Missing the playoffs is becoming more and more likely for the Cincinnati Bengals. Joe Burrow’s team lost to division rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, 38:44 in an offensive spectacle. Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahwaks’ chances look better, as they solved their task and at the same time benefited from a defeat by the Arizona Cardinals.
Once again, Joe Burrow and his Cincinnati Bengals lost out despite an appealing offensive performance.
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Bengals and Steelers deliver offensive fireworks
The Cincinnati Bengals’ already not particularly good prospects for the playoffs continue to deteriorate. In the duel with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who now have a record of 9-3 and presented in the long-distance duel with the Baltimore Ravens, the Bengals ultimately lost 38:44 in a high-scoring game. At halftime it was already 27:21 in favor of the Steelers. In the second half, the Steelers pulled away to 17 points, partly because a fumble was returned for a touchdown by Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. It also showed once again that the defense is allowing too many points this season.
Cincinnati didn’t give up and fought its way back into the game. In the end there was simply no longer enough time. The Bengals now have a record of 4-8 and are already three wins behind the Denver Broncos and the seventh wild card spot, although Denver can move even further away against the Cleveland Browns on Tuesday night.
With the Steelers, on the other hand, Russell Wilson didn’t let a pick six on his very first drive bother him. In the end, he completed 29 of his 38 pass attempts for 414 yards and three touchdowns and found ten different receivers throughout the game. But the Steelers Express also rolled across the floor. Running back Najee Harris ran for 75 yards and a touchdown.
Vikings make comeback against Cardinals
The Minnesota Vikings remain hot on the heels of the Detroit Lions in the NFC North battle and have improved their record to 10-2. And that despite the fact that the Vikings struggled for a long time against the Arizona Cardinals, who have now fallen behind in the long-distance duel with the Seattle Seahawks for the division lead within the NFC West. At the end of the third quarter it was still 19:6 in favor of the guests from Arizona, who had the upper hand in terms of total yards with 406 to 273, but only managed one TD on six attempts in the opposing red zone. For the Vikings, the comeback was the biggest since the one against the Indianapolis Colts two years ago, when they overcame a 0:33 loss – to this day the biggest comeback in NFL history.
The Vikings’ prominent offense thawed out in crunch time, with star receiver Justin Jefferson recording five of his seven catches (for 99 yards at the end) during the comeback. At the same time, he exceeded the 1,000-yard mark over the course of the season – for the fifth time in his fifth NFL season. Shortly before the end, quarterback Sam Darnold found running back Aaron Jones in the end zone, giving the Vikings the lead. The Cardinals still had a little over a minute to get within field goal range, but the Vikings defense held firm. Edge rusher Jonathan Greenard forced a fumble before Cardinals passer Kyler Murray put an end to it with his second interception of the day.
Seahwaks defensive lineman Leonard Williams on his way to the opposing end zone. 
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92-yard pick-six to wake up the Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks, who have now taken sole lead in the NFC West with their 26:21 win over the New York Jets, will take a positive note of the Cardinals’ defeat. From the Seahawks’ perspective, the start of the game was anything but ideal. After two drives, each of which ended in a punt and a subsequent fumble, there was a 14-point deficit early on. But it wasn’t the only fumble in the game. But Seattle could rely on their defense.
Defensive lineman Leonard Williams intercepted a pass from Aaron Rodgers just outside his own end zone and carried it back 92 yards to the other end zone. An action that really inspired the Seahawks’ defense. After already allowing three touchdowns for the Jets, New York didn’t score a single point in the entire second half. Williams also accounted for his team’s only two QB sacks.
What else was going on?
The Washington Commanders have found their way back to success after three defeats in a row. The team led by rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels was currently leading 28-0 against the Tennessee Titans. Daniels completed a strong 25 of his 30 passes, eight of them to his favorite passer Terry McLaurin, who recorded 73 yards and two TDs. But the 23-year-old Daniels also showed his qualities again in the running game, once finding his way into the opponent’s end zone.
The Atlanta Falcons and their quarterback Kirk Cousins had less success this weekend. The Falcons narrowly lost to the Los Angeles Chargers 13:17. Meanwhile, Cousins had a day to forget. Not only did he not throw a single touchdown, he also had four (!) interceptions. In the end, there was simply too much, so that even the strong performance of the defense, which held Justin Herbert to just 147 passing yards for the Chargers, couldn’t change the outcome. Incidentally, 117 of them found their way to rookie receiver Ladd McConkey.
The duel between the Indianpolis Colts and the New England Patriots was exciting until the end. With the 25:24 win, the Colts moved to 6-7 and kept their playoff hopes alive. It was a pretty minimalist evening for Anthony Richardson. In the end, he had three touchdowns (two passing TDs, one rushing TD), but in terms of passing yards he just surpassed the 100-yard mark. In the end, he had almost 50 yards on the ground as a runner. For the Colts, the courage to go for a two-point conversion instead of the extra point ultimately paid off and thus took the lead instead of the equalizer.
However, winning within the division probably won’t work for the Colts. Above all, because the Houston Texans did their homework and ultimately narrowly prevailed against the Jacksonville Jaguars 23:20. The Texans almost lost a 23-6 lead. With the team from the US state of Florida, Trevor Lawrence made his comeback after a week-long break, but he had to leave the field again in the second quarter with a concussion after a hard and unnecessary hit by Texans linebacker Aziz Al-Shaair.
Also read: The current playoff status – Chiefs have moved on
