The Bengals looked to have their fourth win of the season firmly in their pocket when the fourth quarter got underway, but things weren’t as easy as they appeared.
Thad Lewis rallied the Bills for two touchdowns and the Bengals offense stopped moving the ball in the final minutes, sending the game to overtime as a 24-24 tie. Both teams punted on their first possession, but Brandon Tate busted loose for a 30-yard return on Buffalo’s punt to set the Bengals up in Buffalo territory. Three running the balls moved the ball into position for a 43-yard Mike Nugent field goal and a 27-24 road win.
The victory gives the Bengals sole possession of the AFC North, something that makes it a lot easier to swallow how quickly things got away from them after taking a 24-10 lead. The Bengals punted five times and missed a field goal on their six possessions before the winning kick, a slowdown that could have easily cost them the game given the way Lewis caught fire late.
Andy Dalton threw three touchdown passes, ending a scoreless streak through the air dating back to the second half of Week Three, Giovani Bernard had 100 yards from scrimmage and A.J. Green had several big catches on the way to victory. Those efforts helped the Bengals control the ball for nearly 43 minutes even as they stopped putting points on the board, but the normally stingy defense broke down in the secondary just often enough to leave a door open for Buffalo.
The Bills did their best to walk through it and performed better than many thought they would with such an inexperienced quarterback, but the result still wound up being an unhappy one.
