The Cincinnati Bengals delivered a masterclass in how to coach bad situational football against Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos in a game they had to win to stay alive in the postseason. As the Bengals headed for what appeared to be a game-winning drive, their execution was so poor that it hurt running back Chase Brown.

Cincinnati tried to run out the clock after getting the ball into the Broncos’ red zone. That means hitting the rock with Brown.

As Brown tried to stop himself, his leg curled back at an awkward angle. Brown was then removed from the game. Not only was Brown injured, but the Broncos didn’t even have to use their last timeout after the game was stopped to tend to him. He had to miss the game due to an ankle injury.

In an even more baffling move that defines head coach Zac Taylor’s decision, the Bengals chose not to run out the clock after Denver called their final timeout. Burrow managed to sneak in for a one-yard touchdown run that gave Cincinnati a 24-17 lead.

Bengals RB Chase Brown injures his leg while trying to run out the clock against the Bengals

Brown has been on fire since his promotion to the starting lineup. Since Week 4, when Brown began earning the lion’s share of snaps and touchdowns in the backfield, the Illinois alum has put up numbers that would put him on pace for over 1,500 yards of offense in a 17-game season.

While the severity of Brown’s injury is unknown, playing in a competitive Week 18 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers with a disabled or limping running back in Brown could be the difference between a competitive performance and humiliation.

The Bengals’ wafer-thin defense once again gave them problems. After getting the ball back, Nix led his team down the field on a game-winning drive that ended with a beautiful throw into the end zone that tied the game at 24-24. The Bengals have themselves to blame for this mess.

With Brown injured, Taylor scoring multiple points against one of the better defenses in the league, and a terrible second half performance that made Nix look like John Elway, this certainly wasn’t a stellar night for the Bengals.