The Cincinnati Bengals looked ready for the big stage on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, ultimately losing, 25-17.
Cincinnati entered this one aiming to keep slim playoff hopes alive while also bouncing back from an ugly loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers over the holiday.
Backup quarterback Jake Browning led the charge in this regard, erasing some of his past mistakes and making some early big plays. But a defense that has consistently had problems all season did more of the same against Patrick Mahomes throughout the contest.
With one game left in the season, here’s a look at the must-know stats, numbers and takeaways from Sunday’s game.
Quick Hits
— Gutty opening drive of the game from Jake Browning, who rushed for three first downs on his own. He seemed to miss Ja’Marr Chase late in the drive for another, but going on the road and taking a 3-0 start certainly wasn’t bad.
— Bad, though, was the Bengals defense getting gashed down the field again with ease, ending a 7-3 lead for the Chiefs. As expected, the lack of DJ Reader is huge.
— Big drive by Browning in response, ultimately finding Joe Mixon for an easy touchdown to take the lead back.
— Tee Higgins suffered a hamstring injury.
— After Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard forced a turnover, Browning led a drive on a short field, diving in for a touchdown to make it 17-7.
— Rookie Jordan Battle badly missed a tackle on a Chiefs offensive drive near the half. The end result was only three points for Kansas City, but only due to self-inflicted wounds by the Chiefs themselves.
— One to file away: On a critical fourth down in the red zone, the Bengals smartly got aggressive, but put up a horrible play call against a stacked front and failed.
— Cam Taylor-Britt coughed up a 67-yard completion, yet another explosive allowed by the defense. The unit only gave up a field goal on the drive, but lost the lead, 19-17.
— Germaine Pratt missed badly on Pat Mahomes on a fourth down scramble, just a stunning summary of the season when the best run defender misses on a quarterback in a critical moment.
— Total offensive line collapse by the Bengals when it mattered most on the final drive.
Key Stat
7.0: Deja vu on this one. The Bengals defense just couldn’t stop the big play all day, with what felt like every member of the secondary giving up big plays. Cincinnati’s offense was playing really well and dominating time of possession too, but that doesn’t matter when the defense endlessly coughs up chunk yardage.
Game Balls
QB Jake Browning: How about the backup? Browning was gutsy all day, taking off for runs, extending plays and making some pretty good throws. Most of all, he minimized the mistakes from the week prior.
DE Trey Hendrickson: Old reliable was at it again, wreaking havoc consistently and even getting in on a turnover.
Top Takeaway
The end: With that, the Bengals are officially eliminated from the playoffs. The defense was always going to be a problem this year when it became clear it just couldn’t stop coughing up explosives. Tack on the loss of DJ Reader and the unit just didn’t have enough to even overcome a middling Chiefs team this year.
