ARLINGTON, Texas — Micah Parsons was visibly shaken on the bench after a critical mistake led to a last-minute touchdown by the Cincinnati Bengals, resulting in a 27-20 defeat for the Dallas Cowboys. Overcome with emotion, the star linebacker couldn’t bear to watch as the game slipped away and left the field before the final whistle blew.
The turning point of the match occurred when Joe Burrow connected with Ja’Marr Chase for a go-ahead 40-yard touchdown pass with just over a minute left on the clock. This moment was made possible due to a botched blocked punt by the Cowboys, which negated their chance to secure a victory in the waning moments of the game. “Oh, I hurt,” Parsons expressed in the locker room, searching for the words to adequately describe his feelings. “I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. It’s indescribable.”
Moments before the Bengals’ winning play, Dallas was set to regain possession with the game tied after the two-minute warning. However, Nick Vigil managed to block Ryan Rehkow’s punt. Amani Oruwariye attempted to field the bouncing ball, but his failure to secure it allowed Maema Njongmeta of the Bengals to recover at the Cincinnati 43-yard line with just 1:53 remaining. Following this, Burrow and Chase connected three plays later, leading to the pivotal score that left the Cowboys with little time to respond. Dallas only managed to reach their own 48-yard line before turning the ball over on downs with 24 seconds remaining.
With a record of 5-8, the Cowboys’ aspirations for a playoff return look bleak. They entered this match on a two-game winning streak after previously experiencing a five-game losing streak. “This one hurt me more than any loss this year, probably even worse than a playoff loss,” Parsons remarked, highlighting the team’s unfortunate trajectory at a critical point in the season. “We were playing good football, and I’ll have to sit with this for a while. But I need to keep these guys in good spirits. There’s still more football left to play.”
The incident with Oruwariye echoed a similar fateful moment from the Cowboys’ history — the infamous play by Leon Lett during a snow-covered Thanksgiving Day in 1993. In that game, Lett’s attempt to recover a blocked field goal allowed the Miami Dolphins to score and win in the final seconds. That day, the disappointment quickly overshadowed any celebration, and while those Cowboys went on to win multiple Super Bowls, the current team is struggling without key players, including quarterback Dak Prescott and right guard Zack Martin. Prescott is recovering from a torn hamstring, while Martin will undergo season-ending ankle surgery next week.
Owner Jerry Jones acknowledged the emotional weight of the team’s recent performance. “That locker room is really devastated by the turn of events on the blocked kick,” he said. “We all thought that a blocked kick was our chance, and it turned out to have the opposite effect.” Special teams coach John Fassel urged players to stay clear of the ball after the punt was blocked, but Oruwariye jumped in to retrieve it, leading to the devastating turnover.
Teammates rallied around Oruwariye in the locker room, as others, including Jourdan Lewis and special teams player C.J. Goodwin, shielded him from the media following the game. “None of us played a perfect game. We can’t judge anyone based on a single decision,” Lewis said in defense of Oruwariye. Head Coach Mike McCarthy acknowledged the frustration felt by the players but understood their emotional attachment to the game. “Those guys poured their hearts out tonight. Everybody’s disappointed, and rightly so,” McCarthy added.
