CINCINNATI — Joe Burrow threw for 305 yards. Chase Brown ran for 101. The Bengals held Arizona to 233 total yards and 12 first downs. The Cardinals did set one NFL record on December 28, 2025 — Trey McBride’s 119 receptions on the season broke the all-time mark for a tight end in a single season. Winning was not part of Arizona’s afternoon at Paycor Stadium.
Cincinnati controlled possession for nearly 41 minutes, went a perfect 5-for-5 in the red zone and converted 10 of 15 third downs. Jacoby Brissett was sacked four times, the run game produced 42 yards, and the Cardinals finished 3-13. The complete Arizona Cardinals vs Cincinnati Bengals player stats and box score from Week 17 are below.
Table of Contents
Score by Quarter
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Cardinals | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 7 | 16 | 14 | 0 | 37 |
Scoring Summary
| Qtr | Time | Team | Score | Drive | Play |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 9:17 | CIN | CIN 7–0 | 12 plays, 72 yds, 5:43 | Ja’Marr Chase 13-yd pass from Burrow (McPherson kick) |
| Q2 | 14:58 | CIN | CIN 13–0 | 12 plays, 79 yds, 7:50 | Samaje Perine 1-yd rush (McPherson XP failed) |
| Q2 | 11:44 | ARI | CIN 13–7 | 5 plays, 70 yds, 3:14 | Michael Wilson 38-yd pass from Brissett (Ryland kick) |
| Q2 | 3:21 | CIN | CIN 16–7 | 10 plays, 60 yds, 5:48 | McPherson 57-yd field goal |
| Q2 | 1:15 | CIN | CIN 23–7 | 3 plays, 36 yds, 1:06 | Ja’Marr Chase 8-yd pass from Burrow (McPherson kick) |
| Q3 | 7:33 | CIN | CIN 30–7 | 11 plays, 84 yds, 6:24 | Chase Brown 6-yd rush (McPherson kick) |
| Q3 | 1:38 | CIN | CIN 37–7 | 10 plays, 82 yds, 4:45 | Chase Brown 1-yd rush (McPherson kick) |
| Q4 | 1:50 | ARI | CIN 37–14 | 16 plays, 92 yds, 4:30 | Trey McBride 18-yd pass from Brissett (Ryland kick) |
Burrow Matches a Franchise Record
Burrow finished 24-of-31 for 305 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions, posting a 129.1 passer rating. It was his 28th career 300-yard passing game, tying Andy Dalton for the most in Bengals franchise history. Three of Burrow’s incompletions were throwaways.
“He’s playing like I know Joe to play,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. “It’s fun to watch. We all just want to finish the season the right way.”
Ja’Marr Chase caught seven passes for 60 yards and two touchdowns. With the performance, he became the first player in NFL history to record at least 80 receptions, 1,000 receiving yards and seven touchdown catches in each of his first five NFL seasons. His opening score came on a 13-yard reception in the first quarter, breaking a tackle, spinning away from a second defender before diving into the end zone.
“I walked into the building today telling myself I’m going to make sure I get in there some sort of way,” Chase said.
Passing Stats
| Player | Team | CMP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | SACKS | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Burrow | CIN | 24/31 | 305 | 2 | 0 | 3–20 | 129.1 |
| Joe Flacco | CIN | 3/5 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0–0 | 72.1 |
| Jacoby Brissett | ARI | 21/37 | 212 | 2 | 0 | 4–21 | 91.3 |
Chase Brown Carries the Ground Game
Brown ran 22 times for 101 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught three passes for 40 yards, finishing with 141 total yards from scrimmage.
His second rushing touchdown came after one of the more creative plays in the game. Starting right tackle Amarius Mims left in the second quarter with a right shin injury. Offensive lineman Cody Ford moved to tight end, caught a 21-yard pass from Burrow and broke two tackles before being brought down at the 2-yard line. Brown scored on the following play.
“When you get the ball in those guys’ hands, their eyes light up like a kid at Christmas,” Burrow said.
Rushing Stats
| Player | Team | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | LG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Brown | CIN | 22 | 101 | 4.6 | 2 | 25 |
| Tahj Brooks | CIN | 3 | 10 | 3.3 | 0 | 5 |
| Samaje Perine | CIN | 3 | 5 | 1.7 | 1 | 3 |
| Joe Burrow | CIN | 3 | 2 | 0.7 | 0 | 2 |
| Joe Flacco | CIN | 4 | 2 | 0.5 | 0 | 5 |
| Michael Carter | ARI | 7 | 29 | 4.1 | 0 | 11 |
| Emari Demercado | ARI | 5 | 11 | 2.2 | 0 | 4 |
| Corey Kiner | ARI | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 |
McBride Breaks the NFL Tight End Reception Record
McBride entered Week 17 with 109 catches on the season. He left with 119. His 117th reception surpassed Zach Ertz’s 116-catch record set in 2018, the NFL’s all-time single-season mark for a tight end. He also broke DeAndre Hopkins’ Cardinals franchise record of 115 catches from 2020, in the same game.
McBride finished the 2025 season with 1,174 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns.
“I’m proud of him. He’s one of the best players out there,” Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said. “He has had a fantastic year.”
Michael Wilson was the other standout for Arizona, catching five passes for 89 yards including a 38-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter. Marvin Harrison Jr., the No. 4 overall pick from the 2024 draft, saw one target and caught nothing.
Receiving Stats
| Player | Team | TGT | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trey McBride | ARI | 13 | 10 | 76 | 7.6 | 1 | 18 |
| Michael Wilson | ARI | 10 | 5 | 89 | 17.8 | 1 | 38 |
| Xavier Weaver | ARI | 3 | 2 | 24 | 12.0 | 0 | 23 |
| Michael Carter | ARI | 4 | 2 | 14 | 7.0 | 0 | 8 |
| Emari Demercado | ARI | 3 | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 | 7 |
| Marvin Harrison Jr. | ARI | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — |
| Elijah Higgins | ARI | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — |
| Ja’Marr Chase | CIN | 9 | 7 | 60 | 8.6 | 2 | 22 |
| Tee Higgins | CIN | 5 | 4 | 59 | 14.8 | 0 | 39 |
| Mike Gesicki | CIN | 2 | 2 | 47 | 23.5 | 0 | 32 |
| Andrei Iosivas | CIN | 6 | 4 | 41 | 10.3 | 0 | 12 |
| Chase Brown | CIN | 3 | 3 | 40 | 13.3 | 0 | 18 |
| Tanner Hudson | CIN | 2 | 2 | 31 | 15.5 | 0 | 18 |
| Cody Ford | CIN | 1 | 1 | 21 | 21.0 | 0 | 21 |
| Tahj Brooks | CIN | 1 | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | 9 |
| Samaje Perine | CIN | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 0 | 8 |
| Drew Sample | CIN | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 0 | 8 |
| Ke’Shawn Williams | CIN | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 5 |
| Noah Fant | CIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — |
Team Stats
| Stat | ARI | CIN |
|---|---|---|
| Total Yards | 233 | 429 |
| Net Pass Yards | 191 | 309 |
| Rush Yards | 42 | 120 |
| Total Plays | 54 | 74 |
| Yards Per Play | 4.3 | 5.8 |
| First Downs | 12 | 29 |
| Third Down Conv. | 3/13 (23%) | 10/15 (67%) |
| Fourth Down Conv. | 3/4 | 1/1 |
| Red Zone (Made/Att) | 1/2 | 5/5 |
| Sacks Allowed | 4 (21 yds) | 3 (20 yds) |
| Penalties | 6–51 | 5–38 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 0 |
| Time of Possession | 19:04 | 40:56 |
Third Down Decided It
Cincinnati converted 10 of 15 third-down attempts. Arizona converted three of 13.
“I think it really comes down to, for me, third down. They converted a bunch. We didn’t,” Gannon said.
“Our defense really set the tone the past two weeks and our offense countered off that,” Taylor added.
The Bengals generated 19 total pressures against Brissett, including four sacks. Cedric Johnson led Cincinnati’s pass rush with five total pressures and a sack. Cody Simon led Arizona’s defense with 15 combined tackles, four solo and half a sack.
Defense — Full Box Score
| Player | Team | COMB | SOLO | SACKS | TFL | PD | QB HTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cody Simon | ARI | 15 | 4 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dadrion Taylor-Demerson | ARI | 9 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Denzel Burke | ARI | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Darren Hall | ARI | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zachary Carter | ARI | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Akeem Davis-Gaither | ARI | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Darius Robinson | ARI | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Will Johnson | ARI | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jalen Thompson | ARI | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Calais Campbell | ARI | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Dante Stills | ARI | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| L.J. Collier | ARI | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| BJ Ojulari | ARI | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jordan Burch | ARI | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Dalvin Tomlinson | ARI | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Zaven Collins | ARI | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Joe Giles-Harris | CIN | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Myles Murphy | CIN | 6 | 4 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Demetrius Knight Jr. | CIN | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Geno Stone | CIN | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cedric Johnson | CIN | 4 | 2 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| T.J. Slaton | CIN | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Jalen Davis | CIN | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bralyn Lux | CIN | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Barrett Carter | CIN | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Jordan Battle | CIN | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| B.J. Hill | CIN | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| DJ Ivey | CIN | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Shemar Stewart | CIN | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Special Teams
Kicking
| Player | Team | FG | FG% | LG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evan McPherson | CIN | 1/1 | 100% | 57 yds | 4/5 | 7 |
| Chad Ryland | ARI | 0/0 | — | — | 2/2 | 2 |
Punting
| Player | Team | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | IN20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Haack | ARI | 6 | 326 | 54.3 | 63 | 3 |
| Ryan Rehkow | CIN | 2 | 85 | 42.5 | 43 | 1 |
Kick Returns
| Player | Team | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steven Sims | ARI | 5 | 132 | 26.4 | 31 | 0 |
| Xavier Weaver | ARI | 1 | 27 | 27.0 | 27 | 0 |
| Ke’Shawn Williams | CIN | 1 | 28 | 28.0 | 28 | 0 |
Punt Returns
| Player | Team | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ke’Shawn Williams | CIN | 5 | 56 | 11.2 | 43 | 0 |
| Steven Sims | ARI | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 |
Game Notes
Injuries:
- Arizona: LT Paris Johnson was placed on season-ending injured reserve. He had already missed the previous two games with a knee injury.
- Cincinnati: RT Amarius Mims left in the second quarter with a right shin injury, replaced by Cody Ford. CB Josh Newton was inactive with a hamstring injury. CB Bralyn Lux was elevated from the practice squad.
Game details: December 28, 2025 | Paycor Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio | Attendance: 61,402 | Weather: 65°F, 87% humidity, wind 9 mph | TV: FOX
Final Word
The Bengals finished the 2025 regular season at 6-10, going 3-2 after Burrow returned from surgery. Cincinnati played 11 more offensive plays than Arizona in this game, gained 196 more yards and ran the ball 22 more times. The gap was that wide.
Arizona ended 3-13. McBride’s record was the one piece of history worth keeping from a season the Cardinals would prefer to move past. A quarterback situation that never resolved, a rookie receiver who couldn’t find his footing, and a defense that gave up 37 points to a team with no postseason stake: the 2025 season left more questions than answers for Arizona.
Burrow, Brown and Chase had their best game in weeks. The Cardinals handed them every inch of it.
Sources: ESPN, Pro Football Reference, Pro Football Focus | Stats as of final box score
