Trump's election helping his Criminal Cases

 

While traveling to the AFC playoffs, an amusing incident occurred.

With wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase contributing a Pro Bowl performance, backup quarterback Jake Browning of the Bengals played the game of his life, leading the team to an incredible 34-31 overtime triumph over the much fancied Jaguars.

Evan McPherson, who had not scored a walkoff since the 2021 AFC Championship Game, broke the sixth and final tie with a 48-yard field goal with 1:50 remaining.

To set up a third-and-one from the Jags 32, Browning calmly converted a third-and-ten against the blitz to wide receiver Tee Higgins. He then flipped the ball to Chase to put them in field goal range. 

Joe Mixon, the running back, made a big hit for the first down, and Browning was able to capitalize on his incredible 354-yard performance by throwing 32 of 37 darts to set up McPherson.

This season's most ties in an NFL game occurred in the classic.

Additionally, in overtime, a 42-yard pass from Jaguars backup quarterback C.J. Beathard to wide receiver Calvin Ridley was knocked out by left end Sam Hubbard's pass rush, which resulted in a holding flag and the Bengals 2 point advantage. That resulted in a punt and the subsequent penalty.

In the last 2:28 of regulation in a December battle of backups, Beathard also had a voice. Following the Jags' recovery of a fumble on the opening play, Beathard dunked and dinked the ball down the middle of the field beneath the Bengals' zone. Travis Etienne Jr., the Jags' running back, scored a massive 19-yard touchdown to set up Brandon McManus' game-winning 40-yard touchdown with 28 seconds remaining.

Using his best Joe Burrow impression, Browning recorded his first 300-yard performance, going 28 of 32 for 318 yards. After matching Burrow's Oct. 29 87.5% in San Francisco, he finished at 86%, which tied for seventh place in Bengals history. In regulation, Chase completed nine passes for 124 yards before going on to complete 11 for 149, and Mixon ran 63 yards on 14 rushes before finishing with 68 on 19. 

Burrow's 2023 high is six yards less than Browning's 354 yards.

Late in regulation, Browning scrambled for 21 yards, and he persevered through two false starts and a sack by Josh Allen to recover eight yards on a pass to Tyler Boyd, the wide receiver. After he almost missed from 57 early in the game, that set up McPherson's 54-yard field goal with 2:28 remaining to give the Bengals a 31-28 lead. McPherson is now 7-for-12 from 50 this season.

It was made possible by McManus' misplaced 48-yard field goal immediately following Bengals right end With 5:25 remaining, Trey Hendrickson went after Jags quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Walker Little, a left tackle, stepped on Lawrence's foot while Hendrickson was working against him, and Lawrence hobbled off the field with an ankle injury, giving way to Beathard.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor went for it when Chase hit a third-and-three across the middle at the Jags 5, just like he did all night long. With 9:27 remaining in the game, Browning went back to Chase over the middle, and the latter made an incredible fourth-and-three grab (his tenth of the game) for a first down at the 4. This set the stage for Browning to sneak in the touchdown that tied the score at 28.

During the first series of the second half, Browning followed through on his promise to go to Chase when he was in a one-on-one situation. The Bengals were up 76 yards to score when Chase bullied CB Tyson Campbell down the left sideline and Browning got it to him in front. 

Chase reached 1,000 yards for the third time in his three seasons as a result, and on his seventh reception of the game, he gained over 100 yards for the game (104), his fifth 100-yard play of the year. Browning scored an incredible 19 of 21 for 261 yards and a 134.3 passer rating as a result.

But then, in a matter of only 17 seconds, the Bengals were dealt a crushing blow by back-to-back plays.

Lawrence lofted a pass in the back of the end zone as the Bengals led, 21–14, and he was staring at a third-and–nine from the Bengals 14. Parker Washington, a wide receiver, was cut down by Bengals safety Dax Hill, who then made the interception. 

On the first snap following the kickoff at their 25, the Bengals attempted their second double pass of the game; Browning flicked it to Boyd on the left side, and Boyd attempted to throw it across the field to Mixon, but Josh Allen picked it off in the middle to set up a nine-yard touchdown drive that put the Jags ahead, 28-21, with 3:13 remaining in the third quarter. In that second half, Chase Brown clicked off their longest run of the season, a 31-yarder. Still, the touchdown drive was the first of Washington's career on a night on which he had his first six NFL catches. 

Under the lights, Browning was really impressive. He completed 17 of 19 passes for 178 yards in the first half, earning a sparkling passer rating of 105.7. This allowed Mixon to go on two touchdown runs on the ground, tying the score at 14 points at halftime.

Mixon ran it seven times for 27 yards in the first half, adding 37 more yards on two catches, one week after he had only managed 16 yards on eight attempts.

And when he broke free on third-and-a-long yard to hit Mixon for the first, it was Mixon Browning who was discovered on a pass. Then, on third-and-five, with running back Trayveon Williams next to him for pass protection and tight end Drew Sample in front of him, Browning timed up a 10-yard out route at the Jags 19 to Boyd just as the two-minute warning sounded. With 64 seconds remaining in the half, Mixon came in from two to tie the game, but not before Browning went under center, rolled out, and hit Sample for nine. With that, Mixon's career total of 46 running touchdowns surpassed Corey Dillon to take second place on the Bengals' all-time chart.

After being halted by cornerback Darious Williams and safety Andrew Wingard, Mixon finished the drive with a classic second-effort on a six-yard touchdown run. Browning had fired to tie the Bengals at seven on a drive in which he went four of four for 80 yards. Mixon turned left as Chase moved forward directly behind Browning.

Chase made a spectacular leaping catch on the sidelines, bringing in a one-hander when he trapped the ball against the shield on his face mask for a 17-yard gain. It was a critical play on third-and-four from the Bengals 14. Browning got going after that. After getting under center, he rolled out for a 24-yard seed to Trenton Irwin, the wide receiver, and then connected Higgins for a 14-yard slant after drilling a 20-yard seam pass to tight end Tanner Hudson.

But after a holding penalty put Lawrence on third-and-six, an error on the ensuing drive allowed the Jags seize the lead again. Five plays after Hendrickson was flagged for being in the neutral zone, the Jags scored.

The previous two were on the big plays that have plagued the Bengals defense for the past two weeks. With 6:24 remaining in the half, the Jags took a 14-7 lead after Lawrence found the wide-open Ridley for 21 yards. The next play, he hit tight end Evan Engram on a 22-yard bubble screen for a touchdown down the left sideline. The wide receivers did a great job of holding off cornerbacks DJ Turner and Dax Hill.

However, Lawrence finished the half 10 of 13 for 117 yards after rookie safety Jordan Battle knocked down one potential long pass. Mixon gained 28 yards on a screen against the blitz, and the double-barreled backfield succeeded when rookie Chase Brown high-stepped to a 15-yard pass behind Orlando Brown, the left tackle. They moved to the Jags 35, but Browning lost seven yards after both of them stumbled as Chase attempted a throwback pass to him on a misdirection sweep. The Bengals threw to Chase at the line of scrimmage early in a bid to pry him loose, but he only managed five receptions for 11 yards, and McPherson's 57-yard field goal attempt struck the crossbar.

In addition to a face-mask penalty called on the Jags, the Bengals' first possession ended around midfield. However, they were unable to overcome a third-and-seven and a four-yard loss on first down after a swing pass to Chase over the middle that was suffocated for four yards by Darious Williams. 

On fourth and three from the Jaguars 44, they tried for it, but Browning was unable to find anyone open. The Jags took over at their 49 when seven defenders descended to surround Chase. Chase took a sack.

Against a Bengals defense that had given up 17 throws of at least 20 yards in the previous three games, Lawrence did not hang around. Lawrence found wide receiver Christian Kirk in between linebacker Germaine Pratt and Battle on his first snap of the season, which resulted in a 26-yard gain.

Kirk suffered a groin ailment before the game, and later in the drive, Pratt set up a fourth down by pulling his arm back from the first-down marker as Lawrence scrambled on third-and-three. Lawrence did, however, convert to set up the touchdown.