Cincinnati, which had been eliminated from playoff contention three weeks ago, saw a two-game winning streak snapped and finishes the season 6-11, while the Browns avoided the series sweep.
The Bengals had scored the late go-ahead touchdown on Joe Burrow’s 4-yard pass to Ja’Marr Chase, but the two-point conversion pass failed, and the defense once again failed to hold on to a lead.
Cincinnati’s defense otherwise did its part, allowing just two field goals in the game, but one of the best passing offenses in the league couldn’t out-perform one of the worst offenses in football.
The Bengals still played Burrow, as expected, but took a conservative approach, running the ball more than usual and punting on fourth-and-inches near midfield despite trailing in the first half.
In doing so, they sacrificed a more proven chance to win but accomplished their goal of keeping Burrow from injury. He even almost managed to escape a highly motivated Myles Garrett, who needed one sack to set the NFL single-season record. Garrett spun Orlando Brown Jr. and finally brought Burrow down with 5:04 left for his 23rd sack of the season, passing Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt’s previous shared record of 22.5.
Playing conservatively cost Cincinnati, though. Cleveland had what Burrow called “the best defense in the league” earlier in the week, but the Browns were missing star linebacker Carson Schwesinger, who went on injured reserve Saturday, and cornerback Denzel Ward for most of the game after he suffered a first-quarter neck injury. Those key absences weren’t all that noticeable with Burrow only attempting 11 passes of 10 yards or more.
Burrow finished with 236 yards passing and three touchdowns with one pick-six, while Chase Brown rushed for 72 yards on 13 carries to top 1,000 yards for the season – his first time achieving that milestone.
The Bengals got on the board first shortly after Cam Sample’s sack on Shedeur Sanders forced a fumble, recovered by Howard Cross. That set the offense up on the Cleveland 29-yard line, and Joe Burrow capped the four-play drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Brown.
Evan McPherson’s point-after attempt was tipped and no good.
Cleveland’s offense struggled to move the ball, but Cincinnati grew sloppy and the Browns feasted on defensive touchdowns the next two drives.
As the Bengals were nearing a second touchdown, Burrow threw a pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by Devin Bush, who returned it 97 yards for a touchdown to give the Browns a 7-6 lead with 56 seconds left in the first quarter.
Less than two minutes later, Bengals tight end Noah Fant then fumbled at the end of a 5-yard catch, and Browns cornerback Sam Webb recovered, returning it 47 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-6.
Cincinnati didn’t get another touchdown until the end of the half when Tee Higgins made an acrobatic one-handed, diving catch on Burrow’s 13-yard pass into the end zone. McPherson’s PAT failed again, as the Browns went into halftime holding onto a 14-12 lead.
Those two PAT misses were another factor in the two-point loss.
Sanders, who was starting his seventh game since taking over for injured Dillon Gabriel in Week 12, completed 11 of 22 passes for 111 yards. He was sacked six times.
The Bengals have allowed 9 return TDs by opponents this season. That is tied for the most in franchise history (2002). They allowed eight in 2010. Only allowed seven over the last three years combined.
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