one and nice to come out of this with a win.”
For the Cowboys, the scene that set up the Burrow-Chase winner was hauntingly familiar to a snowy Thanksgiving Day in 1993 at Texas Stadium.
Leon Lett inexplicably slid in on the snow-covered field to try to recover a blocked field goal in the final seconds that would have given Dallas a victory over Miami. The Dolphins recovered and kicked a field goal on the final play for a 16-14 victory.
Oruwariye’s gaffe came in his first game back off injured reserve after missing five games with a back injury. Fellow defensive backs Jourdan Lewis and C.J. Goodwin kept reporters away from Oruwariye in the locker room after the game.
Special teams coach John Fassel frantically waved from the sideline for all his players to get away from the ball after the block, but Oruwariye never hesitated to try to grab it.
“You see why it happened,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said. “He turns and the ball’s there. And he reacted to it. I haven’t seen the video. I saw it live. It’s definitely a tough learning opportunity.”
The winning TD secured a fourth consecutive game of at least 300 yards passing and three touchdowns for Burrow, who finished with 369 and three scores, two to Chase. It was the first victory in that stretch.
Chase, the NFL leader in yards receiving and touchdowns, had 177 yards on a season-high 14 catches and is up to 15 TDs. Chase easily navigated his way past Bland on the winning play.
“Me and Joe were on the same page,” Chase said. “He threw to my inside shoulder so I can turn upfield after the catch.”
Cooper Rush threw two TD passes and Rico Dowdle ran for a career-high 131 yards as the Cowboys (5-8) saw the end of a modest two-game winning streak after losing five in a row.
A fourth consecutive playoff trip was already a long shot for Dallas, and is all but out of reach now.
“We understand that we dug ourselves a hole,” McCarthy said. “We had to have this one tonight. This is a very disappointing loss.”
The Bengals ended a five-game losing streak against the Cowboys with their first victory in the series since 2004.
The Cowboys lost linebacker DeMarvion Overshown to a right knee injury in the fourth quarter. It came in the first game for Dallas since his spectacular 23-yard interception return for a touchdown in a 27-20 victory over the New York Giants on Thanksgiving.
McCarthy said the injury was serious. Overshown missed all of his rookie season in 2023 with a torn ligament in his left knee.