Winners and Losers From Cincinnati Bengals' 25-17 Loss to the Kansas City Chiefs

Cincinnati is 8-8 following Sunday's loss.

Author:
James Rapien
Publish date:
Dec 31, 2023 7:50 PM EST

In this story:

Cincinnati Bengals

CINCINNATI — The Bengals lost to the Chiefs 25-17 on Sunday in Kansas City. They fall to 8-8 on the season.

Here are our winners and losers from Sunday's game:

Winners

Jake Browning

Browning played well on Sunday. He got off to a hot start, leaned on his legs when needed and started 4-for-4 on third down.

Browning continues to show that he's one of the best backup quarterbacks in the NFL.

The offense struggled in the second half. Some of that was on him. A lot of it had to do with the Chiefs' defensive adjustments. His final numbers don't look great (19-of-31 for 197 yards and one score), but he played well enough to win. He also ran for 32 yards and one touchdown.

Trey Hendrickson

Hendrickson's strip sack on Patrick Mahomes helped the Bengals build a 17-7 lead in the first half. Cincinnati needed to force turnovers to win and Hendrickson's sack gave them all of them momentum in the second quarter.

Losers

Bengals' Defense

This defense gave up far too many explosive plays. They only forced one punt on Sunday. They didn't break in the red zone, forcing the Chiefs to settle for six field goals, but they struggled in between the 20s.

Isiah Pacheco ran for 130 yards on 18 carries. He ran for 88 yards on just five attempts in the first half.

Brad Robbins

The rookie punter continues to struggle. He had a 42-yarder in the fourth quarter, despite having plenty of room to pin the Chiefs inside the 20-yard line. He also punted the ball into the end zone, but was bailed out by Richie James returning it to the 11-yard line.

Second Half Offense

The Chiefs' defense adjusted and the Bengals' offense struggled in the second half. They generated just 71 yards on their first three possessions, including a failed 4th-and-1 attempt inside the 10-yard line. After scoring 17 points on their first three drives of the game, they only got in scoring range one more time and struggled to move the ball.

Playoff Chances

The Bengals have been eliminated from playoff contention. Even if they beat the Browns next week, they'll miss the playoffs for the first time since 2020.

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