The Cincinnati Bengals' season hasn't gone according to plan but they were able to eke out a win over the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football. With the win, the Bengals moved to 5-8 on the year and while, yes, making the playoffs is still a pipe dream at this point, it's not completely impossible for the stripes to make it into the dance this year.
The Bengals defense, while still not great in the 27-20 victory, held the Cowboys to 20 points and finally allowed their offense to win the game for them. Before the Bengals went on to score what would be the game-winning touchdown, their special teams came through in the clutch.
After the Bengals offense had to punt when their drive stalled with just two minutes remaining in regulation, it felt like things were about to get worse. The punt was blocked by the Cowboys but somehow, someway, the Bengals were able to recover the ball and keep possession with a fresh set of downs.
Amani Oruwariye couldn't haul in the ball that had dribbled toward him and since it touched him, that made it a live ball. The Bengals then retained possession and for once, luck was on this team's side this season.
Three plays later, Joe Burrow hit Ja'Marr Chase on a 40-yard touchdown pass and the good guys took the lead and went on to win their fifth game of the year.
The Cowboys blocks the punt... but it was then touched by a Dallas player... and then recovered by the Bengals 🤯
— NFL (@NFL) December 10, 2024
Chaos. @Bengals ball pic.twitter.com/Uw0l4ebH3v
Bengals' playoff hopes still on life support following crazy finish in Week 14
Now let's be real here -- Making the postseason is going to be hard to do for the Bengals. They're 5-8 and, at best, can finish 9-8. While that'd be a winning record, they'd have to win out while also hoping for a lot of help from the Ravens, Chargers, and Broncos, all of whom are the wild card teams right now and have winning records.
Crazier things have certainly happened but a win keeps the Bengals' playoff hopes alive. NFL Next Gen Stats gives them just a 3% chance of making the playoffs even after winning this game while a loss would have dropped to a less than 1% chance of getting into the postseason.
So while this game keeps their playoff hopes alive for another week, it still might be too little, too late for the Cincinnati Bengals to get into the postseason.