For the first 56 minutes of the game, we saw the Cincinnati Bengals we expected to see in 2017.

For the last 4 minutes and OT, we saw the Cincinnati Bengals we’ve seen in many of the previous years.

It was a bitter pill to swallow as the striped ones fell 27-24 in overtime against the defending NFC North champion Green Bay Packers. The Bengals were in the lead for much of the game and, even better, looked in control. The offense found its rhythm, the D made the numbers on Aaron Rodgers’ back as green as the rest of his jersey, and victory seemed likely.

And then …

How Things Went

For a while, it looked like Cincinnati would run the Packers out of their own stadium. Andy Dalton finished the game 21 of 27 and delivered two touchdown passes. William Jackson III had a 75-yard pick six. The defense collected six sacks. AJ Green finally had a Green-type day (10 catches for 111 yards and a touchdown). Cincy looked strong in taking a 21-7 halftime lead.

But then they fell victim to the magic of Rodgers at the end of regulation.

Rodgers threw a .44 magnum round disguised as a football to Jordy Nelson with 17 seconds left to tie the score at 24. In overtime, the Bengals won the toss … and nothing else. Three and out. The Pack took over, Rodgers sailed a 72-yard bomb to Geronimo Allison, and Mason Crosby kicked the game-winning field goal from Cincinnati’s 10-yard line.

The way those last eight minutes of game time went, you’d think the Bengals would be the ones shouting Geronimo!, as their fall resembled jumping out of an airplane. Instead, it was the Lambeau Field crowd screaming the G-word – and enjoying every minute of it.

Cincinnati Bengals Player of the Game

A few players had impressive stats, but we’ll go with Carl Lawson, who spent almost as much time in Green Bay’s backfield as Rodgers. Lawson tallied 2.5 sacks, two tackles for loss, and three QB hits to go along with his four tackles.

What This Means Going Forward

Cincy is in a 0-3 hole and must regroup. They go on the road to Cleveland next week, and whoever wins will give the state of Ohio its first pro football win of 2017. If the Cincinnati O shows out like it did today, the team can finally get into the win column.