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Chants of "Cody! Cody! Cody!" bled through the walls of the Cincinnati Bengals locker room. About an hour earlier, it was Bengals fans doing the same thing during one of the most raucous scenes of the year inside Paycor Stadium.
The 350-pound offensive tackle Cody Ford had a 21-yard catch-and-run during a Bengals scoring drive in the third quarter of their eventual 37-14 win against the Arizona Cardinals. Most of the yardage came after the catch, and the play ignited the Bengals sideline, the fans in the grandstands and the team's postgame celebration.
Bengals Cardinals highlights replay Bengals beat Cardinals in NFL Week 17 | Replay, highlights
Bengals Cardinals Jason Williams Williams: 'Tis the season for Cincinnati Bengals reality check
Three Cardinals tacklers were required to bring down the hulking Ford just 2 yards shy of the end zone. According to Sports Illustrated's Jay Morrison, the reception was the third-longest by an offensive lineman since at least 2000.
The play design came together partly in jest earlier in the week leading up to the Arizona game, the Bengals' penultimate contest of a third straight season without reaching the postseason.
Ford said offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher brought him the play design but basically laughed it off. Later, as the play called for him to be moved closer and closer to the sideline, Ford said he assumed everyone just wanted him to get out of the way.
"'Pitch' kind of brought it to me and I thought he was joking," Ford said. "Then, we're out there in practice and 'here's the play.' We started running it. Then, we went to practice again the next day. We ran it again. I was like, 'maybe we're actually gonna call this.' And then we had mentioned it last night. ... That's what happened."
The situation that allowed Bengals head coach Zac Taylor to use the play was a first-and-10 for the Bengals, who led 30-7 with time melting off the game clock in the third quarter. The ball was on the Cardinals' 23-yard line and the hosts were already well within Evan McPherson's field goal range.
Suffice it to say this wasn't a game-deciding, high-leverage type of moment to opt for a play that figured to net minimal, if any, positive return. Ford said he didn't even know his place in quarterback Joe Burrow's progression, or the order in which Burrow sees and evaluates his receiving options.
Cornerback Denzel Burke was playing relatively tight to Ford near the line of scrimmage at the start of the play, but Burrow dipped his shoulder, feigning a straight-ahead, short-range pass to Pro Bowl wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, who already had two receiving touchdowns in the game.
Burrow stood upright in the pocket again and dished the ball to Ford, who was along the sideline in front of the Bengals' bench. Ford came back to the ball, turned and bullied his way out of Burke's attempted tackle.
Ford ended up dragging Burke and cornerback Darren Hall down to the two-yard line. There, Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson greeted him with a shoulder pop that sent him out of bounds.
"He kept breaking tackles," Taylor said. "That was pretty impressive."
Burrow was visibly impressed.
"Couldn't believe what I was watching," Burrow said.
Ford wasn't surprised, saying: "Oh, yeah. I'm an athlete."
On the next play, a Chase Brown touchdown run was ruled just short of the goal line on a replay review. The Bengals had inches to go and another viable situation to go back to Ford.
Fans all over the stadium stood and chanted "Cody! Cody! Cody!," and they got their wish when the game officials announced on the stadium speaker system that Ford had reported as eligible for the next play. By rule, Ford was at that point allowed to get his hands on the ball.
Ford lined up in the backfield and shifted to his right before the snap. The ball went to Brown, who rumbled into the end zone.
Did Taylor give any thought to feeding Ford with another touch? "No, no chance," he said to laughter during his postgame news conference. "Zero percent chance."
The win improved the Bengals to 6-10 and the season will end on Jan. 3 or 4 (date and kickoff time weren't announced immediately following the Dec. 28 game) with another home game against the Cleveland Browns.
A season that held promise and even some Super Bowl expectations during the training camp phase of the year careened way off course, but plays like Ford's catch-and-run gave the team and its fans a moment of joy in what was an otherwise forgettable campaign.
"Always for fun stuff like that," Burrow said. "No. 1, it kind of keeps (the defense) off balance. No. 2, it's just fun."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why Bengals tackle Cody Ford's 21-yard catch mattered to the 2025 season
Continue reading...
The 350-pound offensive tackle Cody Ford had a 21-yard catch-and-run during a Bengals scoring drive in the third quarter of their eventual 37-14 win against the Arizona Cardinals. Most of the yardage came after the catch, and the play ignited the Bengals sideline, the fans in the grandstands and the team's postgame celebration.
Bengals Cardinals highlights replay Bengals beat Cardinals in NFL Week 17 | Replay, highlights
Bengals Cardinals Jason Williams Williams: 'Tis the season for Cincinnati Bengals reality check
Three Cardinals tacklers were required to bring down the hulking Ford just 2 yards shy of the end zone. According to Sports Illustrated's Jay Morrison, the reception was the third-longest by an offensive lineman since at least 2000.
The play design came together partly in jest earlier in the week leading up to the Arizona game, the Bengals' penultimate contest of a third straight season without reaching the postseason.
Ford said offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher brought him the play design but basically laughed it off. Later, as the play called for him to be moved closer and closer to the sideline, Ford said he assumed everyone just wanted him to get out of the way.
"'Pitch' kind of brought it to me and I thought he was joking," Ford said. "Then, we're out there in practice and 'here's the play.' We started running it. Then, we went to practice again the next day. We ran it again. I was like, 'maybe we're actually gonna call this.' And then we had mentioned it last night. ... That's what happened."
The situation that allowed Bengals head coach Zac Taylor to use the play was a first-and-10 for the Bengals, who led 30-7 with time melting off the game clock in the third quarter. The ball was on the Cardinals' 23-yard line and the hosts were already well within Evan McPherson's field goal range.
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Suffice it to say this wasn't a game-deciding, high-leverage type of moment to opt for a play that figured to net minimal, if any, positive return. Ford said he didn't even know his place in quarterback Joe Burrow's progression, or the order in which Burrow sees and evaluates his receiving options.
Cornerback Denzel Burke was playing relatively tight to Ford near the line of scrimmage at the start of the play, but Burrow dipped his shoulder, feigning a straight-ahead, short-range pass to Pro Bowl wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, who already had two receiving touchdowns in the game.
Burrow stood upright in the pocket again and dished the ball to Ford, who was along the sideline in front of the Bengals' bench. Ford came back to the ball, turned and bullied his way out of Burke's attempted tackle.
Ford ended up dragging Burke and cornerback Darren Hall down to the two-yard line. There, Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson greeted him with a shoulder pop that sent him out of bounds.
"He kept breaking tackles," Taylor said. "That was pretty impressive."
Burrow was visibly impressed.
"Couldn't believe what I was watching," Burrow said.
Ford wasn't surprised, saying: "Oh, yeah. I'm an athlete."
On the next play, a Chase Brown touchdown run was ruled just short of the goal line on a replay review. The Bengals had inches to go and another viable situation to go back to Ford.
Fans all over the stadium stood and chanted "Cody! Cody! Cody!," and they got their wish when the game officials announced on the stadium speaker system that Ford had reported as eligible for the next play. By rule, Ford was at that point allowed to get his hands on the ball.
Ford lined up in the backfield and shifted to his right before the snap. The ball went to Brown, who rumbled into the end zone.
Did Taylor give any thought to feeding Ford with another touch? "No, no chance," he said to laughter during his postgame news conference. "Zero percent chance."
The win improved the Bengals to 6-10 and the season will end on Jan. 3 or 4 (date and kickoff time weren't announced immediately following the Dec. 28 game) with another home game against the Cleveland Browns.
A season that held promise and even some Super Bowl expectations during the training camp phase of the year careened way off course, but plays like Ford's catch-and-run gave the team and its fans a moment of joy in what was an otherwise forgettable campaign.
"Always for fun stuff like that," Burrow said. "No. 1, it kind of keeps (the defense) off balance. No. 2, it's just fun."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why Bengals tackle Cody Ford's 21-yard catch mattered to the 2025 season
Continue reading...
