Postgame Observations: Joe Burrow Leads Bengals to 30-24 OT Win Over Broncos in Saturday Night Thriller

CINCINNATI — The Bengals have struggled to finish games all season, but they found a way to finish on Saturday night.

Joe Burrow found Tee Higgins for a 31-yard gain and then a three-yard touchdown with 1:10 left in overtime and the Bengals beat the Broncos 30-24.

Cincinnati improves to 8-8 on the season. They've won four-straight games and their slim playoff hopes are still alive.

Here are our postgame observations:

Wacky Overtime

The Bengals won the coin toss, but were forced to punt in overtime after the Broncos sacked him twice.

The defense rallied and forced a three-and-out, giving Joe Burrow another chance.

The star quarterback found Mike Gesicki for a 12-yard gain and Tee Higgins for a 20-yard gain to put Cincinnati in position for the game-winning touchdown.

Cade York missed the game-winning 33-yard field goal with 2:43 left in overtime.

The Broncos went three-and-out again, running just 14 seconds off the clock, which gave the Bengals another chance. Cincinnati needed to win to keep their playoff hopes alive. Denver would've clinched a playoff spot with a win or a tie.

Burrow found Tee Higgins for a 31-yard gain with 1:14 left in overtime. He threw the game winner to Higgins on the next play.

Wild Fourth Quarter

Germaine Pratt intercepted a Bo Nix pass with 2:30 left and the game tied at 17. That gave Joe Burrow a chance to seal the win.

Burrow calmly found Ja’Marr Chase for a 38-yard gain on the first play following the interception. Burrow scored the game-winner on a tush push with 1:29 left.

The Broncos rallied back. Bo Nix led the Broncos on a 7-play, 70-yard drive in 1:21 for the game-tying score. He found Marvin Mims for a 25-yard touchdown to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Here are our postgame observations:

Record Breaker

Chase broke another record on Saturday, hauling in nine passes for 102 yards.

Chase caught his fifth reception of the game on the first play of the fourth quarter, which put him at 113 on the season. That set a new Bengals record for receptions in a season. Chase breaks the mark set by TJ Houshmandzadeh (112 receptions) in 2007.

Red Zone Struggles in First Half

The Bengals moved the ball up-and-down the field in the first half, but only had seven points to show for it.

Cincinnati went for it on 4th-and-1 from the Denver 22-yard line on their opening possession. Chase Brown was stopped short of the line to gain.

The Bengals followed that up with a 17-play, 58-yard drive that appeared to end with a two-yard touchdown pass from Burrow to Chase on third down. Chase dropped it. The Bengals went for it on fourth down and Burrow was sacked.

The drive took 9:14 off the clock and the Bengals didn't have any points to show for it.

Cincinnati scored on their third possession when Burrow found Tee Higgins for a two-yard touchdown to give the Bengals a 7-3 halftime lead, but they should've had a bigger advantage at the half.

Other Key Numbers

Burrow completed 39-of-49 passes for 412 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 19 yards and another score.

Mike Gesicki finished with a season-high 10 catches for 86 yards. Higgins had 11 catches for 131 yards and three touchdowns.

Burrow was sacked seven times, including twice in overtime.

Up Next

The Bengals travel to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers in Week 18. They could play on Saturday or Sunday. Time and date hasn't been determined yet.

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