Bengals' game-changing play from win over Panthers wasn't even intended to work out the way it did
Six seconds left in the first half. One yard to go. No timeouts remaining. The Cincinnati Bengals either needed to find the end zone, or leave enough time for a chip shot field goal to take the lead over the Carolina Panthers before halftime. The worst possible outcome is a play ending short of the […]
Six seconds left in the first half. One yard to go. No timeouts remaining. The Cincinnati Bengals either needed to find the end zone, or leave enough time for a chip shot field goal to take the lead over the Carolina Panthers before halftime. The worst possible outcome is a play ending short of the end zone in bounds.
It nearly happened if it wasn't for Zack Moss' agility.
Moss caught a swing pass from Joe Burrow, broke former Bengals safety Nick Scott's low-tackle after nearly tripping over his own feet, and extended the ball over the goal line for a much-needed six points.
And it was all a surprise, quite literally, for Moss.
Zack Moss was caught off guard before making his crucial play
After the game, Moss revealed to reporters that the play wasn't intended to go to him. It was all Burrow making the decision in a split-second.
"Definitely not designed to go to me at all, caught me off guard," Moss admitted. "Joe just decided to trust me in that moment, and I was able to get in and make a play."
Burrow himself confirmed the play's original design wasn't to have Moss make a play with the ball in his hands, but the trust he has in him paid off.
"Yeah, I trust in Zack to go make that play," Burrow said. "I thought he had enough space. Not my best decision, but it worked out for us."
The importance of this play cannot go understated. Moss, who played 40 snaps on the day, caught the ball at the six-yard line with fewer seconds remaining on the clock. The half ends if he's tackled within the next five yards, and the Bengals don't get a seven-point cushion in a game that ended in a 10-point difference favoring them.
Not the best time to lose your balance, but it also helped Moss breakaway from Scott at the same time. Scott dove at his knees just as soon as he regaining his footing, and the Panthers were unable to rally at him.
The Bengals would've been a much more precarious situation without the heads-up play Moss made. The entire fourth quarter would've been vastly different without the seven-point lead Cincinnati held during the offense's final drive of the game when Moss and Chase Brown helped drain the clock. Evan McPherson's field goal extended the lead to 10, which made it nearly impossible for Carolina to come back in the final minute of the game. Had it been a three-point lead, the Bengals' defense wasn't in a great position to keep the Panthers out of scoring range.
Who knows? Maybe an 0-4 record would be the reality without it.
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