The ghost of Leon Lett showed up at AT&T Stadium almost 31 years to the day after the Cowboys defensive lineman’s blunder on a blocked Dolphins field goal attempt in the waning seconds that cost Dallas the game.
On Monday night, Cowboys linebacker Nick Vigil blocked Ryan Rehkow’s punt on the play after the two-minute warning in a tie game. Cowboys cornerback Amani Oruwariye tried to pick up the ball and run with it and instead Maema Njongmeta recovered for the Bengals at the Cincinnati 43.
The Cowboys would have had the ball in field goal range for a Brandon Aubrey go-ahead kick. The Bengals instead got another chance and three plays later were in the end zone on a 40-yard catch-and-run by Ja’Marr Chase.
The Bengals escaped with a 27-20 victory, and both teams now are 5-8.
The Bengals got the ball back with 5:31 left and were moving after getting a 19-yard pass interference penalty on Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis, who was trying to cover Chase. But back-to-back holding penalties on wide receiver Andrei Iosivas and left guard Cody Ford left them with a second-and-26, and Cowboys linebacker Marist Liufau sacked Burrow for a 8-yard loss on third-and-19.
But Oruwariye’s miscue gave the Bengals another opportunity, and they capitalized.
The Bengals outgained the Cowboys 433 to 322, with Burrow going 33-of-44 for 369 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Chase caught 14 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns, and Chase Brown ran for 58 yards on 14 carries and caught six passes for 65 yards and a touchdown.
Cooper Rush was 16-of-31 for 183 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for the Cowboys, and Rico Dowdle ran for 131 yards on 18 carries. CeeDee Lamb caught six passes for 93 yards and a touchdown.