#NICK_MULLENS

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Jake Browning gets revenge for Vikings cutting him, leads Bengals' comeback win in OT Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement

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Jake Browning's magical ride continues as Bengals earn an OT comeback win over Vikings Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement

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The tush push isn't for everyone. There's a big difference between Jalen Hurts running it, and Nick Mullens giving it a try.Everyone is trying to copy the Philadelphia Eagles' signature play, but only the Eagles make it look automatic. The Bengals had a tremendous comeback win on Saturday and the key sequence came on two tush push quarterback sneaks in overtime. Mullens tried getting less than a yard twice for a key first down, and the Bengals stopped him cold twice.On third down he was close, and the spot can be debated. The official on the top of the screen came in ahead of the first-down line, the official on the bottom was behind it, and the official spot was behind the line. The NFL will at some point have to pay for the technology to spot the ball more accurately, but it hasn't happened yet and the Vikings faced a fourth down.Everyone knew what was coming. But there's only one team that seems unstoppable running it, maybe because Hurts squats more than 600 pounds. Mullens took the snap on fourth-and-inches and got no movement forward at all. It took a while for the officials to spot the ball but when they did, it was short. Cincinnati hit a big play to Tyler Boyd after that and they kicked a field goal to win it.There has been a debate about the tush push, a.k.a. the "brotherly shove" when Philly is running it. There will be more debate about outlawing it in the offseason. But the argument also needs to include that when the Eagles run it, it's almost flawless, and when everyone else does it it's a competitive play. The Eagles shouldn't be penalized for being very good at a specialized play.Ask the Vikings. They just needed a few inches to get a first down and possibly win the game in overtime on Saturday. And the so-called unstoppable play was stopped. Twice.

[tsportsday]

It looked like Jake Browning's dream ride had hit its expiration date. The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback, filling in for superstar Joe Burrow, had played very well for a couple weeks. Then for the first three quarters on Saturday, he looked like a player who didn't take an NFL snap until his fifth season out of college.Browning was struggling, the Bengals were down 17-3 to the Minnesota Vikings and their playoff hopes were about to take a big hit. Then Browning, fresh off a terrible interception, suddenly found the magic again.Browning led three fourth-quarter touchdown drives, including an acrobatic game-tying score by Tee Higgins with 39 seconds left in regulation, to help get the game to overtime. The Bengals got two straight stops on third and fourth down on Minnesota's off-brand attempts at a tush push quarterback sneak, and then Browning hit an enormous third-down pass to Tyler Boyd for 44 yards to set up a field goal and a 27-24 Bengals win. Cincinnati is 8-6 and very much alive in the AFC wild-card race.When Browning had to take over for Burrow, the Bengals' season looked like it was done. Nobody knew what the Bengals had in their backup quarterback, but he's writing a pretty cool story.Bengals fall behind earlyThe NFL gave us a flexed Saturday matchup of two teams with winning records fighting for playoff spots. The only thing missing was the starting quarterbacks.The Bengals and Vikings have been without their quarterbacks for a while. Burrow and Kirk Cousins suffered season-ending injuries. That sums up this NFL season: Even a good game has no healthy star quarterbacks. And it showed early on.Nick Mullens, the Vikings' fourth starting quarterback this season, made some mistakes in the first half that kept Minnesota from extending its lead. The worst mistake happened late in the first half, when he made a bad decision to try to unload a pass as he was being sacked, and Bengals defensive tackle BJ Hill caught it on his back.Browning made his mistakes too. He had been very good for two weeks but struggled against the pressure-based defense of Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. He threw a bad interception in the third quarter, the Vikings turned that into a field goal and they led 17-3. Given how Browning had been playing, the game seemed over.Then Browning and the Bengals got hot.Bengals tie it late in 4thThe interception seemed to calm Browning down, strangely enough. He started hitting passes. The Bengals got a touchdown from Browning to Higgins, then another on a fourth-and-goal run by Joe Mixon. The game was tied 17-17.The Bengals got another gift from Mullens, a pick 6, but it was nullified because the Bengals were offsides. That allowed the Vikings to keep the drive going and they took the lead. Mullens made another reckless decision to throw into the end zone in traffic, but Jordan Addison came up with the pass for a go-ahead touchdown. It was Addison's second touchdown of the game, and the first one was a tight throw that Addison happened to catch and then he turned upfield for the score.The Bengals had a shot to answer, though they saw star receiver Ja'Marr Chase go back to the locker room during the drive with a shoulder injury. He was ruled out shortly after. With less than a minute left Browning threw one up to Higgins, who came back to the ball, caught it and twisted into the end zone to tie the game with 39 seconds left. The game went to overtime.The Bengals got the ball first in overtime, but the Vikings defense made plays. On second down, Minnesota got a huge sack, and then on third down officials didn't throw a penalty flag for what looked like pass interference. The Bengals punted.Minnesota needed a field goal to win it. They had fourth-and-inches just outside of field-goal range and tried a tush push quarterback sneak and Mullens didn't go anywhere. That set up the Bengals to win it, and Browning's big pass to Boyd led to the win.The Bengals looked done several times on Saturday. But Browning still had something up his sleeve.

[tsportsday]

Subscribe to the Yahoo Fantasy Football ShowThere's some fantastic matchups on Saturday, Sunday and Monday in Week 15. But more importantly, it's fantasy football playoff season. Matt Harmon and Fantasy Life's Kendall Valenzuela get you ready for all the action by identifying which games you need to binge, stream and skip in Week 15:2:24 - Week 15 Viewer Guide2:30 - Binge games:2:45 - Cowboys vs. Bills: Start everyone in this game? Including Gabe Davis?13:55 - Bears vs. Browns: Are we watching two of the hottest teams rally around their QBs?20:08 - Ravens vs. Jaguars: Should we be nervous starting Jaguars in the postseason?28:29 - Eagles vs. Seahawks: Is this a bounce back game for Philly and their run game?32:15 - *Saturday 'Stream' games:32:38 - Vikings vs. Bengals: Why Nick Mullens could be a good thing for Justin Jefferson36:19 - Steelers vs. Colts: Can we trust anyone on this Steelers offense right now?41:00 - Broncos vs. Lions: Do we finally see Jared Goff bounce back?42:45 - Sunday 'Stream' games:42:47 - 49ers vs. Cardinals: Can we play Arizona players not named Trey McBride?44:56 - Buccaneers vs. Packers: Who are the Green Bay playmakers right now?47:55 - Jets vs. Dolphins: Is Miami on upset alert here?51:25 - Chiefs vs. Patriots: Is Kansas City entering their 'villain stage?56:38 - Giants vs. Saints: The 'Vibe Bowl'59:14 - Commanders vs. Rams: Is L.A. full of 'league winners' right now?1:01:40 - Skip games1:01:45 - Texans vs. Titans: Houston... it's not your fault1:03:26 - Falcons vs. Panthers: Arthur Smith will find a way to be a trollThere's some fantastic matchups on Saturday, Sunday and Monday in Week 15. But more importantly, it's fantasy football playoff season. Matt Harmon and Fantasy Life's Kendall Valenzuela get you ready for all the action by identifying which games you need to binge, stream and skip in Week 15. (Credit: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)🖥️ Watch this full episode on YouTubeCheck out all the episodes of the Yahoo Fantasy Football Show and the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports PodcastsThis article contains affilate links; if you click such a link and make a purchase, we may earn a commission.

[tsportsday]

The Minnesota Vikings are sticking with Nick Mullens.The Vikings announced on Tuesday that Mullens will start on Saturday in their game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Mullens will start in place of Joshua Dobbs, who last week.Mullens entered Sunday’s game at Allegiant Stadium with just more than nine minutes left in the fourth quarter. After going three-and-out initially, Mullens led the Vikings on a 56-yard, 12-play drive that set up a 36-yard field goal from kicker Greg Joseph — which finally broke the 0-0 tie and eventually gave the Vikings the narrow win.Mullens finished his day going 9-of-13 for 83 yards. Perhaps most notably, he helped the Vikings avoid being the first game to go into overtime in a scoreless tie since 1974.The Vikings traded for Dobbs right before the deadline earlier this season shortly after starter Kirk Cousins went down with an Achilles injury. Though Dobbs won his first two starts, which made for a remarkable story, he’s struggled since. He lost back-to-back games before Sunday’s contest against the Raiders, where he went 10-of-23 for just 63 yards through three quarters. He was sacked five times and lost more than 60 yards, too.Nick Mullens will make the start for the Vikings on Saturday against the Cincinnati Bengals. (Ian Maule/Getty Images)So now head coach Kevin O’Connell will turn to Mullens on Saturday. Mullens, 28, is in his second season with the Vikings. He appeared in four games last season, but threw for just 224 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The former Southern Miss star signed with the San Francisco 49ers in 2018 after going undrafted, and spent three seasons there and one with the Cleveland Browns before landing in Minneapolis.The Vikings are sitting at 7-6, too, and are still in the mix in the NFC Playoff race. A win over the Bengals, even with their issues at quarterback, would go a long way in helping the team make the postseason for a second straight year.