Cowboys make wild blunder on blocked punt, hand ball back to Bengals late in 4th quarter

The Dallas Cowboys (5-8) suffered a 27-20 defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals (5-8) on Monday Night Football, thanks in part to a special teams blunder late in the fourth quarter.

With the game tied at 20 apiece, the Cowboys’ defense made a timely stop, forcing the Bengals to punt the ball away with two minutes remaining. Linebacker Nick Vigil made what looked to be the play of the game, coming in untouched to block the punt. The ball took a big bounce and rather than allow a Bengals player to touch the ball to bring an end to the play, cornerback Amani Oruwariye attempted to catch it off the bounce.

Oruwariye failed to bring the ball in. It was recovered by a Bengals special teamer, giving Cincinnati possession and a chance at redemption.

The Cowboys blocks the punt… but it was then touched by a Dallas player… and then recovered by the Bengals 🤯

Chaos. @Bengals ball pic.twitter.com/Uw0l4ebH3v

— NFL (@NFL) December 10, 2024

Cincinnati did not waste its gifted opportunity. Three plays later, quarterback Joe Burrow found receiver Ja’Marr Chase for a 40-yard game-winning score. Leon Lett, anyone?

Cowboys lose in heartbreaking fashion on MNF

It’s a brutal way to lose a football game as you can imagine. The Cowboys would have been a few plays away from a Brandon Aubrey field goal attempt to win the game. Instead, they are losers at home for the sixth time in seven games at AT&T Stadium this season.

Several players were distraught on the sideline including linebacker Micah Parsons, who walked off the field in disbelief.

Micah Parsons left the field before time expired at the end of Bengals-Cowboys. pic.twitter.com/UoIOsHTz46

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 10, 2024

Team owner Jerry Jones watched it all unfold from his suite, and later commented on the play that ultimately decided the outcome.

“I was really devastated by the turn of events on the blocked kick,” Jones said, via Pat Doney of NBC DFW. “Obviously, we had a blocked kick called and made the play. … I don’t know that we say anything to him [Oruwariye]. Just, we made the mistakes out there — that mistake we made at the end was very impactful is all I can say.”