Jake Browning found Chase Brown for a screen pass that turned into a 54-yard touchdown before connecting with Tanner Hudson for another score as the Cincinnati Bengals beat the visiting Indianapolis Colts 34-14 on Sunday.
Browning, who has filled in since Joe Burrow’s season-ending wrist injury in Baltimore on Nov. 16, finished 18-for-24 for 275 yards and one interception along with a rushing score.
Browning became the second Bengals quarterback to leave mid-game due to an injury to his throwing hand when he left holding his right thumb with just over 14 minutes left in the fourth quarter. But minutes later, it was announced that Browning was probable to return with muscle cramps in his right thumb.
Joe Mixon ran for 79 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries as the Bengals (7-6) won their second straight game after a three-game losing streak and kept their playoff hopes alive heading into the final four weeks of the season.
Gardner Minshew II finished 26-of-39 passing for 240 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Colts (7-6), who had their four-game winning streak snapped.
The Bengals made the big play on their second drive when Browning found Brown on a screen pass. Brown did the rest by racing 54 yards and eluding a would-be tackler at the Indianapolis 5 before running into the end zone for the rookie’s first career touchdown.
Cincinnati made it 14-0 on Mixon’s 1-yard run with 10:18 remaining in the second quarter.
The Bengals were in complete control until a personal foul changed the momentum. With the Colts facing third-and-14, Minshew completed a 9-yard pass. But Trey Hendrickson shoved Minshew to the ground and was flagged for roughing the passer.
Instead of a three-and-out, the Colts put together 14 more plays for a 79-yard drive, capped by a 2-yard lob pass to tight end Mo Alie-Cox in the back of the end zone on fourth-and-1 to put Indianapolis on the board.
Matt Gay, who earlier missed a 38-yard field goal off the left upright, missed the extra point to leave it 14-6 Cincinnati.
On the next drive, Browning’s second-down pass was off target and went off the hands of tight end Hudson and into the arms of Ronnie Harrison Jr. The Colts safety returned it 36 yards for a touchdown, giving the Colts 14 points in 25 seconds and tying the game at 14-14 after a two-point conversion.
But Browning recovered to start the third quarter, directing a 75-yard drive in six plays, ending with his slant pass to Hudson from 11 yards out. It was Hudson’s first career touchdown.
Browning added his 1-yard rushing score late in the third before Evan McPherson tacked on 32- and 35-yard field goals in the fourth.
–Field Level Media
