Bengals tie Washington, 27-27
LONDON, England – The slimmest of margins can win or lose – or tie – a game as the Cincinnati Bengals and Washington discovered in heart-wrenching fashion Sunday, playing to a 27-27 draw in front of 84,488 at Wembley Stadium in England.
A second-quarter point-after attempt by Mike Nugent slid left by the width of the goal post on the Bengals’ second touchdown of the game, which allowed Washington to force the first overtime in the National Football League’s International Series history.
“Obviously not winning the football game is a disappointment,” Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said. “We had opportunities on both sides of the football to win the football game. For the time, energy and everything invested in it, that’s what you want to get. There’s some disappointment in there. But again, it’s another learning lesson of things – if you just keep playing, it’s not over.”
Then, Washington kicker Dustin Hopkins hooked his potential game-winning 34-yard attempt left with just over two minutes left in the extra session after Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis “iced” him with a timeout.
Analysis: Why Bengals tied Washington
Presented with another chance to win and two minutes to work, Andy Dalton couldn’t get his left hand on the ball in time before Washington stripped it out near midfield. Once again given the opportunity to win the game with 63 seconds left, Washington receiver Pierre Garcon gave Adam Jones a slight push to the face, drawing a penalty – negating a first-down catch.
That put Washington behind the chains and the Bengals' defense held, forcing the first tie in International Series history and first for the Bengals since they tied Carolina in 2014.
Doc: Can 3-4-1 Bengals still make playoffs?
And it will make an over 4,000-mile trip just a bit longer.
“Personally, ties feel like a loss to me,” Bengals safety George Iloka said. “Especially being that we traveled six and a half hours. I personally hated the flight, I hate the whole trip, the logistics of it.
“If you travel that far, you want to leave with at least a victory.”
Trailing 10-7 at the half, it looked like Cincinnati solved Washington in the third quarter. The Bengals scored two touchdowns, including Tyler Eifert’s first of the year to take a 20-10 lead – with a Nugent missed PAT the lone blemish.
A 38-yard pass from Cousins to DeSean Jackson helped get Washington out from its own end, and then an unnecessary roughness penalty on Domata Peko extended the drive further. Two plays later, Cousins hit Jordan Reed for a 23-yard touchdown to breathe life back into Washington at 20-17.
It was a new game from there, as Washington would take a 24-20 lead early in the fourth before Andy Dalton led a 75-yard scoring drive, highlighted by a 22-yard completion to Eifert and a 40-yard pass to A.J. Green. A Jeremy Hill 1-yard touchdown run pushed Cincinnati back into the lead at 27-24.
Washington sent the game to overtime with 61 seconds left on a 40-yard field goal from Hopkins.
The Bengals are now 3-4-1 heading into their bye week. They get an extra day off on top of it, as their next game isn’t until Monday, Nov. 14 in New York against the Giants.
“The last time we had a tie, at the end of the year, I wasn’t really helping us,” Iloka said. “It still feels like a loss when you’re behind; I think we’re a game an a half behind in the division. We’ll see. We ant worry about that right now We till have eight games. If we do what we have to do in the second half we should be in decent position.”
Have the Bengals' app? Tap here for live updates from today's game
OVERTIME
What went right: Dustin Hopkins missed a 34-yard field-goal attempt with 2:09 left that would have won the game for Washington after Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis “iced” him with a last-moment timeout on his first attempt, which was good.
What went wrong: Darqueze Dennard hit Jamison Crowder despite Crowder calling fair catch on a punt at his own 7-yard line. The penalty moved the ball to the 22. Then on a 3rd-and-1 play from the Bengals’ 37, Vontaze Burfict was called for a hold, giving up five more yards.
And, the teams had to delay their scheduled flights out of Heathrow, pushing their arrival back to the United States into Monday morning.
Key stat: 1
The session marked the first overtime session in International Series history.
Did you notice?: Josh Shaw and Vontaze Burfict blitzed on 2nd-and-7 to force Kirk Cousins to throw the ball out of bounds, and then Dre Kirkpatrick came on a blitz from the outside to help force an errant throw on third down. That gave the Bengals' offense a chance to win the game early in the session.
FOURTH QUARTER
What went right: A.J. Green. He outfought a pass-interference penalty from Josh Norman to haul in a 40-yard pass to set up the go-ahead Bengals score.
What went wrong: Andy Dalton threw his first interception after 165 straight passes without a mistake, nullifying a prime scoring opportunity for the Bengals early in the quarter at the Washington 17. That led to a breakdown on defense for Cincinnati, as Jamison Crowder caught a wide-open pass for a touchdown.
Key stat: 22
Dalton hit Tyler Eifert for a pass of this length on a key 3rd-and-4 on the Bengals’ scoring drive.
Did you notice?: Josh Shaw and Shawn Williams blitzed from Kirk Cousins’ strong side (right) while Darqueze Dennard was in coverage on the left – where Cousins rolled out – covering the area and forcing an errant throw.
THIRD QUARTER
Bengals 20, Washington 17
What went right: The Bengals' offense put together two scoring drives of 11 and 10 plays totaling 139 yards – but the highlight was Tyler Eifert’s first touchdown of the season on a 15-yard pass from Andy Dalton. A year ago, that duo connected for 11 red-zone touchdowns.
What went wrong: Domata Peko was called for unnecessary roughness to give Washington a free 15 yards on their second drive of the quarter, and then Jordan Reed took advantage of a hobbled Vontaze Burfict, turning the linebacker around and out-running him for a 23-yard touchdown.
Key stat: 4
The Bengals converted on four straight third downs, conversions that helped get those drives into the end zone.
Did you notice?: On the Bengals’ first scoring drive, Brandon LaFell sold his route hard, drawing an extra defender and opened up a huge window in the end zone for Andy Dalton to find Tyler Eifert. Then, on the Bengals’ second score, Jeremy Hill carried the play fake all the way through, even leaping into the end zone to draw back-side contact and allow Andy Dalton to scamper in untouched.
SECOND QUARTER
Washington 10, Cincinnati 7
What went right: On 4th-and-1 from the Bengals’ 18, Washington head coach Jay Gruden eschewed a field-goal attempt and went for it with a run by Robert Kelly to the outside. As he tried to cut upfield, he slipped and Dre Kirkpatrick brought him down to get off the field and keep the score 7-7.
What went wrong: On Washington’s first play from scrimmage on its second possession, Kirk Cousins hit tight end Vernon Davis for a 44-yard gain down the Bengals' sideline. Bengals coach Marvin Lewis challenged the play that Davis had run out of bounds before catching the ball but a sufficient replay wasn’t available to overturn it. The call stood, Vontaze Burfict injured his right knee on the drive and Washington wound up kicking a field goal on the drive.
Then, Mike Nugent missed a 51-yard field goal wide left on the Bengals’ lone scoring opportunity of the quarter.
Key stat: 1-for-5
The Bengals firmed up a bit on third down in the quarter, snuffing Washington out on one drive thanks to a stop on 3rd-and-3 and then holding them to a field goal with a stop on 3rd-and-goal from the 5. George Iloka intercepted Kirk Cousins on a 3rd-and-14 play. Then, with 13 seconds left, the Bengals held by inches on 3rd-and-7. Washington then missed a 55-yard field goal attempt.
Did you notice?: Bengals middle linebacker Rey Maualuga left the field in apparent pain in his left arm – so much so that Burfict reacted emotionally and kissed his teammate’s helmet as he left – but Maualuga returned to help redirect Kelly on the key fourth-down stop. Burfict then left the field with an injured knee later in the quarter, only to return on the next series and help force a 4-yard loss on a run.
FIRST QUARTER
Cincinnati 7, Washington 7
What went right: For the first time since winning the job after three preseason games, rookie kick returner Alex Erickson flashed some speed and made a big play to start the Bengals’ first possession. His 65-yard return following a Washington score set up the Bengals’ score.
What went wrong: The Cincinnati defense allowed three, third-down conversions on Washington’s game-opening 80-yard touchdown drive.
Key stat: 4-for-4
Washington on third downs in the quarter.
Did you notice?: The Bengals once again opened their first series with a screen pass behind three blockers bunched up on the outside, only this time the pass catcher was Jeremy Hill instead of A.J. Green. The play lost three yards.
Pregame update:
LONDON, England – With All-Pro left tackle Andrew Whitworth clearing concussion protocol on Thursday, the Cincinnati Bengals arrived in London with a healthy 53-man roster for the second consecutive week.
The seven inactives are:
- QB Jeff Driskel
- WR Cody Core
- CB KeiVarae Russell
- CB Chykie Brown
- TE C.J Uzomah
- OL Christian Westerman
- DL DeShawn Williams
Uzomah is a bit of a surprise as he has played a big role in the offense the last seven weeks, but that is an indication of Tyler Eifert’s health and expectation of an increased role in the offense Sunday.
Washington was not as fortunate, losing starting running back Matt Jones during the week. That led to the practice-squad promotion of Mack Brown. Chris Thompson will get the start in Jones’ place, and he ran for a career-high 73 yards a week ago against Detroit.
Ten players were listed as questionable for Jay Gruden’s team heading in, including starting corners Josh Norman (concussion/wrist) and Bashaud Breeland (ankle).
Both corners are active however.
Washington's inactives include:
- QB Nate Sudfeld
- WR Rashad Ross
- RB Matt Jones
- CB Dashaun Phillips
- OL Vinston Painter
- G Arie Kouandjio
- DE Matt Ioannidis
In case you missed it, here is some coverage from The Enquirer team in London this week:
Predictions and three keys to victory…
Doc on what Cincinnati and London have in common…
Paul Dehner, Jr. broke down the logistics for this “business trip”…
And a weary group of Men powered through practice in preparation for Sunday.