Bengals vs. Bears NFL Week 9 preview with Kelsey Conway
Bengals Beat Reporter Kelsey Conway breaks down the upcoming Bengals vs. Bears game at Paycor Stadium on Sunday November 2, 2025.
The Cincinnati Bengals offense is doing everything it can to keep the 2025 season alive. The Bengals defense is undoing much of that effort.
Cincinnati’s offense scored 15 points in a 49-second span inside the final two minutes of regulation against the Chicago Bears, erasing a 14-point deficit, but the Bengals defense capitulated on the Bears’ final drive in an eventual 47-42 Cincinnati loss Nov. 2 at Paycor Stadium.
The Bears’ game-winning score came with 17 seconds to play as quarterback Caleb Williams hit tight end Colston Loveland on a 58-yard catch and run, erasing a short-lived 42-41 Bengals lead and their own near-collapse.
The Bengals offense, led by injured 40-year-old quarterback Joe Flacco (23-for-36, 457 yards, four touchdowns), scored on back-to-back drives inside the two-minute warning. First, Noah Fant gathered in a 23-yard touchdown reception with 1:43 to play, and Tee Higgins reeled in a two-point conversion to make the score 41-35.
Higgins had two touchdown catches in addition to the successful conversion. He finished with 121 yards on seven catches.
Then, after recovering the onside kick attempt when the ball deflected off a Bears player, the Bengals drove again and Flacco hit Andrei Iosivas to knot the contest at 41 with 54 seconds remaining. Kicker Evan McPherson’s point-after attempt was good, and Cincinnati was in position for the near-miracle comeback.
Williams sucked the joy out of Paycor Stadium when he hit Loveland on the run. Loveland streaked through the heart of the Cincinnati defense for the game-winning score.
The Bengals fell to 3-6 heading into their bye week, which includes the Nov. 4 NFL trade deadline. The Bears improved to 5-3.
Cincinnati receiver Charlie Jones started the game promisingly, returning the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. The resulting 7-0 lead was short-lived and ultimately buried in the box score by game’s end as Chicago racked up 576 yards of offense.
The Bengals’ defensive yardage conceded reached 1,000 over the last two games dating back to the Oct. 26 loss to the Jets (502 yards allowed).
The Cincinnati offense matched Chicago for most of a back-and-forth contest until the Bears appeared to pull away for good late on. The Bengals also took a 20-17 lead into halftime, thanks in part to a field goal block by Cincinnati’s Joseph Ossai just before in the intermission, but that defensive stop was a rare one.
The Bengals defense once again didn’t force a turnover in the game.
Bears running backs combined for 283 yards and two touchdowns. Kyle Monongai was their leading rusher with 176 yards on 26 carries.
The Bears started to play complimentary football in the third quarter, and their defense stiffened up. The offense put up 17 unanswered points to go in front, 41-27. Defensively, the visitors recovered a fumble by Flacco and forced the Bengals to attempt a 54-yard field goal, which was short after the wind appeared to knock it down.
A D.J. Moore 17-yard touchdown run with 4:57 to play made it 41-27. The carry was Moore’s only one of the game, and it seemed at the time to be the decisive score to put the contest away.
The Bengals’ next drive ended with a Flacco being intercepted inside Chicago’s five-yard line, too. The Bears burned some clock at that point, and the Bengals’ late flourish was still to come, as was Chicago’s stunning riposte.
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The Bengals didn’t stop fighting. They also scarcely stopped Chicago from scoring. Cincinnati falls to 3-6 going into their bye week.
Bears 47, Bengals 42 − 00:17, fourth quarter
A 53-yard catch-and-run by tight end Colston Loveland put the Bears back in front. The ensuing two-point conversion was no good.
Bengals 42, Bears 41 − 00:54, fourth quarter
You can’t make this stuff up. Andrei Iosivas caught the game-tying touchdown and Evan McPherson’s point-after attempt put the Bengals in front. We’re looking at a comeback for the ages.
Bears 41, Bengals 35 − 1:43, fourth quarter
Joe Flacco completed a 23-yard touchdown pass to Noah Fant, and then converted a two-point conversion to Tee Higgins. That pulled Cincinnati to within six points.
Bears 41, Bengals 27 − 4:57, fourth quarter
Chicago’s offense has put up 17 unanswered points and its defense forced two stops. On the Bears’ most recent drive, D.J. Moore ran 17 yards and stretched for a score, which was awarded on an officials’ review.
Bears 34, Bengals 27 − 1:57, third quarter
Brittain Brown, a Bears practice-squad promotion for the game, went 22 yards and was mostly untouched on his way into the end zone.
The Bears have amassed 421 yards of offense with more than a quarter still to play. The Bengals are on pace to allow 1,000 yards over its last two games following last week’s horror show against of 502 yards conceded to the Jets.
Bengals 27, Bears 24 − 5:19, third quarter
We’re riding the seesaw at Paycor Stadium as the Bengals and Bears trade punches. Cincinnati landed the latest punch, a six-play, 69-yard drive that ended with Tee Higgins’ second touchdown of the game. He caught a short pass from quarterback Joe Flacco on 2nd-and-goal from the two. Higgins caught the pylon in the front-right corner of the south end zone for the score. Evan McPherson’s point-after was good (he’s 22-for-22 on PAT’s this season, by the way).
Bears 24, Bengals 20 − 8:11, third quarter
Colston Loveland hauled in a five-yard Caleb Williams pass on the opening drive of the second half, and the post-after conversion was good.
Joseph Ossai was confirmed as the player who blocked the Bears’ late-first half field goal attempt, which allowed Cincinnati to run out the final three seconds of the half and taker a 20-17 lead into the intermission.
Bengals 20, Bears 17 − 00:03, second quarter
Cairo Santos’ 47-yard field goal fluttered and fell well short of the goal posts. Joseph Ossai is being credited with a block for now, although the statistics crew at Paycor Stadium is reviewing the play.
Bengals 20, Bears 17 − 1:12, second quarter
Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco lobbed a ball down the sideline and Tee Higgins found it, hauling in the ball after appearing to get tangled with the Bears defensive back in coverage. The score went for 44 yards, and the point-after-touchdown attempt was converted. Higgins also became fifth-fastest player in franchise history to reach 5,000 receiving yards on the play.
Bears 17, Bengals 13 − 1:29, second quarter
Bears kicker Cairo Santos polished off Chicago’s response drive to the Evan McPherson field goal with a 24-yard field goal.
Bears 14, Bengals 13 − 5:47, second quarter
The Bengals were knocking on the door of the Chicago end zone when offensive lineman Orlando Brown Jr. was flagged for a 15-yard personal foul penalty. A shoving match occurred after a 1st-and-goal play from the 6-yard line − a faded pass to the back corner of the end zone that Ja’Marr Chase couldn’t bring in. Brown was the only player flagged in the incident.
The penalty pushed the Bengals back from the Bears 6-yard line to the 21, and an Evan McPherson 33-yard field goal is what came from the drive in the end.
Bears 14, Bengals 10 − 14:53, second quarter
Chicago kicker Cairo Santos missed a 47-yard field goal attempt, marking what might have been a Bengals defensive stop. But Cincinnati’s D.J. Ivey lined up offside to give the Bears a 4th-and-1, so they sent the offense back out and converted for a first down. Three plays later, Olamide Zaccheaus took a shovel pass from quarterback Caleb Williams 19 yards for a touchdown. The point-after was successful.
Bengals 10, Bears 7 − 5:41, first quarter
Cincinnati kicker Evan McPherson knocked a 41-yard field through to put the Bengals back on top, 10-7. The Bengals were forced to kick after Chase Brown ran across the middle with space ahead of him on third down but dropped the Joe Flacco pass.
Bengals 7, Bears 7 − 8:44, first quarter
Chicago responded to the Bengals’ opening score with a 12-play scoring drive. The drive was capped with a double-reverse on 4th-and-2 from the two-yard line, and D.J. Moore tossing the ball to his quarterback, Caleb Williams. The ensuing point-after-touchdown attempt was converted by Cairo Santos.
Wide receiver Charlie Jones returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. Kicker Evan McPherson converted the point-after-touchdown attempt.
The Bengals are 2.5-point underdogs as they host the Bears in Week 9 at Paycor Stadium. Joe Flacco will start for the Bengals after being listed as day-to-day all week with an AC joint sprain suffered in last week’s loss to the New York Jets. The Bears are coming off a loss to the Baltimore Ravens and looking to stay within reach of the Detroit Lions in the NFC North. Follow along for live updates and highlights throughout the game.
Wide receiver Tee Higgins has 25 catches for 360 yards and four touchdowns for the Bengals through eight games this season.
The Bears are favored by 2.5 (-120) and the over/under point total is 51.5 (-110), according to BetMGM. The odds on the Bears to cover the point spread being -120 means a bettor would bet $120 to win $100 with a total payout of $220.
The Bengals will be without defensive end Trey Hendrickson (hip) and linebacker Logan Wilson (calf) against the Bears. Here are the rest of the inactives:
QB Sean Clifford (Emergency Third QB)
CB Marco Wilson
LB Logan Wilson
G Dalton Risner
WR Jermaine Burton
TE Cam Grandy
DE Trey Hendrickson
The Bengals-Bears game will be broadcast on CBS/Local 12 (WKRC-TV).
Stream Bears-Bengals on Fubo
The Bengals play the Bears in NFL Week 9. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Paycor Stadium.
The Bengals rank last in the NFL in yards given up on defense (3,263). They also have surrendered the second most passing touchdowns (19) and second most rushing touchdowns (10) so far this season.
Defensive end Trey Hendrickson (hip) and linebacker Logan Wilson (calf) are both doubtful to play against the Chicago Bears. Neither player practiced on Oct. 30 or 31 ahead of today’s game.
Joe Flacco is expected to start for the Bengals against the Bears after being day-to-day this week with an AC joint sprain suffered in last week’s loss to the New York Jets.
What time do Bengals play today?
The Bengals and Bears game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Paycor Stadium.
Cincinnati Bengals schedule
Week 1: Sept. 7, Bengals 17, Cleveland Browns 16 (1-0)Week 2: Sept. 14, Bengals 31, Jacksonville Jaguars 17 (2-0)Week 3: Sept. 21, Bengals 10, Minnesota Vikings 48 (2-1)Week 4: Sept. 29, Bengals 3, Denver Broncos 28 (2-2)Week 5: Oct. 5, Bengals 24, Detroit Lions 37 (2-3)Week 6: Oct. 12, Bengals 18, Green Bay Packers 27 (2-4)Week 7: Oct. 16, Bengals 33, Pittsburgh Steelers 31 (3-4)Week 8: Oct. 27, Bengals38, New York Jets 39 (3-5)Week 9: Nov. 2, Bengals vs. Chicago Bears 1 p.m. ETWeek 10: Bye weekWeek 11: Nov. 16, Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers 1 p.m. ETWeek 12: Nov. 23, Bengals vs. New England Patriots 1 p.m. ETWeek 13: Nov. 27, Bengals at Baltimore Ravens 8:20 p.m. ET | *Thanksigving game on NBCWeek 14: Dec. 7, Bengals at Buffalo Bills 4:25 p.m. ETWeek 15: Dec. 14, Bengals vs. Baltimore Ravens 1 p.m. ETWeek 16: Dec. 21, Bengals at Miami Dolphins 8:20 p.m. ET | * Sunday Night Football on NBCWeek 17: Bengals vs. Arizona Cardinals, Date and network TBDWeek 18: Bengals vs. Cleveland Browns, Date and network TBDThe final two weeks of the season don’t have game times because the NFL reserves the right to flex games into primetime spots based on playoff scenarios.
