The Cincinnati Bengals rebounded in a huge way recently, winning their previous four games and sitting in a playoff spot following Week 9. They had the chance to make it five wins in a row on Sunday, but they ran into a buzzsaw that was the Houston Texans, led by rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.
The Bengals lost 30-27 on Sunday afternoon after Stroud orchestrated a six-play, game-winning drive culminating in a 38-yard field goal by Matt Ammendola. With this loss, the Bengals fell to 5-4 on the year and were pushed out of the last Wild Card spot. But the Bengals had a chance to win the game.
In the fourth quarter, with a little under two minutes remaining, quarterback Joe Burrow threw a pass to wide receiver Tyler Boyd in the end zone. While Boyd was open and had a chance to make the catch, he dropped it. The Bengals settled for a field goal to tie the game 27-27.
Joe Burrow refuses to place blame on Tyler Boyd for Bengals loss vs. Texans
After the game, Burrow was asked about Boyd's drop in the end zone, resulting in the team going for the game-tying field goal. The quarterback showed why he's a captain of the team, as he refused to place the blame on Boyd and credited him for being the reason why they were able to reach the red zone on that drive, to begin with.
For those who missed the game, the Bengals started the drive on their 29-yard line. On second-and-10, Burrow connected with Boyd on a pass, resulting in a 64-yard gain and setting Cincinnati up on Houston's seven-yard line.
Burrow targeted Boyd more than any other player on offense, throwing 12 passes his way. Boyd caught eight of those for 117 yards. Burrow threw for 347 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions while completing 27-of-40 pass attempts.
While the loss does sting, there are still a lot of games remaining on the schedule for the Bengals to pick up some wins and gain ground in the playoff hunt. That begins this upcoming Thursday, where they play the Baltimore Ravens, who hold first place in the AFC North and are coming off a 33-31 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
