During training camp, Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor was having a conversation with Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur.
The two coaches became friends when they worked together with the Los Angeles Rams, and they were still about two months away from coaching against each other for the first time. At the time, it wasn’t clear yet whether or not Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers would play for the team this season.
“‘I saw what was going on with your quarterback,’” Taylor said he told LaFleur, “‘And I was hoping by Week 5, maybe he wouldn’t be there.’”
Rodgers was there on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium, but Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow also showed up and matched one of the best quarterbacks in the league. They both were good enough to put their teams in position to win the game multiple times. Due to five missed kicks that could have won the game, both teams had multiple opportunities to win.
But it was Rodgers who led the Packers to a 25-22 win in overtime over the Bengals in front of a crowd of 64,195. Following a missed 49-yard kick by Bengals rookie Evan McPherson, the Packers got the ball with five minutes left in overtime. Rodgers made a 20-yard throw to tight end Marcedes Lewis and a 15-yard throw to Randall Cobb.
Packers kicker Mason Crosby missed his first three chances to win the game, but he made his last one with a 49-yard game-winning kick.
Rodgers, the 2020 NFL MVP, has led the Packers to consecutive NFC Championship Games. With another standout game on Sunday, he took away the Bengals opportunity to make a statement in the playoff race. A 4-1 record would have solidified the Bengals as contenders for a Wild Card spot, but their comeback attempt fell short.
All game, Rodgers beat the Bengals with his ability to make deep throws on the run. In the second quarter, Packers star wide receiver Davante Adams made a contested touchdown catch in a matchup against Bengals cornerback Trae Waynes. In the third quarter, Rodgers completed a 59-yard pass up the middle of the field to Adams to get the Packers to the 6-yard line.
Adams was responsible for nearly two-thirds of the Packers receiving yards in regulation, but the Bengals still got a chance to win the game.
In a loss, Burrow still played one of his most clutch and one of the toughest games of his career.
When Burrow tried to run for a first down on Sunday, he ended up with his hips pointed toward the sky and his helmet pointed toward the end-zone.
After scrambling out of the pocket, Burrow took the second-biggest hit of his career on his third-and-long scramble. He stayed on the ground for a few seconds but then jogged off the field. He didn’t miss a snap.
With 1:07 left in the second quarter, the Packers had a 16-7 lead. On the second play of the Bengals last drive of the half, Burrow scrambled around the pocket for eight seconds. Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase was covered by the safety on his first route, so he adjusted and sprinted to the right sideline.
Burrow and Chase connected for a 70-yard touchdown pass, which made it a one-score game before halftime. Late in the fourth quarter, Burrow led a 13-play, 75-yard drive, and he stepped up with some of his best plays of the year to tie the score at 22.
Burrow put the Bengals in position for the game-winning kick in overtime with a 21-yard pass to Ja’Marr Chase. Following McPherson’s missed kick, Rodgers got the ball last. Crosby made the game-winner as the Bengals didn’t take advantage of an opportunity for a statement win.
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