Cowboys brilliant defensive effort wasted by egregious mistake on blocked punt

The Dallas Cowboys defense deserved to win on Monday Night Football but a late miscue on a blocked punt led to a loss.

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Nick Vigil (41) blocks a punt by Cincinnati Bengals punter Ryan Rehkow (8) / Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

Facing Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins is never easy but the Dallas Cowboys defense held their own against them on Monday Night Football. They even made a huge stop at the end of the game that should have set them up for the win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. Cincinnati was forced to punt with 2:00 to play in a 20-20 tie. That’s when Nick Vigil made what should have been the game-winning play.

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The Dallas linebacker broke through the line and blocked the punt, which should have put the offense in field goal range. Instead, Cincinnati got a fresh set of downs when Amani Oruwariye unsuccessfully tried to field the loose ball.

The Cowboys blocks the punt... but it was then touched by a Dallas player... and then recovered by the Bengals 🤯

Chaos. @Bengals ball pic.twitter.com/Uw0l4ebH3v

— NFL (@NFL) December 10, 2024

Had he avoided touching the ball, it would have gone to Dallas. Since he did make contact with the ball, it allowed the kicking team to recover.

Dallas Cowboys cornerback Amani Oruwariye / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Naturally, Burrow and the Bengals made good on the second chance with Chase scoring a winning touchdown.

Following the game, Oruwariye was seen with a towel over his head, clearly distraught by his mistake. Teammates were frustrated on the field but have since come to his defense.

The Cowboys loss ended a two-game winning streak, dropping them to 5-8 on the season. It also ends any realistic hope of a late-season playoff push.

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