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          NFL Nation

          Bengals' gutsy win vs. Raiders showed blueprint for making playoffs in AFC

          • Ben Baby, ESPN Staff WriterNov 23, 2021, 11:00 AM
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              Ben Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN's NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor's degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).
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          LAS VEGAS -- The relief the Cincinnati Bengals sought after two straight losses didn’t come until late on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders.

          On a pivotal third-down play in the fourth quarter, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow found rookie wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase open in the back left corner in the end zone. The touchdown all but eliminated the drama in what eventually turned into a 32-13 win.

          But don’t be fooled by the final score. It wasn’t always pretty and easy for Cincinnati. The same could be said for two fellow AFC North rivals, the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns, two teams that also gutted out victories.

          That’s what it will take in order for Cincinnati to make the playoffs for the first time in 2015. And after the game, Bengals coach Zac Taylor was more than thrilled to end his team's losing streak.

          “I’m really proud of the way this team won the game, because one of the biggest things about playing a 17-game regular season is you’ve got to learn from all your games, good and bad, wins and losses,” Taylor said after the game.

          The Bengals’ recent tailspin that put them squarely in the midfield of a jam-packed AFC playoff race started with the inability to put away a sputtering team. On Oct. 31, the Bengals were up 11 points in the fourth quarter against a New York Jets team playing without its starting quarterback. A Joe Burrow interception and two passing touchdowns from Jets back-up Mike White led to a 34-31 loss.

          Cincinnati (6-4) was in position of letting another win slip away against a reeling Raiders (5-5) team playing under an interim coach.

          Before Burrow’s touchdown to Chase, the offense had stalled, much like it has most of the season. But rookie Evan McPherson became the first kicker this season to hit three field goals of 50 yards or more in a single game. Those points allowed Cincinnati to stay ahead in the fourth quarter even after the Raiders had a three-play touchdown drive, Las Vegas’ only good offensive moments of the day.

          Finding ways to pull out wins was a theme across the AFC North in Week 11.

          The Ravens, without starting quarterback Lamar Jackson, escaped with a 16-13 victory over a 3-7 Chicago Bears team that lost rookie starting quarterback Justin Fields to a rib injury in the first half. For the Browns, things got a little too snug in a 13-10 win over the winless Detroit Lions, who started backup QB Tim Boyle for an injured Jared Goff.

          The Pittsburgh Steelers represent the other side of the situation. One week after they tied the Lions and became the only team unable to beat Detroit, they squandered a fourth-quarter comeback in a 41-37 defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers.

          The Bengals avoided a similar outcome and were able to keep pace with the other teams vying for one of the AFC’s seven playoff berths.

          “We knew exactly what kind of game it was going to be, and it worked out the way that we thought it did,” Burrow said of a game that featured 30 carries and two rushing touchdowns from running back Joe Mixon.

          If the season ended today, Cincinnati would be slotted into a wild card berth.

          But the playoff push is just getting started. The Bengals have seven games remaining, six of which are against conference opponents.

          The upcoming game against the Steelers (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET on CBS) is a prime opportunity to create some separation for Taylor's team as December approaches.