Bengals Beat Vikings in Bonkers Overtime Game, Steelers Slide to 4th in AFC North
The Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Minnesota Vikings in a wild overtime affair, 27-24 on Saturday, denying the Steelers potentially crucial help in the AFC playoff race.
The victory lifted the Bengals to 8-6, at least temporarily moving them ahead of the Steelers in the AFC North pecking order and the AFC playoff picture. The Cincinnati victory moved the Steelers to fourth place in the AFC North and the seventh seed in the AFC Wild Card race.
The Bengals tied the back-and-forth affair in the fourth quarter, but Nick Mullens, the fourth quarterback to start a game for the Vikings this season, led Minnesota right back down the field, hitting Jordan Addison for a go-ahead touchdown.
Cincinnati answered back, with Jake Browning throwing up a jump ball to Tee Higgins, who made an incredible catch at the goal line with 39 seconds left, sending the game to overtime.
THIS CATCH 🤯#ProBowlVote x Tee Higgins pic.twitter.com/wrZeJlZe1U
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) December 16, 2023
There, the Bengals punted, and Mullens was stopped on a 4th and 1 quarterback sneak, giving the ball back to Browning. On third down, he threw into traffic to Tyler Boyd, who emerged with the ball and raced downfield for a 44-yard game.
Evan McPherson connected on a 29-yard field goal to win it for the Bengals.
Addison had two touchdowns and led the Vikings with six catches for 111 yards. Ja’Marr Chase led Cincinnati’s receivers with four grabs for 64 yards before exiting with an injury.
Ty Chandler ran 23 times for 132 yards and a touchdown for Minnesota, while Joe Mixon managed just 47 yards on 10 carries. He also scored once.
Mullens finished 26 of 33 for 303 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Browning was 29 of 42 for 324 yards, two scores and one pick.
The Bengals will visit the Steelers at Acrisure Stadium in Week 16.
AFC NORTH STANDINGS
| Overall | AFC North | AFC | Head-to-head | |
| Ravens | 10-3 | 3-2 | 6-3 | CIN 2-0, CLE 1-1, PIT 0-1 |
| Browns | 8-5 | 3-2 | 6-3 | BAL 1-1, CIN 1-0, PIT 1-1 |
| Bengals | 8-6 | 0-4 | 3-6 | CLE 0-1, BAL 0-2, PIT 0-1 |
| Steelers | 7-6 | 3-1 | 5-4 | BAL 1-0, CLE 1-1, CIN 1-0 |
AFC PLAYOFF PICTURE
1 Baltimore Ravens 10-3
2 Miami Dolphins 9-4
3 Kansas City Chiefs 8-5
4 Jacksonville Jaguars 8-5
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5 Cleveland Browns 8-5
6 Cincinnati Bengals 8-6
7 Pittsburgh Steelers 7-6
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8 Indianapolis Colts 7-6
9 Houston Texans 7-6
10 Denver Broncos 7-6
11 Buffalo Bills 7-6
12 Las Vegas Raiders 6-8
13 New York Jets 5-8
14 Tennessee Titans 5-8
15 Los Angeles Chargers 5-9
~
16 New England Patriots 3-10
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