Joe Burrow threw his third touchdown pass to Tee Higgins with 1:07 left in overtime, and the Cincinnati Bengals kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a 30-24 win over the Denver Broncos on Saturday.
Following a Broncos punt, Burrow completed a 31-yard pass to Higgins for the Denver 3, then went back to the lanky receiver for the game-ending play. Higgins finished with 11 receptions for 131 yards.
Cade York had a chance to win it for the Bengals with about three minutes left in overtime. But his 33-yard field goal bounced right off the left sideline. Denver then went three-and-out on third down, including a Bo Nicks incompletion, which handed the ball back to Cincinnati (8-8).
It was the Bengals’ first win against a team with a winning record this season. They need another win in their final game at Pittsburgh and help from other teams to reach the postseason for the first time since 2022.
The Broncos (9-7) would have clinched the AFC wild card with a win over the Bengals. They will have another chance to clinch a postseason berth when they host Kansas City next weekend.
Burrow continued his stellar season, going 39-49 for 412 yards and three touchdowns, all to Higgins. Jamar Chase finished with nine receptions for 102 yards.
Burrow has at least 250 yards passing and three touchdowns in eight straight games, tying his NFL record.
Burrow’s 1-yard touchdown run gave Cincinnati a 24–17 lead with 1:29 left in regulation. On the play before Burrows’ TD, Chase Brown hurt his right ankle on what looked like an attempt to help the Bengals run out the rest of the game on the way down.
Brown’s injury stopped the clock, and the Knicks threw a spectacular 25-yard touchdown pass to a leaping Marvin Mims Jr. for the tying score with 8 seconds left.
Nicks was 24-31 for 219 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Mims finished with eight catches for 103 yards and two TDs.
injuries
Broncos: CB Demary Mathis left the first quarter with a hamstring injury.
Bengals: Right tackle Amarius Mims left late in the first half with a hand injury.
Next
Broncos: End the regular season at home against the AFC West champions. The date and time of the game has not yet been announced.
Bengals: at Pittsburgh at a date and time still to be determined. The Bengals lost to the Steelers 44–38 on December 1.
Reporting by the Associated Press.
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