For nearly three hours on Sunday afternoon it was all coming to fruition for the Bengals. Joe Burrow was unstoppable, playing another dominant game in the Buffalo snow, and the stage was being set for a come-from-behind run to the division title and a “sky’s the limit!” postseason. Then, in a matter of minutes, it all went south, and the 2025 season, already full of gut-churning mood swings and excruciating defeats, added another, this one likely fatal.
Cincy blew another double-digit, fourth-quarter lead and fell to the Bills 39-34. It was their seventh (!) defeat in the last two seasons when scoring 33 or more points. Buffalo, thanks to two late interceptions of Burrow and the usual resistance from the Bengals defense, scored three touchdowns in four minutes to turn a 10-point deficit into a 39-28 lead. Cincy tried and failed to come back, scoring a late TD but failing to get Burrow the ball for one last chance.
The crucial moment of course was the pick-six by Bills corner Christian Benford, who leapt high to intercept Burrow’s hot throw to Ja’Marr Chase and returned it 63 yards for the go-ahead score. It was a play eerily reminiscent of J.J. Watt’s pick-six of Andy Dalton in the 2011 Wild-Card game in Houston, save for the conditions. The play gave Buffalo the lead; on the very next snap, Burrow was picked off again after a deflection, and the game was lost after Josh Allen put his team in the end zone subsequent. The interceptions were killer, but the larger picture was Allen doing pretty much anything he wanted against the “improving” Bengals defense, including a game-ending first down scramble on third-and-15 that had Cincy fans everywhere hurling objects across their living rooms.
I’m not sure how people really can blame Burrow much for the loss. Of course, he threw four TD passes and generally carved Buffalo into small pieces, as he usually does. The second interception was a deflection that more often than not falls to the ground—it just didn’t in this case. Bad luck. The pick-six is the talking point, and while I agree with those who wonder why the team isn’t running the ball in that situation, remember that on pretty much every failed rush we also scream “why not call Burrow and Chase’s number?” so it’s a bit disingenuous to complain when they do just that.
As for the play itself, I do have issues with the concept—throwing into/over/around a slot blitzer can be a dicey consideration under the best of conditions, and in the snow, protecting a late lead with a bad defense on the sideline, there is just too much risk involved for my liking. But then again, Benford a) made an extremely athletic play, and b) admitted he erred by leaving his feet, which blitzers are coached not to do. Burrow undoubtedly expected him to stay on the tarmac, and his lollipop to float over to Uno for a solid gain.
But it didn’t work out for the Bengals, this is a recording.
Even now at 4-9, the loss, remarkably enough, doesn’t eliminate the Bengals; it’s still just possible to capture the AFC North at 8-9. But it surely feels like Paradise Lost. No doubt the team will still win some games over this last quartet, and perhaps even be “in the hunt” come the last fortnight or so, but it is such a long shot at this point it doesn’t really bear scoreboard watching. The games themselves will be interesting, and the season-long effort to not field a historically awful defense (they have risen to eighth-worst all-time by DVOA after 13 games!) will be watched carefully for signs of life, but a miraculous run to the playoffs probably died in the Lake Effect snow on Sunday.
And thus yet another year of Burrow’s prime goes a-wasting.
Meanwhile, yet another twist in the Trey Hendrickson saga was announced Monday when the gimpy defensive end opted for core muscle surgery (one of those football-only injuries), ending his season, and, presumably, his Bengals career (though his age and injury-hit season conceivably could reduce his cost on the open-market to the point where the Bengals decide he may be worth bringing back for an encore). If he has played his final game in Stripes, he departs at sixth on the franchise sack list with 61 in just 72 games, far fewer than the men ahead of him on the franchise list, and as the greatest free agent signing in team history.
He has also been a one-man content machine over these last couple of years, so kudos for that…
As for whether or not Hendrickson is jaking it, having strung the team along until it was clear the season was lost and only then going under the knife, I’m never one to question someone’s injury or pain-level. I was there when he he got re-injured against the Jets, and the way he fired his helmet after limping off the field sure made it seem like he knew he’d be gone a long time. The average NFL player endures more agony in a season than most of us will in a lifetime, and often goes through astonishing feats of tolerance merely to suit up on Sundays. They will always get the benefit of the doubt from me.
Having said that, we all know the Bengals franchise has, for decades now, notoriously been one to treat their players as chattel, even by NFL standards. From contracts to training rooms to basic amenities, Cincinnati has been forcibly yanked, kicking and screaming at all times, into the modern age. I’m not saying Hendrickson looked out for Number (Ninety) One, but it’s not like he felt any sense of loyalty or fellowship coming from the Brown/Blackburns, so who could blame him if he did?
In other news, the Jermaine Burton Debacle came to an end, with a whimper, as he was quietly released after not playing all season, including being suspended for undisclosed reasons and not voyaging to Buffalo. A disaster of a third-round pick, no doubt (and an end to T.J. Houshmandzadeh’s credibility with Duke Tobin). But then again, Cincy has gotten 12 touchdown receptions in three seasons from sixth-rounder Andrei Iosivas, a far greater return than expected, so in the end it’s probably a wash.
Of more concern at the wideout position is the health of Tee Higgins, who returned from the concussion protocol only to slam his head twice on the snowy turf and go in and out of the blue tent. He was allowed to return and even grabbed another touchdown reception, but felt symptomatic after the game and is back in the protocol. Tee is likely out for Sunday’s encounter with Baltimore (at Paycor at 1 PM), and on a path to sit the rest of the year and thus miss more games in his injury-checkered career.
A bummer after the team re-signed him to much fanfare this summer. And just one more downer in a season full of them.
Robert Weintraub heads up Bengals coverage for Cincinnati Magazine and has written for The New York Times, Grantland, Slate, and Deadspin. He guests on Mo Egger’s radio show every Thursday in the 4 p.m. hour. Follow him on X at @robwein.
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