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CINCINNATI - Despite trailing the Seattle Seahawks by 17 points in the fourth quarter on Sunday, the Cincinnati Bengals didn't flinch. "In our minds, as bad as it looked and as good as Seattle is, we never stopped playing" said tight end Tyler Eifert. "This is what we expect to do. We expect to win."
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Mike Nugent kicked a tying field goal on the final play of regulation then a 42-yard boot with 3:26 remaining in overtime as Cincinnati improved to 5-0 for the first time since 1988 with a 27-24 victory at Paul Brown Stadium.
The last time the Bengals were 5-0 they reached the Super Bowl.
"That was a hell of a fourth and fifth quarter," said coach Marvin Lewis. "I'm proud of our guys. It's a long year against a lot of good teams. Today was a good step toward understanding that we can do that all the time."
Quarterback Andy Dalton passed for 331 yards and two touchdowns and Eifert had eight catches for 90 yards and two TDs as the Bengals equaled the second-largest fourth-quarter comeback in franchise history.
"This shows the character and fight in this team," Dalton said.
Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was sacked four times and picked off once while passing for 213 yards and a touchdown.
Starting in place of injured Marshawn Lynch, rookie Thomas Rawls rushed for 169 yards and a touchdown for Seattle (2-3), which for three quarters on Sunday looked more like a two-time Super Bowl participant before falling flat.
"I'm baffled a little bit," said Seahawks coach Pete Carroll. "We're very clear on what we want to do and how to get it done. What's startling is that it's not happening."
Several mistakes seemed destined to haunt Cincinnati on Sunday.
In the first half, the Bengals had a 72-yard TD catch by receiver A.J. Green negated by a holding penalty and Dalton threw an interception with his team in field goal range.
Running back Rex Burkhead's third-quarter fumble was returned 23 yards for a touchdown by linebacker Bobby Wagner to put Seattle ahead 24-7 in the fourth quarter.
"I think it's just us having to show up and finish," said Wagner. "We had a lot of opportunities to close the game out, but we didn't."
It was a seemingly insurmountable deficit against a Seattle defense allowing only 17.8 points per game.
But Dalton orchestrated a rally.
He tossed a 10-yard TD pass to Eifert then engineered a methodical five-minute, 49-second drive capped by his five-yard TD run to make the score 24-21 with 3:38 left.
With no timeouts remaining, Cincinnati regained possession at its own 18 with 2:17 left and drove for a game-tying 31-yard field goal by Nugent.
"I told our guys 'This is what we're built for,'" said Dalton. "We just had to get stops on defense and stay within our offense."
The Seahawks allowed one touchdown over 20 possessions before the Bengals marched 84 yards on their first possession and scored on a 14-yard TD pass from Dalton to Eifert.
The drive was highlighted by a 44-yard pass to wide receiver Marvin Jones, the longest gain of the season against Seattle.
Wilson's 30-yard TD pass receiver Jermaine Kearse capped an 80-yard drive and tied the score 7-7 with 6:32 left first quarter.
It was the second first-quarter TD this season for Seattle.
Seattle's first interception of the season came late in the first half when free safety Earl Thomas picked off a Dalton pass intended for Green deep in Cincinnati territory.
Steven Hauschka put Seattle ahead 10-7 at halftime with a 24-yard field goal on the final play of the half.
It was the first time this season Cincinnati has trailed at the half.
Rawls shook off several would-be tacklers during a 69-yard TD run putting Seattle ahead 17-7 with 8:38 left in the third quarter.
That ended the scoring for the Seahawks offense.
"We didn't change anything and we were still mixing it up," said Carroll. "I feel good about how we ran the football. We didn't leave that. We didn't curl up and not try to throw it either. We just didn't convert."
NOTES: It was the second 100-yard rushing game for Thomas Rawls who had 104 yards in Seattle's 26-0 win over Chicago on Sept. 27. ... Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch missed his second straight game with a hamstring strain. Prior to missing last week's game against Detroit, Lynch had played in 60 consecutive regular-season games. ... Rookie RB Thomas Rawls started in Lynch's place and his 169 yards beats Lynch's best single-game effort with Seattle. ... To add some depth at running back, the Seahawks signed Rod Smith off their practice squad. ... Bengals DT Wallace Gilberry played despite being questionable with a calf injury. ... It was the largest fourth-quarter comeback for Cincinnati since rallying from 20-3 deficit to win 27-26 on Dec. 5, 2004 at Baltimore.
