The Cincinnati Bengals have fell short in a lot of games this season and throughout the 2024 campaign, it’s often felt like luck just wasn’t on the side of Joe Burrow and company.
The Bengals entered Monday night’s matchup vs. the Dallas Cowboys with just four wins — and in the final minutes of the game — it looked like they would have another close loss as Burrow was sacked and Cincinnati was forced to punt with just under two minutes remaining.
The Cowboys special teams unit found a way to break through and block the punt, but the ball bobbled around the midfield line and a Dallas player attempted to recover it, but it tipped off of his hands and fell into the arms of a Bengals player.
And just like that, Burrow and the Bengals offense had a final chance to win the game and this time, they did just that. At the 1:01 mark in the fourth quarter Burrow connected with Ja’Marr Chase for a 40-yard touchdown which proved to be the game-winner.
The ESPN cameras found Cowboys’ star pass rusher Micah Parsons on the bench, who was visibility furious, throwing his arms in the air and screaming in anger in disbelief of how they found a way to lose that game.
Troy Aikman — who called the game with Joe Buck for ESPN — spoke about Parsons’ outburst with Scott Van Pelt after the game.
Watch it here if you missed it during the game.
“I would say this, the reaction from Micah Parsons, they say a picture is worth a thousand words,” Aikman said. “It’s pretty obvious what this game meant to Micah Parsons and the entire football team.”
While it was a long shot, the Dallas Cowboys were still technically in the playoff hunt heading into Monday night’s game and the loss now officially eliminates them. There’s no doubt it’s been a disappointing season for Dallas and changes are likely coming this offseason.
But for a Cincinnati Bengals team that lost their last three games by one score, luck was on their side on Monday night.