Texans rookie quarterback C.J.Stroud won the first edition of the Ohio State air show Sunday at Paycor Stadium when his long-ball game bested Pro Bowl quarterback Joe Burrow and the Bengals, 30-27, on a last-play field goal.
Burrow hooked up with slot receiver Tyler Boyd for a 64-yard catch-and-run to give them a first down at the Texans 7 with 1:53 left. But after Burrow got sacked by the rampaging tackle Sheldon Rankins on first down, he threw a dime to Boyd over the middle on third down and Boyd dropped it in the end zone. Evan McPherson then kicked a 31-yarder to tie it at 27 with 1:33 left.
But the Bengals defense couldn’t get off the field on third-and-six as Stroud hit tight end Dalton Schultz for 25 yards over the middle. Then he hit wide receiver Noah Brown (a 178-yard day) for a 22-yard catch-and-run to set up emergency kicker Matt Amendola’s winning 38-yard field goal as time and the Bengals’ four-game winning streak ran out.
Buttressed by running back, Devin Singletary’s 150 rushing yards on 30 carries, Stroud pitched eight completions of at least 20 yards (the four longest to Brown) and went for 356 in the game on 23 of 39 passing.
Burrow, who threw two fourth-quarter interceptions, fired back with 347 yards on 27 of 40.
Down 27-17, Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt came up with his fourth interception in five games (only Stroud’s second) and his 30-yard return to inside the 5 set up a one-yard touchdown run by running back Joe Mixon to cut it to 27-24 with 3:18 left.
Burrow came in just as hot as Stroud himself with the NFL’s best passer rating and completion percentage and second-most touchdown passes in the last four games and he didn’t disappoint as he flirted with his eighth fourth-quarter comeback.
The Texans ends crashed on Burrow and the middle of the line stunted for one of their four sacks and McPherson cut the lead to 20-10 with three minutes left in the third quarter on a 50-yard field…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at News…