Cincinnati 22, New England 18
When: 1:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 24, 2022
Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
Temperature:
17°
Head Official:
Craig Wrolstad
Attendance:
65878
By Field Level Media
Joe Burrow threw for 375 yards and three touchdowns and the Cincinnati Bengals survived a second-half comeback to down the New England Patriots 22-18 on Saturday afternoon in Foxborough, Mass.
After trailing 22-0 in the third quarter, New England (7-8) clawed its way back to within 22-18 with 6:02 left after Jakobi Meyers caught a 48-yard TD pass that had ricocheted off Scotty Washington.
The Patriots had a chance to take their first lead of the game with 59 seconds left to play, but Rhamondre Stevenson fumbled at the Cincinnati 8-yard line to seal the win for the Bengals (11-4), who clinched a playoff berth on Thursday when the Jets lost to Jacksonville.
Burrow completed 40 of 52 passes with a pair of interceptions, one of which was returned for a 69-yard touchdown by Marcus Jones. That pick-six ignited New England's rally, which ultimately came up just short.
Tee Higgins had eight catches for 128 yards and a TD, while Trenton Irwin had a pair of receiving scores for Cincinnati.
Mac Jones threw for 240 yards and two touchdowns on 21-for-33 passing for the Patriots, who have lost two straight and four of their last five. Kendrick Bourne had six catches for 100 yards and a TD, and Meyers finished with six receptions for 83 yards.
Irwin hauled in a 4-yard touchdown pass from Burrow with 14 seconds left in the first half to send Cincinnati into the break with a commanding 22-0 lead.
The Bengals dominated the first 30 minutes of action, outgaining New England 303-70 while also picking up 22 first downs compared to the Patriots' three.
Burrow carved up New England's defense on the game's opening drive, completing 4 of 4 passes for 73 yards, including a 9-yard scoring strike to Higgins. Evan McPherson missed the extra point, though, leaving the Bengals ahead 6-0.
Burrow went on to complete his first 11 pass attempts, with the ninth completion being a 23-yard TD pass down the seam to Irwin. McPherson's kick went wide again, but an unnecessary roughness penalty negated the play. Cincinnati's subsequent two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful.
McPherson redeemed himself with a 28-yard field goal at the beginning of the second quarter to make it 15-0.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Receiving
Cincinnati |
|
New England |
Tee Higgins
|
Player |
Kendrick Bourne
|
8 |
Receptions |
6 |
128 |
Yards |
100 |
16.0 |
Avg Yards |
16.7 |
1 |
Touchdowns |
1 |
39 |
Long |
32 |
Team Stats Summary
|
Yards |
Scoring |
Defense |
Team |
Tot |
Rus |
Pas |
TD |
FG |
INT |
Sck |
FF |
Cincinnati
|
442 |
73 |
369 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
4.0 |
2 |
New England
|
285 |
61 |
224 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
2.0 |
1 |
Upcoming Games
-
New England will play their next game at home against Miami. The Patriots have a W/L % of .429 after a win and .500 after a loss.
-
Cincinnati will play their next game at home against Baltimore. The Bengals have a W/L % of .727 after a win and .750 after a loss.