The Cincinnati Bengals gave their all in a high-scoring affair against the Chicago Bears at Paycor Stadium on Sunday. They, however, still ultimately fell short, 47-42, dropping their record to 3-6.
The Bengals failed to stop the Bears in their final drive, wherein Caleb Williams found Colston Loveland for a 58-yard touchdown with 17 seconds left.
Cincinnati had a final chance to steal the win, but Joe Flacco's pass was intercepted by Nahshon Wright, sending the entire venue into a state of despair.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor didn't hide his disappointment after the nail-biting battle.
“It's sick,” said Taylor in a report from ESPN's Courtney Cronin and Ben Baby. “It's sick to lose like that. It's sick.”
“That's what happened. So we gotta own it.”
Did he already say he felt sick?
The Bengals looked like they were already dead in the water after the Bears erected a big lead, 41-27, with only 2:24 remaining in the game. But they roared back to take the advantage, 42-41, with less than a minute left on the clock after back-to-back touchdown passes from Flacco.
Unfortunately, their lead was short-lived, as the Bears stayed composed in the ensuing possession, avoiding a total meltdown.
The wild finish featured three touchdowns and two lead changes in the last two minutes.
The tough loss spoiled arguably the best performance of the 40-year-old Flacco in his colorful career. He went 31-of-47 for a career-high 470 yards and four touchdowns. He remained pragmatic after the frenetic contest.
“I think when you've played a lot of games, the way you lose doesn't make it any worse, necessarily. I think you learn that these games come down to the last minute and you've got to be ready for anything,” said Flacco in the aforementioned report.
The Bengals became the first team in nearly 60 years to lose back-to-back games despite scoring 38 or more points in those contests.
