National Football League
Cincinnati 22, New England 18
When: 1:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 24, 2022
Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
Temperature: 17°
Head Official: Craig Wrolstad
Attendance: 65878

Joe Burrow threw for 375 yards and three touchdowns and the Cincinnati Bengals survived a second-half comeback to down the New England Patriots 22-18 on Saturday afternoon in Foxborough, Mass.

After trailing 22-0 in the third quarter, New England (7-8) clawed its way back to within 22-18 with 6:02 left after Jakobi Meyers caught a 48-yard TD pass that had ricocheted off Scotty Washington.

The Patriots had a chance to take their first lead of the game with 59 seconds left to play, but Rhamondre Stevenson fumbled at the Cincinnati 8-yard line to seal the win for the Bengals (11-4), who clinched a playoff berth on Thursday when the Jets lost to Jacksonville.

Burrow completed 40 of 52 passes with a pair of interceptions, one of which was returned for a 69-yard touchdown by Marcus Jones. That pick-six ignited New England's rally, which ultimately came up just short.

Tee Higgins had eight catches for 128 yards and a TD, while Trenton Irwin had a pair of receiving scores for Cincinnati.

Mac Jones threw for 240 yards and two touchdowns on 21-for-33 passing for the Patriots, who have lost two straight and four of their last five. Kendrick Bourne had six catches for 100 yards and a TD, and Meyers finished with six receptions for 83 yards.

Irwin hauled in a 4-yard touchdown pass from Burrow with 14 seconds left in the first half to send Cincinnati into the break with a commanding 22-0 lead.

The Bengals dominated the first 30 minutes of action, outgaining New England 303-70 while also picking up 22 first downs compared to the Patriots' three.

Burrow carved up New England's defense on the game's opening drive, completing 4 of 4 passes for 73 yards, including a 9-yard scoring strike to Higgins. Evan McPherson missed the extra point, though, leaving the Bengals ahead 6-0.

Burrow went on to complete his first 11 pass attempts, with the ninth completion being a 23-yard TD pass down the seam to Irwin. McPherson's kick went wide again, but an unnecessary roughness penalty negated the play. Cincinnati's subsequent two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful.

McPherson redeemed himself with a 28-yard field goal at the beginning of the second quarter to make it 15-0.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Cincinnati   New England
Joe Mixon Player Rhamondre Stevenson
16 Attempts 13
65 Yards 30
4.1 Avg Yards 2.3
0 Touchdowns 0
19 Long 7
Receiving
Cincinnati   New England
Tee Higgins Player Kendrick Bourne
8 Receptions 6
128 Yards 100
16.0 Avg Yards 16.7
1 Touchdowns 1
39 Long 32
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Cincinnati 442 73 369 3 1 0 4.0 2
New England 285 61 224 3 0 2 2.0 1
Upcoming Games
  • New England will play their next game at home against Miami. The Patriots have a W/L % of .429 after a win and .500 after a loss.
  • Cincinnati will play their next game at home against Baltimore. The Bengals have a W/L % of .727 after a win and .750 after a loss.