Cincinnati Bengals: 3 Reasons for win vs. Ravens in Week 17

1. Fourth-and-12 Connection, For The Win!

Seriously, what else could we end with? Despite having the touchdown scores to open each half AND a quality, turnover-free appearance from Good Andy, Cincinnati still managed to bungle their way into what seemed like another dissatisfying collapse in a season full of them.

The script this team wrote in losses to Green Bay, Tennessee, and Pittsburgh appeared on full display again. A 14-point lead after that Dennard pick-six to open the third quarter evaporated as a depleted defense gave up two touchdowns and a field goal across the Ravens’ next three drives; with Cincinnati punting on their own subsequent drives to those, the lead was officially a deficit entering the home stretch.

The Cincinnati defense finally held up on Baltimore’s next drive though, giving the Bengals the chance for a final inexplicable winning attempt. Down three, all they needed was a field goal to keep the game moving, but things didn’t line up for that. With short gains and some penalty help from Baltimore, the Bengals methodically moved up the field. Things stalled at midfield, however, and with a fourth-and-12 it seemed another sputtering end was inevitable.

That’s when the magic happened.

Dalton had the team quickly line up with three receivers to his right (A.J. Green as a lone WR out left), motions Giovani Bernard in front of him, then starts the play. As he drops back his tackles perfectly handle the edge rush, leaving Dalton plenty of chance to step up and avoid where they were aiming; with plenty of time to look downfield, Dalton finds his target and releases.

The target was Tyler Boyd, and the play went as well as could be hoped for. Boyd was the middle receiver on the right side of the formation; while he ran straight down the seam, his teammates Brandon LaFell wheeled to the sideline and Tyler Kroft angled towards the short middle of the field, respectfully. Their routes left Boyd with space to run free, and all he needed for a first down catch was a properly placed pass from Dalton to him over the head of Baltimore’s C.J. Mosley.

With a good display of blocking from his line (the aforementioned efforts of his tackles, but also his interior guys keeping plenty of space for him to step up in the pocket), Dalton was able to do exactly that. With the quality placement and timing though, this didn’t end as just a first down, however.

Baltimore’s Maurice Canady (No. 26) ended up running a step too far in his recovery on the play; unfortunately for him, he was the only Raven standing between Boyd and the endzone as the wideout turned upfield. The one-step advantage let Boyd get past Canady, and despite attempted tackles by Canady and a recovering Brandon Carr he took the ball all the way into the endzone.

This was the sort of play teams dream of, and the results are huge across the scope of the 2017 season. It may not have put the Bengals in the playoffs, but it knocked out Baltimore in an instant; in their place, a Buffalo team which hadn’t been to the playoffs since the turn of the century.

Next: 2018 NFL Playoffs: Predicting the entire postseason

This play will hold a place in season-ending and playoff qualification lore, right up there with the likes of Nate Poole’s touchdown catch (with the help of the since-removed force-out rule) to deny the 2003 Vikings a spot in that year’s playoffs. It also has been the catalyst for charitable donations, which is an unexpected but awesome bonus.

This season may have been disappointing on the whole, but for a team which had been long eliminated from contention this was about as sweet of an ending as there can be. Remember it fondly Bengals fans.