INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ― Very ugly.

And very familiar.

It happens to Andy Dalton and the Bengals every year, which is why that incredible streak is now 24 years and counting since Cincinnati’s most recent playoff win.

The Bengals made NFL history on Sunday when they lost an opening-round playoff game for the fourth year in a row.

Andrew Luck took apart their secondary, Dalton and the offense went nowhere in the second half, and the Bengals lost 26-10, extending their excruciating stretch of playoff futility.

“It’s kind of like missing a field goal that you feel you should have hit,” said kicker Mike Nugent, who set a Bengals record with a 57-yarder for one of their few bright spots.

Actually, it’s more like slipping and falling without even getting the kick off.

No matter what they accomplish during the season ― and their four straight playoff appearances are a franchise record ― they come unglued in the biggest games.

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Donte Moncrief (left) celebrates his touchdown with teammate Hakeem Nicks on Sunday. AP-Yonhap
Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Donte Moncrief (left) celebrates his touchdown with teammate Hakeem Nicks on Sunday. AP-Yonhap

“In the big moments, the guys that are our big guys have to make the plays,” left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. “You see it every week. You look at the teams that win, their top guys make the plays that get them where they’ve got to go. It’ll be no different here. When we get in those situations, our big players have to make huge plays.”

Instead, they shrink.

And it starts with the quarterback.

Dalton and Baltimore’s Joe Flacco are the only quarterbacks in the Super Bowl era to lead their teams to the playoffs in each of their first four seasons. Flacco already has won a Super Bowl and has his team headed to New England next week after pulling out a win in Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Dalton is headed home after another lopsided one-and-done.

“You’ve got to play your best football once you’re here, and today we didn’t play our best,” said Dalton, who was 18 of 35 for 155 yards with three sacks, a fumble and a passer rating of only 63.4.

Cowboys rally past Lions

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) ― Tony Romo has a stirring playoff comeback to go with all the late-season disappointments.

Romo threw two touchdown passes to Terrance Williams, the second for the lead late in the fourth quarter, and the Dallas Cowboys rallied for a 24-20 wild-card win over Detroit on Sunday in their first playoff game in five years.

The Cowboys (12-5) wiped out an early two-touchdown deficit to earn a trip to Green Bay, their first postseason visit there since a heartbreaking loss to the Packers in the Ice Bowl in 1967.

The Lions (11-6) went 99 yards for one of two first-quarter touchdowns, but Matthew Stafford couldn’t get them in the end zone again. He fell to 0-2 in the playoffs three years after losing a wild-card game to New Orleans.

The winning drive came after officials reversed a pass interference penalty against Dallas, resulting in a Detroit punt.

Detroit was driving with a 20-17 lead midway through the fourth quarter when referee Pete Morelli announced a pass interference penalty against Anthony Hitchens on a third-down pass to Brandon Pettigrew. But officials reversed the call without explanation, and Sam Martin had a 10-yard punt after the Lions tried to draw Dallas offside on fourth-and-1.

Romo took the Cowboys 59 yards in 11 plays, including a 21-yard pass to Jason Witten on fourth-and-6. The winner to Williams was an 8-yarder after Romo had several seconds to throw behind an offensive line among the league’s best because Dallas has drafted linemen in the first round three of the past four years.


koreaherald@heraldcorp.com