Tee Higgins scores two touchdowns including incredible effort to send game to overtime as Cincinnati Bengals beat Minnesota Vikings 27-24; Jordan Addison has six catches for 111 yards and two scores for Minnesota
Last Updated: 17/12/23 12:50am
Evan McPherson kicked a 29-yard field goal with 3:11 left in overtime as the Cincinnati Bengals came from behind to beat the Minnesota Vikings 27-24 on Saturday night.
Quarterback Jake Browning connected with Tyler Boyd for 44 yards on third-and-nine to move the ball to the Vikings’ 13-yard line to set up the game-winning kick for Cincinnati (8-6).
Before then Tee Higgins caught a pass at the Minnesota one-yard line, where he extended his arm to stretch the ball over the goalline while being tackled by Akayleb Evans for a 21-yard, game-tying touchdown with 39 seconds left in regulation.
Browning finished 29-for-42 passing for 324 yards, two touchdowns with one interception.
The Bengals rallied from deficits of 17-3 and 24-17 in the fourth quarter, scoring 21 points in 15 minutes to force overtime.
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A look at the Cincinnati Bengals’ Tee Higgins’ epic touchdown in the last minute of the game to help them force the game to overtime against the Minnesota Vikings
The hosts stopped Minnesota (7-7) on fourth-and-one at the Cincinnati 42 with 6:12 left in overtime, giving the Bengals, who had the ball to start the extra period, another chance to win the game.
Vikings quarterback Nick Mullens threw a pair of touchdown passes to Jordan Addison, who finished with six catches for 111 yards while Ty Chandler set up Minnesota’s go-ahead score in the fourth quarter with a 30-yard yard run.
Chandler finished with 132 yards on 23 carries and a 1-yard TD run.
Stats leaders:
Minnesota Vikings
- Passing: Nick Mullens, 26/33, 303 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
- Rushing: Ty Chandler, 23 carries, 132 yards, 1 TD
- Receiving: Jordan Addison, 6 catches, 111 yards, 2 TDs
Cincinnati Bengals
- Passing: Jake Browning, 29/42, 324 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
- Rushing: Joe Mixon, 10 carries, 47 yards, 1 TD
- Receiving: Ja’Marr Chase, 4 catches, 64 yards
- Tee Higgins, 4 catches, 61 yards, 2 TDs
Bengals star defensive end Trey Hendrickson was offsides with 6:21 left in the fourth quarter, wiping out a Germaine Pratt pick-6 that would’ve given the Bengals a late lead.
Hendrickson finished with 1.5 sacks and now has 15 for the season, surpassing his official franchise mark of 14 set in 2021.
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BJ Hill produced one of the most bizarre interceptions of the season for a big defensive stop against the Minnesota Vikings
The Bengals did not have the services of star receiver Ja’Marr Chase on Cincinnati’s game-tying drive, as he headed to the locker room with a right shoulder injury. He had four catches for 64 yards.
Before the 13-yard Browning-to-Higgins touchdown connection to open the fourth quarter, the Vikings hadn’t allowed a touchdown since Courtland Sutton’s game-winning score for Broncos at the end of the game on November 19 in Denver.
The Bengals started the scoring with a 34-yard Evan McPherson field goal for a 3-0 lead.
The Vikings then marched 75 yards in 12 plays for their first touchdown in three weeks, with the drive capped by a 1-yard run from Chandler with 2:23 left in the first quarter.
On the drive, the Bengals lost starting nose tackle DJ Reader to a right knee injury, as he was carted off with 7:46 left in the first quarter.
Later in the first quarter, the Bengals lost another defensive player to a knee injury as DJ Ivey was carted to the locker room with a left knee injury while covering a punt.
The Vikings came out of halftime and established a two-score lead when Mullens stood in during a heavy rush and found Addison over the middle. Addison turned it into a 37-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown and a 14-3 Minnesota lead.
Scoring summary
Scoring summary
| FIRST QUARTER | |
|---|---|
| Vikings 0-3 Bengals | Evan McPherson 34-yard field goal |
| Vikings 7-3 Bengals | Ty Chandler one-yard rushing TD (extra point) |
| THIRD QUARTER | |
| Vikings 14-3 Bengals | Nick Mullens 37-yard TD pass to Jordan Addison (extra point) |
| Vikings 17-3 Bengals | Greg Joseph 39-yard field goal |
| THIRD QUARTER | |
| Vikings 17-10 Bengals | Jake Browning 13-yard TD pass to Tee Higgins (extra point) |
| Vikings 17-17 Bengals | Joe Mixon one-yard rushing TD (extra point) |
| Vikings 24-17 Bengals | Nick Mullens one-yard TD pass to Jordan Addison (extra point) |
| Vikings 24-24 Bengals | Jake Browning 21-yard TD pass to Tee Higgins (extra point) |
| FOURTH QUARTER | |
| Vikings 24-27 Bengals | Evan McPherson 29-yard field goal |
What did they say?
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor on QB Browning: “Jake’s just so steady, you know? He really is. He doesn’t get rattled by a negative play. He doesn’t overreact to it.”
Vikings QB Mullens: “An absolute grind of a football game. But those are the types of games you want to be in.”
Bengals QB Browning, who was formerly of the Vikings: “I think right after we made the field goal and won the game, I screamed at camera and said, ‘They never should have cut me’.”
What next?
The Vikings are back in action on Christmas Eve when they host the Detroit Lions, before which the Bengals are on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday.
Make sure you tune in to Sky Sports NFL every Sunday at 6pm for the first game of our triple-header of live action. The evening’s entertainment also includes NFL Redzone action as hosted by Scott Hanson, as well as Sunday Night Football to round off the night.
Sky Sports will broadcast two exclusive live games every Sunday throughout the regular season in the 6pm and 9pm slots, while also showing every Thursday Night, Sunday Night and Monday Night match-up as well as every Christmas Day fixture.
Fans can also watch every minute of the playoffs across January, followed by Super Bowl LVIII at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on February 11.
