It was a win that gave Cincinnati Bengals fans a minor heart attack or two, between the end of regulation and throughout overtime (see York, Cade).
In the end, the Bengals scored late in overtime as Tee Higgins completed the hat trick and gave Cincinnati a 30-24 win over the Denver Broncos Saturday.
It’s the team’s fourth straight win as they get back to .500 at 8-8 and have themselves a pulse in the playoff picture entering Week 18.
All eyes now turn to Sunday, specifically the Indianapolis Colts (at the New York Giants) and the Miami Dolphins (at the Cleveland Browns). The Bengals still need both of those teams to lose one of their final two games.
Both teams are likely set to run their backup quarterbacks this week. Joe Flacco will replace the injured Anthony Richardson, while Tyler Huntley is expected to start in place of Tua Tagovailoa.
The path now lays out as such for the Bengals: they must beat the Pittsburgh Steelers next week (a team still fighting for the AFC North title), have the Broncos lose to the Kansas City Chiefs (who have already clinched the No. 1 seed) and have the Colts and Dolphins lose one.
It’s still a longshot, but the Bengals will at least play a meaningful game in Week 18 after being at 4-8 a month ago.
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