The Bengals rallied behind quarterback Andy Dalton (315 yards, two touchdowns) to tie the score, 31-31, with 1:08 to play on a 43-yard field goal by kicker Mike Nugent.
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Two NFL powerhouses square off on Sunday Night Football tonight- the 8-1 Cincinnati Bengals and 7-2 Arizona Cardinals- in a game that was flexed out of their afternoon time slot in order to play on the big stage in prime time. The second, a 10-yarder, cut it to 31-28 with 3:44 to play.
Connor: The Cardinals boast one of the best secondaries in the NFL, while the Bengals possess one of the league’s most dynamic passing attacks. Shake off that late 31-21 deficit, get out of the desert with a gritty win, and they would have gone a long way toward changing the narrative, or deleting it completely.
Following another strong defensive stand, the Cardinals used a 36-yard pass from Palmer to Nelson to set up their third touchdown of the quarter, a 16-yard pass from Palmer to rookie running back David Johnson.
The Cardinals ended all speculation when at the end of their 6 play, 70 yard game-winning drive, Catanzaro came in and booted a 34 yard field goal through the uprights. And if their early jump does cause an opposing jump, that isn’t considered unsportsmanlike conduct – just an offsides, worth five yards.
“This is not just another game”, Palmer said.
The Cincinnati Bengals were penalized for a season-high 108 yards and victimized for four touchdown passes by former quarterback Carson Palmer while surrendering a season-high 34 points Sunday night at Arizona. Had there been a false start, the kick would have been pushed back instead and the game could have wound up in overtime. For the first time this season, Dalton did not throw a touchdown pass.
The Bengals were able to come back in the fourth, however, spurred on by another Hill TD and another Eifert score sandwiched around a field goal from Arizona. If there was a message to be delivered by the Cardinals, even after coming from behind to beat the Seahawks last week, it was finally sent Sunday night: At 8-2, and with speed to burn, Arizona will be a force that can upend the NFC and perhaps more in the playoffs. “I don’t know if “set” sounds like ‘hike” to them”, Peko said.
The Cincinnati Bengals overcame a penalty-plagued first half to seize a 14-7 halftime lead at Arizona.
Dalton completed 22 of 38 passes for a season-low 197 yards with one interception.
“I’m disappointed in him for the integrity of this game”.
As bad as Palmer was in the first half, he was just as good, if not better, in the second half. Other teams blitz better, but this is as good as we’re going to see from this group. There were those that thought Bernard should have been handed the ball on third-and-two from the Cards 25 with 1:14 left and the Bengals trailing, 31-28. “I trust our guy to be honest with me”.
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The Bengals forced the Cardinals to punt on their next possession and got the ball back with 9:01 left on their own 17, but Dalton fumbled on third-and-10 when he was hit by Markus Golden and Deone Bucannaon recovered it out of the air at the Bengals 10. With Jones out, 2014 first-round pick Darqueze Dennard made his first career start….
