Cincinnati Bengals’ 20-19 close loss to Dallas Cowboys increases playoff difficulty – NFL Recap
The Pittsburgh Steelers conveniently lose their home game to give the Cincinnati Bengals an opportunity to move forward in the playoff race but they could not manage to grab the chance and ended just short of beating the Dallas Cowboys, who took away the
tie 20-19 in their favour in the closing minute.
Dallas Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey scored a 40-yarder to give the team 20-19 win in the closing minute, and this threw away the playoff opportunity for the Bengals. They with 7-6 standing could have moved ahead of the Steelers and become a better contender
for the second wildcard opportunity to enter the postseason. With the loss they tie with the Steelers now.
Interestingly, the Baltimore Ravens, who lead American Football Conference (AFC) North, lost their game too and the position of the division with regard to the playoff scenario remains unchanged. The Ravens apparently are still in control of the division
and can be the first team to reach the playoffs from it.
Bengals offence leader, quarterback Andy Dalton, rued giving clear opportunities to the opposition when the game time was near to its end.
Dalton said:
"Obviously, we would have loved to win today with them losing, and it would have given us a better chance."
The loss is particularly difficult to concede given the Bengals came into a clear margin lead at different occasions but then lost the opportunities. They were in clear advantage in the game because of the home ground, and also because they had three consecutive
wins behind them.
With the loss their playoff chance has also become difficult now, but they do have an outright opportunity to reach in the second round. For this they will need as much luck as they had last year.
They still have to play a game each with their divisional rivals the Baltimore Ravens, who are 9-4 in the division and the Steelers who have to play one with the Bengals and two more games. In addition to their wins, the Bengals must hope their opponents
lose at least one or two games.
A pair of wins will facilitate the Bengals to tie with the Ravens 9-6, well if they lose their games too. A similar scenario they face with regard to their competition with the Steelers. In fact they have a greater chance to move ahead of the Steelers, who
are at the moment 7-6.
The Bengals were an out of blue qualifiers of the second phase in 2011 when the situation on the points table changed all of sudden with an unexpected loss by the New York Jets. They can hope for a similar lucky situation this season but they need to put
up some fight first.
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