The little things can be the difference between winning and losing.
Fighting to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, the Cowboys gave Cincinnati one chance too many when a partially blocked punt – normally a good thing – instead resulted in an eventual 27-20 victory for the Bengals. With that, Dallas's record fell to 5-8, the team's road to any kind of playoff contention becoming that much tougher.
Facing a defense that ranks among the worst in the NFL, the Cowboys were able to rack up 322 yards of offense. Running back Rico Dowdle followed up his 100-yard effort last week by again topping the century mark, rushing for a career-high 130 yards on 18 carries for an impressive 7.3 average.
And they needed every bit of that ground production because the aerial attack again struggled. Cooper Rush was able to spread the ball around with 11 different players targeted and eight recording a catch. CeeDee Lamb led the effort with six grabs for 93 yards and a score, but the short game overall resulted in just 183 yards passing for Rush with two touchdowns and one interception for a 77.8 mark rating.
Conversely, in the end, despite a valiant effort by the defense, the Cowboys just couldn't stop Rush's counterpart. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who is having an MVP-type season, wound up completing 75 percent of his passes for 369 yards, three touchdowns and one pick for a 112.8 mark.
Burrow's primary target was Ja'Marr Chase, the star wideout hauling in 18 passes for 177 yards and two of those scores. He was joined by running back Chase Brown, who picked up 123 yards from scrimmage.
And in a case of when it rains it pours, the injury bug again bit the Cowboys. Starting center Cooper Beebe didn't return in the second half due to a concussion. Then special teams ace C.J. Goodwin (hamstring) and electrifying linebacker DeMarvion Overshown (knee) both headed to the sideline in the fourth quarter.
First Quarter
The Cowboys couldn't have asked for a better start in the game's opening minutes. First, their defense forced a quick three-and-out for the Bengals, which was followed by KaVontae Turpin returning the ensuing punt 20 yards to the Dallas 40. Rush then led the offense on a nine-play drive across the goal line, the score coming when he lofted a high pass that dropped right into the arms of Lamb, who was all alone in the back-right corner of the end zone.
Cincinnati came right back, though, with their own 11-play, 70-yard drive to tie things up at 7-7 before the quarter was done. Chase had a 14-yard run around the left end, hauled in a 14-yard pass and then capped off the drive with a 5-yard catch for the touchdown.
Second Quarter
Dallas was on the move as the second frame got underway, having reached the Bengals' 12-yard line. But on the first snap of the quarter, Rush was picked off by safety Geno Stone, the Cincinnati interception bringing an abrupt halt to the Cowboys' threat.
No worries, the defense soon stopped the Bengals on fourth-and-3 at the Dallas 44-yard line, which in turn gave the Cowboys good field position for their next try. Seven plays later, out came Brandon Aubrey to split the uprights on a 35-yard field goal.
Unfortunately, the Cowboys headed into the break trailing as the Bengals put up 10 points over the final six-plus minutes of the first half. It started with Burrows orchestrating a six-play, 64-yard drive that took only 2:53 off the clock. That ended with Brown taking a swing pass on the left side and darting down the sideline 16 yards for the touchdown.
The Cowboys had time to respond, but they quickly went three-and-out, forced to punt just after the two-minute warning. That led to a 37-yard field goal for the visitors, Cincinnati going into halftime with a 17-10 advantage.
Third Quarter
Although without Beebe, the Dallas offense came out on its opening possession of the third quarter and rumbled 70 yards in eight plays to the end zone. Rush hit Turpin on a 16-yard completion and Dowdle picked up 27 yards on a run off right tackle. Scoring the touchdown, though, was Brandin Cooks on a 3-yard catch, his second in as many games since returning from a knee injury.
And the big men up front kept moving people. After safety Malik Hooker corralled his second interception of the season at the Dallas 17-yard line, the Cowboys were able to work their way across midfield as the third quarter came to a close.
Fourth Quarter
The drive, though, was hampered by a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty, but the Dallas offense reached the Cincinnati 29-yard line after Dowdle burst up the middle for a 14-yard gain on the last play of the third. That left it to Aubrey to open up the fourth with a 47-yard field goal to give the Cowboys' a 20-17 lead.
But it didn't last long. Burrow and company wasted no time evening the score again. Cincinnati managed to reach the Dallas 10-yard line, but on third-and-2, a pass to Tee Higgins in the end zone was well-covered by cornerback DaRon Bland, the ball falling incomplete. The Bengals then had to settle for a 29-yard field goal.
With the defense on both sides taking control, the Cowboys thought they were getting the ball back when Cincinnati was forced to punt right after the two-minute warning. But although Dallas' Nick Vigil was able to partially block the punt, the ball traveled 13 yards. And that's where Amani Oruwariye touched the ball trying to recover it. When he was unable to, the Bengals fell on the prize to retain possession.
Three snaps later, Burrows threw a short pass to Chase, who then raced down the right sideline 40 yards for the touchdown, giving the Bengals the 27-20 lead. The Cowboys had one more shot, taking possession with 1:01 remaining on the clock, but Rush's pass attempt to Jake Ferguson on fourth-and-7 at the Dallas 48-yard line sailed high, game over.
