Bengals boost playoff chances with OT win vs Vikings

CINCINNATI — A game that once appeared destined to be a blowout turned into a competitive and entertaining matchup Saturday at Paycor Stadium.

Down by 14 points as the fourth quarter began, the Cincinnati Bengals scored three touchdowns against the Minnesota Vikings’ vaunted defense, forced overtime and won 27-24 on Evan McPherson’s 29-yard field goal.

Both teams started their backup quarterbacks in the absence of their injured starters, and both the Bengals’ Jake Browning and the Vikings’ Nick Mullens produced 300-yard passing games. But Mullens threw two second-quarter interceptions to end scoring opportunities, and he was unable to convert on consecutive quarterback sneaks in overtime.

The second failure, on fourth-and-1, gave the Bengals the ball at Cincinnati’s 42-yard line to set up a short field for the winning drive.

The win moves the Bengals to 8-6 on the season, while the Vikings drop to 7-7.

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Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati’s playoff outlook looked bleak at various points during Saturday’s game.

A loss would have made it difficult for the Bengals to reach the postseason for a third straight season. But somehow, Cincinnati pulled off a 27-24 overtime victory over the Vikings to win its third straight game. McPherson nailed a 29-yard field goal to give Cincinnati the win with 3:11 left in overtime.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, Cincinnati’s playoff odds would have dropped to 9% with a loss. Instead, those chances rose to 34% after the Bengals overcame deficits of 14 and 7 points in the fourth quarter to extend the game.

Pivotal play: Tee Higgins might have saved Cincinnati’s playoff hopes. With less than a minute left in regulation, Higgins caught a 21-yard pass from Browning that was essentially a jump ball. Not only did Higgins get both feet in bounds after making the catch near the sideline, but he had the presence of mind to turn and extend the ball over the goal line to complete the play and produce the game-tying touchdown. It’s worth noting that the Higgins play came with Ja’Marr Chase out of the game.

Biggest hole in the game plan: The Vikings excelled at throwing outside of the numbers. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Mullens completed his first nine attempts for 85 yards. The Bengals were gashed at various points throughout the game, and allowed 24 points to a team that mustered a mere field goal the previous week.

Eye-popping Next Gen stat: Cincinnati had trouble stopping Mullens on intermediate throws. Through the first three quarters, Mullens completed six of seven throws on passes that were between 10 and 19 air yards, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. That was good for a completion percentage over expectation of 28.1%. It’s a massive reason why the Vikings had outgained the Bengals 321 to 178 in the first three quarters.

Next game: at Steelers (4:30 p.m. ET, Dec. 23)

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Minnesota Vikings

The decision to go with a second quarterback sneak in overtime may haunt coach Kevin O’Connell. The loss dealt a significant blow to the Vikings’ playoff hopes. ESPN’s Football Power Index now gives them a 51% chance to make the postseason, and they’ll almost certainly need to win two of their final three games to advance.

Their remaining schedule is tough, with two games against the NFC North-leading Detroit Lions and another against the Green Bay Packers.

The Vikings are the first team since the start of last season to fail on the “tush push” multiple times in a game when needing 1 yard or fewer, per ESPN Stats & Information. The Vikings went 1-of-3 on those plays Saturday.

Breakout performer: Running back Ty Chandler. Making his first NFL start in place of Alexander Mattison (ankle), Chandler became the first Vikings running back to produce a 100-yard game this season. His 30-yard run to the Bengals’ 1-yard line late in the fourth quarter set up wide receiver Jordan Addison’s go-ahead touchdown catch. Chandler finished with 132 yards on 23 carries. The Vikings have struggled to find their rhythm in the running game since parting ways with Dalvin Cook in the offseason — in fact, Cook had the Vikings’ last 100-yard game: in Week 10 of the 2022 season.

Promising trend: A touchdown on the opening possession! It might seem incredible, but before Saturday, the Vikings hadn’t scored a touchdown on their opening possession all season. But in a purposeful, 75-yard march downfield, the Vikings called nine running plays and only three dropbacks. That approach made sense for Mullens, who hadn’t started a game in two seasons, and it was rewarded when Chandler scored on a 1-yard run. It was out of character in multiple ways; the Vikings had entered the game with only two rushing touchdowns by running backs this season, the fewest in the league.

Eye-popping Next Gen stat: Mullens’ second interception, which defensive lineman BJ Hill tipped and then eventually caught as he lay on the ground, was historic. According to Next Gen Stats, the ball traveled 1.6 yards — the fewest air yards an interception has traveled in the past five seasons, and the second fewest since tracking began in 2016. In an additional twist, the Bengals were the intercepting team on the only interception that has been thrown fewer yards since 2016. In 2018, they batted a Ryan Tannehill screen pass and intercepted it after it traveled 0.9 yards.

Next game: vs. Lions (1 p.m. ET, Dec. 24)