Gutsy Joe Flacco, deemed questionable with an injured AC joint in his throwing shoulder, came oh-so close to leading one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history Sunday when his nine-yard touchdown pass to Andrei Iosivas gave the Bengals the 42-41 lead with 54 seconds left after trailing by 15 points with under two minutes left at Paycor Stadium.

But Bears rookie tight end Colston Loveland pin-balled through would-be tacklers to complete a 58-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Caleb Williams with 17 seconds left in Chicago's dizzying 47-42 win.

Flacco threw for a career-high 470 yards, the fourth most in Bengals history while sifting 31 of 47 for four touchdowns and two interceptions. He fired a 23-yard touchdown pass to tight end Noah Fant and then hit wide receiver Tee Higgins for the two-point conversion with 1:43 left before Oren Burks recovered an onside kick and the Bengals down, 41-35.

Joseph Ossai's block of Bears kicker Cario Santos' 47-yard field goal try ended a just as wild first half that began with Charlie Jones' 98-yard touchdown return on the opening kickoff. It marked the first time in history the Bengals opened a home game with a kick return touchdown. The Bengals raced to a 20-17 halftime lead despite having the ball for only 10:36 in the first half.

NOTES

Jones Opens Game With 98-Yard Return

Charlie Jones returned the game's opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown to give Cincinnati an early 7-0 lead. It was the longest kickoff return in the NFL this season, and marked Jones' second career touchdown on a kick return. His first such touchdown came in Week 7 of the 2024 season, when he had an 100-yard return on the opening kickoff of Week 7 at Cleveland.

Jones is the first player in Bengals history with multiple kickoff returns of 98 or more yards. He is the third Bengal ever with multiple touchdowns on kick returns, joining Tremaine Mack and Brandon Wilson, who each also had two.

The 98-yard runback is tied for the sixth-longest kickoff return in Bengals history.

Tee Extends Home TD Streak, Reaches 5K Yards

Tee Higgins reached over a Bears defensive back to bring in a Flacco deep ball and raced to the end zone for a 44-yard touchdown late in the first half. The score gave Cincinnati a 20-17 lead. Higgins finished the day with seven receptions for 121 yards and two touchdowns.

Higgins now has a touchdown in each of his last nine games played at Paycor Stadium, dating back to Week 5 of last season. He is the third player in NFL history to score a receiving TD in nine consecutive home games played, joining former Minnesota receiver Cris Carter, who had a 10-game streak spanning from the 2000-01 seasons, and former San Francisco receiver Jerry Rice, who logged a nine-game streak during the 1989-90 campaigns.

On the play, Higgins surpassed 5,000 career receiving yards. Playing in his 79th regular-season game, he became the fifth-fastest player in Bengals history to reach the 5K milestone. The Cincinnati players to accomplish that feat in fewer games are Ja'Marr Chase (58 games), A.J. Green (63), Chad Johnson (70) and Cris Collinsworth (71).

Higgins has touchdowns of exactly 44 yards in back-to-back games, following his score in Week 9 against the Jets.

Higgins Doubles Up to Grab Third-Quarter Lead

Higgins caught a pinpoint pass from Flacco near the goal line and extended his arms to break the plane, giving Cincinnati a 27-24 lead in the third quarter. It marked his 40th career receiving touchdown, which ranks as the seventh-most in team history and tied for 11th in the NFL since he entered the league in 2020.

Higgins now has seven career games with multiple touchdown catches. His last multi-touchdown game was in Week 17 of last season against Denver, when he had three in Cincinnati's overtime win.

Money Mac Reaches 500 Points

With his 41-yard field goal to put the Bengals ahead 10-7 in the first quarter, Evan McPherson surpassed 500 career points. He became the sixth player in team history to reach the 500-point milestone.

Playing in his 70th career regular-season game, McPherson became the third-fastest kicker in Bengals history to record 500 points. The only players do hit that mark in fewer games were Shayne Graham and Mike Nugent, who each did it in their 68th appearance in stripes.

McPherson also delivered an onside kick that was recovered by Burks with under two minutes to go in the contest, marking just the second successful onside kick in the NFL this season.

Flacco Hits Iosivas for Go-Ahead Score

After finding Noah Fant for a touchdown and Higgins for a two-point conversion to cut the lead to six, the Bengals got the ball back after a successful onside kick and drove right down the field. Flacco hit WR Andrei Iosivas for a touchdown with 54 seconds remaining to give Cincinnati the lead. It was Iosivas' first touchdown of the season.

Flacco finished with four touchdowns through the air. His 470 yards in the game set a new career high.

Extra Points

• Joseph Ossai recorded his second career blocked field goal at the end of the first half, when he tipped Cairo Santos' 47-yard attempt to preserve a 20-17 Bengals lead. Ossai's first blocked field goal came in Week 13 of last season against Pittsburgh.
• Tight end Tanner Hudson's 33-yard catch in the third quarter was the longest reception of his career.
• Defensive end Cedric Johnson made his season debut on Sunday after spending the first eight games of the season on the Reserve/Injured list with a calf injury.
• The announced attendance figure for Sunday's game was 66,264, marking the 12th-largest announced home crowd in Bengals history.

QUOTES

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