Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase caught the go-ahead four-yard touchdown with 72 seconds left, but Browns rookie kicker Andre Szmyt atoned for his Opening Day miss with a 49-yard field goal at the gun for Cleveland's 20-18 victory in the regular-season finale at Paycor Stadium.

The Bengals' defense throttled Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders and his offense Sunday until the final drive.

The Bengals, who held the Browns to 200 yards, were driving for the go-ahead score on first-and-10 from the Browns 45 with 4:44 left when Cleveland defensive end Myles Garrett barged in from quarterback Joe Burrow's left side to drop him for his NFL-record 23rd sack of the season.

That led to a Bengals punt, and after another Browns' three-and-and-out, Burrow got the ball back for one last time and hit Chase three times in that go-ahead drive to finish 29 of 39 for 239 yards.

The Bengals somehow trailed at halftime, 14-12, despite having the ball for 21:31 and outgaining the Browns, 233-40.

That will happen when the outplayed team scores touchdowns on an interception and a fumble recovery and is the beneficiary of two missed point-after-attempts.

Burrow hit his first five passes, including a four-yard touchdown pass to running back Chase Brown, and had the Bengals on the Cleveland seven-yard line up 6-0. But that's where defensive tackle Shelby Harris tipped a pass, linebacker Devin Bush caught it, and Bush went 97 yards for the touchdown.

Two snaps later, Browns linebacker Jerome Baker knocked the ball out of the hands of Bengals tight end Noah Fant, and cornerback Sam Webb scooped it up for a 47-yard fumble return touchdown.

Burrow finished the first half the way he started it, lobbing a 13-yard touchdown pass that Tee Higgins brought in with one hand. McPherson, who saw his first PAT blocked, sliced this one right.

NOTES

Ja'Marr Concludes Historic First Five Seasons

Chase, who wrapped up his fifth career season on Sunday, officially cemented himself as one of the most productive pass catchers in NFL history through his first five years in the league. Among all players in their first five seasons, he ranks second in receptions (520), second in receiving yards (6,897) and sixth in receiving touchdowns (54).

In the first half of Sunday's game, Chase also surpassed Tyler Boyd (513) for the fourth-most receptions in team history. He additionally ranks fifth in Bengals history in receiving yards and fourth in touchdown catches.

Chase, who logged eight catches for 96 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's season finale, finishes the year with 125 receptions for 1,412 yards and eight touchdowns. His 125 catches led the NFL entering the Week 18 late-afternoon games.

Chase became the fourth player in NFL history with 120 or more receptions in consecutive seasons, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer Cris Carter (1994-95), former Pittsburgh receiver Antonio Brown (2014-15) and former New Orleans receiver Michael Thomas (2018-19). He also is the only player in league history with at least 80 receptions, 1,000 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.

Brown Reaches 1K

With 72 yards on 13 carries in Sunday's game, Brown finishes his third pro season with 232 rushing attempts for a career-high 1,019 yards. It marks his first career 1,000-yard rushing season.

Brown also had 69 receptions for 437 yards this season. His 69 catches are the most ever in a season by a Bengals running back, while his 437 yards are the sixth-most. His 1,456 yards from scrimmage this year also were a career high, and marked the most by a Cincinnati running back since Joe Mixon had 1,519 in 2021.

Higgins Hits Career High

Tee Higgins' one-handed touchdown catch late in the first half marked his career-high 11th scoring catch of the season, surpassing his previous high of 10 in 2024. He is one of three players in Bengals history with double-digit receiving touchdowns in consecutive seasons, joining Carl Pickens (1994-96) and A.J. Green (2012-13).

Higgins' 11 touchdown receptions were tied for second in the NFL this season heading into the late-afternoon slate of Week 18.

Sample, Cross Team Up For Early Takeaway

Cincinnati's defense created the game's first turnover early in the opening quarter, when defensive end Cam Sample knocked the ball free from Sanders as he was leaving the pocket and rookie defensive tackle Howard Cross pounced on it in Browns territory. The play marked Sample's first career forced fumble and Cross' first career recovery.

The Bengals forced at least one turnover in six of their final seven games, dating back to Week 11. Their 12 total takeaways in that span are tied for the most by any team.

Burrow to Brown Puts Bengals on Board

The Bengals' offense capitalized on the short field following the turnover with a four-play, 29-yard drive ending in a four-yard touchdown pass from Burrow to Chase Brown. It marked Burrow's 155th career scoring pass, which moved him ahead of Carson Palmer for sole possession of fourth on Cincinnati's all-time list.

The scoring play also was Brown's 10th career receiving touchdown. His five touchdown catches this season were a career high, surpassing his previous high of four in the 2024 campaign. He finishes this season with 11 total touchdowns (six rushing, five receiving), which matches his career high from last year.

Brown scored eight touchdowns (five rushing, three receiving) over the final five games of the season, the most in the NFL since Week 14.

Extra Points

• The Bengals' defense set its season high with six sacks on Sunday. The last time the Bengals had six sacks was Week 3 of 2023 against the Los Angeles Rams.

QUOTES

"It's a little bit fitting, to be honest with you, in terms of how our season's gone. That doesn't make it right. Several times we had games where we played well in different areas and we just hadn't found a way to put it all together. There have been games these last couple of weeks (where) we had, but this is one we needed to finish off. (This was) a divisional game, and this is how these divisional games go. It comes down to a play at the end (in a) one-score game, and we just weren't able to finish it off," - HC Zac Taylor on the loss...

""I'm really proud of what I did this year. I came back from an injury faster than any human ever has. I'm really proud of that. I played some really good football when back. I had one bad game, and you certainly don't want those, but I won't lose my mind over that. I played some really high-level football." - QB Joe Burrow on coming back and his 2025 season...

*Click to view everything the Bengals said after Week 18...*