Cowboys special teams mistake allows Bengals to stop their slide

ARLINGTON, Texas — The playoffs may be a far-fetched dream for the Cincinnati Bengals, but at least their losing streak ended after a 27-20 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, whose special teams error late in the fourth quarter sealed the win .

The Cowboys fumbled a punt, but then touched the ball, which was recovered by the Bengals at their own 43 with 1:53 left. Three plays later, Joe Burrow connected with Ja’Marr Chase for a 40-yard touchdown that won the game.

Cincinnati’s win against the Cowboys snapped a three-game losing streak for a team that mathematically remains in playoff contention, even if the likelihood of that happening is very small.

It should never have been this difficult against a Cowboys team that was without starting QB Dak Prescott, who is on injured reserve. But through 13 games, Cincinnati has shown it can’t take anything for granted.

The defense has been shaky too often this season and struggled against the run Monday night. Dallas pressured Burrow all night as the blows piled up and forced him to put a compression sleeve on his left leg.

Given the circumstances in the midst of a disappointing season, a win is nice. But the performance was a reminder that Cincinnati needs a lot of work to return to playing meaningful games in December and January.

Quarterback Breakdown: Cincinnati has reached the point in the season where Burrow needs to be nearly perfect in order to beat sub-.500 teams. Burrow evaded pressure and made plays throughout the game. He put a sleeve on his left leg midway through the fourth quarter. He was 33 of 44 for 369 yards and three touchdowns, and also threw an interception.

Worrying trend: The Bengals’ tackle this season has left a lot to be desired. That was evident when CeeDee Lamb had 42.8 yards after an above-expectation catch on a quick throw that turned into a 43-yard gain. Entering this week, Cincinnati allowed the third-most yards after contact in the league, according to ESPN Research. Despite changing the starters and adjusting the rotation, that problem has not been resolved.

Surprising statistic: Chase loves being the center of national attention. He now has four consecutive 100-yard receiving games on “Monday Night Football,” becoming the first player to have 100 receiving yards in each of the first four games of his MNF career. Overall, Chase tied Randy Moss, Davante Adams and Cooper Kupp for the most 100-yard games in MNF history. The Bengals fed Chase all game long and helped him bolster a pretty solid-looking All-Pro case. He finished with 177 yards on 14 receptions and two touchdowns. Chase is also eyeing a Triple Crown: leading the league in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Not bad for a guy looking to break the bank on his next contract.

The biggest hole in the game plan: Stopping Rico Dowdle. The fourth-year player has not burned defenses throughout his career. But the Bengals struggled to contain him. He averaged a career-high 7.3 yards per carry. It continued the trend of a shaky run defense for the Bengals this season. Entering Monday night, Cincinnati ranked 30th in the league’s defensive rush success rate, according to ESPN Research. — ben baby

Next match: on Titans (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)

The Cowboys could depend on a miracle if they want to make the playoffs for a fourth straight season after a loss that defied credibility.

With momentum on their side, the Cowboys were in position to put together a late drive to win the game until their special teams cost them again. Initially, special teams nearly gave the Cowboys a short field when Nick Vigil deflected a Ryan Rehkow punt, but Amani Oruwariye, who was recalled from injured reserve earlier in the day, attempted to field the ball and fumbled.

Three plays later, Burrow and Chase connected for a 40-yard touchdown with 1:01 left.

At 5-8, the Cowboys will almost certainly have to win their final four games and will need help from teams that already hold the tiebreaker in the wild card race, such as the San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons.

Of their losses this season, however, this might be the hardest to fathom.

But before the special teams mistake, the Cowboys can reflect on the red zone issues that have been an issue all season with a second-quarter Cooper Rush interception at the Bengals’ 7-yard line that prevented Dallas from will score points. And they couldn’t put together consistent offenses against a defense that had allowed 28.3 points per game.

Defensively, the Cowboys finally relented after doing a solid job of keeping the high-powered Burrow-led offense out of the end zone until 1:01 left.

Surprising statistic: Lamb has made several big catches in his career, but only two this season have covered more distance than his 43-yard reception in the first quarter. According to Next Gen Stats, Lamb traveled 73.5 yards, sprinting down the field after the Bengals initially turned off a bubble screen. Running back to the Cowboys’ sideline, Lamb was able to reach the Cincinnati 24. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, the drive ended with a Rush interception.

Promising trend: The Cowboys didn’t have to wait long to get their second 100-yard rusher of the season. Dowdle became the first Cowboys running back with consecutive 100-yard games since Tony Pollard in 2022, finishing with a career-high 131 yards on 18 carries. On Thanksgiving Day against the New York Giants, Dowdle had 112 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, ending a 25-game drought for the franchise. In the third quarter on Monday, Dowdle had a 27-yard run, the longest by the Cowboys this season. It was just Dallas’ third carry of at least 20 yards this season.

Worrying trend: The offensive line just can’t catch a break. Earlier Monday, Pro Bowl right guard Zack Martin was placed on injured reserve with pending ankle surgery that will end his season on Thursday. In the second quarter, rookie center Cooper Beebe suffered a concussion. He came into Monday’s game having played in all but one play this season. The only offensive lineman not missing time due to injury is right tackle Terence Steele. Rookie left tackle Tyler Guyton was active Monday but did not start due to ankle and knee injuries. -Todd Archer

Next match: at Panthers (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)