The fight for the last spot in the AFC came down to the final 2 minutes of overtime of the Bengals vs Broncos week 17 matchup. But the Broncos had the above hand. They already had a 9-6 win-loss record. Joe Burrow’s Bengals were coming from a 7-8 record. As expected, an intense battle happened on the gridiron.

Had the Broncos even tied the game, they would have gone into the playoffs. Joe Burrow and Bo Nix were out there, fighting to get the winning points. Both made plenty of mistakes in the game. But Joe Cool won in the overtime, 30-24. His fans were ecstatic. They live to fight one more time. But the fight for the last playoff spot hasn’t ended. The Broncos can also go through, but they need to win.

Both teams gave tough competition to each other. At halftime, the scores read 7-3 in favor of Bengals. But by the end of the 3rd quarter, it was equalized to 10 each. In the 4th quarter, with 1 minute 29 seconds remaining in the game, Joe Burrow took his team ahead 24-17. But the fans and analysts slammed him down for getting over-enthusiastic.

Everyone wanted him to run the clock, but he didn’t. He scored the touchdown and celebrated it by doing that little dance. Their fans in the stands also cheered, hoping they had gone through. But the rookie had other plans. With 14 seconds remaining on the clock, he took a few steps back before making a 25-yard pass to Marvin Mims, who caught it in the end zone despite being under pressure from the Bengals’ defense, taking the score to 24-24.

So the game went to overtime. That’s when the fans’ hearts were pounding. 10 minutes of make or break. It was intense.

Joe Burrow leads Bengals to an ecstatic win

Both teams lost possessions before the Bengals kicker Cade York got a chance to score the winning points from 33 yards at the 2:49 mark. Doink! His kick hit the sidebar and came back. Not ending with a field goal, he was stunned. But the Broncos‘ players raised their arms in excitement.

At last., Tee Higgins came to their rescue. Joe Burrow made a 30+ yard pass, but the receiver caught it. He slipped, but the ball was caught inbound. With 1 minute and 7 seconds remaining, the QB made a left pass to Higgins, who again caught it. Broncos CB Riley Moss rolled him, but he had grabbed the ball.

With this win, Joe Burrow has kept the hopes of the other 2 contesting teams alive too. The Colts and the Dolphins also have playoff chances if they win the remaining 2 games. For Bo Nix, he now has to win the last game at any cost. They cannot afford to play for the tie again. Otherwise, they could be eliminated.

Feeling the adrenaline rush from the victory, Higgins threw the ball high in the sky. It might have landed in the crowd. But Joe Burrow and the Bengals are happy. They have one more game to go on Jan 5 against the Steelers. And their playoff hopes are still alive.