
The Cincinnati Bengals raised the bar for losing spectacularly with a 47-42 defeat to the Chicago Bears.
Cincinnati allowed a 58-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Williams to rookie Colston Loveland in the final 25 seconds of the game. All the Bengals had to do was tackle Loveland and force Chicago to try and stop the clock and attempt a game-winning field goal.
All they needed was one stop. Wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase said it with a little more emphasis right after the loss.
"One [expletive] stop," Chase said, walking back to the locker room.
“One f***ing stop” Ja’Marr Chase pissed off heading into the locker room after the Bengals 47-42 loss to the Bears. pic.twitter.com/5Em5B5aZzY
— Yanni Tragellis (@yannitragellis) November 2, 2025
Though he didn't score any of the team's 35 points Sunday (the first seven points came from Charlie Jones' opening kickoff return for a touchdown), Chase has been a part of an offense that's scored 80 points in the last two weeks.
The Bengals have no wins to show for it, and it's easy to see why frustration from the All-Pro wideout is shared across the locker room and the fan base alike.
That Cincinnati was even in a position to win was improbable. The Bears held a 41-27 lead with 2:46 remaining thanks to Joe Flacco's first interception as a Bengal. The Bears had a win probability practically touching 100% at that moment, but Flacco got the ball back and found Noah Fant for a touchdown and Tee Higgins for a two-point conversion after only a minute had passed.
Evan McPherson's successful onside kick kept hope alive, and Flacco tossed his fourth TD of the day to Andrei Iosivas with 54 seconds remaining.
Fifty-four seconds is how much time the Bengals had to play defense. The first 29 were fine. Williams threw two incompletions and a 14-yard scramble, forcing Chicago to take its final timeout. Williams still needed to move the ball another 20-ish yards and stop the clock for the Bears to have a reasonable chance at winning, and he took a risk by throwing the ball down the middle of the field to Loveland.
But taking risks against Cincinnati's defense is hardly a risk.
Loveland caught the ball Bengals' 38-yard line and was hit first by safety Jordan Battle at the 35. By evading Battle's tackle attempt, safety Geno Stone's angle was nullified, and Loveland scurried into the end zone.
Colston Loveland 58 yards for the touchdown and win: pic.twitter.com/9Sn9m4NI9V
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 2, 2025
The worst thing that could've reasonably happened was Loveland getting tackled at the 35 with roughly 20 seconds remaining. Williams and the Bears would've had to rush nearly 30 yards to get set and spike the ball before the clock hit triple zeros. Kicker Cairo Santos would've then attempted a field goal beyond 50 yards to win the game, in which he missed an attempt from a shorter distance.
One stop was not the hope for the Bengals; it was the expectation. Despite another horrid day in which they allowed 283 rushing yards(!!!) and 7.6 yards per play, nobody could've possibly predicted a touchdown allowed under those circumstances.
Cincinnati pulled off the impossible in the worst possible way.
The bye week is now upon the Bengals, and it could not have arrived at a better time. Fans will be relieved not to bear witness to another defensive disaster next Sunday, and decisions will surely be considered in the corner offices of Paycor Stadium.
Chase's frustration is only the tip of the iceberg.
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports Cincinnati Bengals, as Ja'Marr Chase speaks for all Bengals fans with 3-word reaction to yet another demoralizing loss.
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