Bengals finally finish, top Cowboys on Monday Night Football

Three plays later, Burrow connected with Ja’Marr Chase on a short pass that turned into a 40-yard touchdown to put Cincinnati up 27-20 with 1:01 remaining, and the defense held on with the help of a Trey Hendrickson sack and two incomplete passes to seal the win Monday at AT&T Stadium.

Cincinnati (5-8) had lost three straight one-score games but is now 2-7 in those situations this season. Dallas falls to 5-8.

Burrow appeared to injure his left knee when he was hit trying to escape pressure up the middle with seven minutes left on third down from near midfield. There was an uncalled facemask on the play, as he fumbled, and although Tanner Hudson recovered, that ended the Bengals’ drive in a punt.

In between drives, Burrow put a sleeve on the knee, as Cincinnati forced a punt to get the ball back in his hands with 5:31 remaining, but that series ended the same way and yet again the defense got off the field quickly in four plays.

Finally the Bengals caught their break at the end, the icing on an already impressive day for Chase.

With a 3-yard catch on the first play from scrimmage, Chase made NFL history, becoming the first player to have at least 80 receptions, 1,000 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns in each of his first four seasons. He had plenty more left in him.

Chase recorded his 14th touchdown reception of the season on the second drive, to tie the game at 7, and finished with 14 catches for 177 yards and two touchdowns. The fourth-year wide receiver had 24 catches for 425 yards and six touchdowns over the previous three games and now leads the league in every major statistical category for a receiver, surpassing Raiders tight end Brock Bowers’ 87 catches – the one stat in which he was not first going into this week – as he continues his pursuit of the “Triple Crown.”

Before Chase’s touchdown, Dallas took the first lead when Cooper Rush found CeeDee Lamb wide open in the end zone on fourth-and-1 from the 11-yard line, right after the Bengals got a stop on third-and-2. Cincinnati’s defense buckled up in the second quarter, though, holding the Cowboys to a field goal.

Geno Stone picked off a pass in the redzone after Rush threw a bad pass that Cam Taylor-Britt tipped to set up the interception, and the Bengals forced two three-and-outs going into halftime with a 17-10 lead.

Dallas tied the game at 17 on the first drive of the second half, then took a brief lead on Brandon Aubrey’s 47-yard field goal that was answered by Cade York’s 29-yarder to tie the game for a third time with 10:28 left. That score would hold until Chase’s big play for the winner.