A perfectly imperfect ending to the most satisfying Bengals game of 2024

The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Dallas Cowboys, in the real game, and the forum just made the victory sweeter. (ESPN Press Room Photo)

By Mike Bass
mbass@mikebasscoaching.com

 
I feel great. I am wearing a Bengals shirt as I write this.  

I have not felt this way after a Bengals game all season.

The first game without the playoffs in mind turned out to be the most satisfying this year. Do you agree?

A meaningless game? Hah!

This is why we keep fanning.

Cincinnati Bengals 27, Dallas Cowboys 20 on Monday Night Football was a moment you craved, a payoff you wanted. It wasn’t about the road to the Super Bowl. It was about a burst of joy after months of heartache, a perfectly imperfect victory with a perfectly imperfect ending.

When it was Dallas 20, Bengals 20, this game looked destined to finish like so many other any other losses. Close but no Burrow victory cigars. Remember those? Wow, that seems so long ago now. Somehow, some way, the Bengals would fold in the end again. Sure enough, here came the disaster.

A blocked punt?

YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!

A Cowboy muff?

WAIT ... WHAT?

A Joe Burrow to Ja’Marr Chase touchdown pass for the lead with a minute left?

DID YOU SEE THAT?

A Trey Hendrickson sack and a defensive stand?

WHO DEY!

These are the moments that keep you coming back.

We talk here a lot about what you can control. You can’t control the Bengals. But you still watch. This is your team. Your Bengals. Your hope. Your faith. 

There are only 17 games a season. Each game means something to you. Each game has context. It isn’t always about playoff implications. This one was about winning on a national stage shared with “The Simpsons” and the Mannings – and about breaking good at the end for once.

A loss would have furthered your agony over this lost season. There was a lot to lament about the Bengals in this game, and you might obsess about that if you still had an eye on a playoff run. But now, who really cares?

The Bengals won. You feel it. You still might. I do. A dramatic victory has a larger payoff. Research shows it.

It makes sense. It’s the chemical rush at the end. You don’t get that in a rout. This victory stays with you. This one ended a season-long series of unfortunate events.

The Bengals were getting hard to watch. I thought about skipping this game. It was a matchup of big underachievers. Dallas had lost Dak Prescott, but had won two in a row. Cincinnati had dropped three straight, but was undefeated against teams with losing records.

I watched.

In the end, I thought the Bengals would lose the way they always lose this season. They didn’t. Maybe they were lucky. Maybe they were due. Maybe they were just good enough to win this one. Sure, let’s go with that one.

I am thrilled I watched. I love how it ended.

I haven’t felt this kind of lift from the Bengals all season. It is the extra boost you can get when you are a fan, when you can stick around and understand the perspective. You can savor moments just like this, in your way.

Now I just need to find my Bengals hat.