Bengals Challenge Spectacularly Backfires Resulting in Bears Touchdown

The Bengals are going to want this one back.

During Cincinnati’s Week 9 matchup with the Bears, they challenged a ruling on the field and watched it backfire spectacularly.

Chicago led 34-27 and was driving deep into Bengals territory. With first-and-10 at Cincinnati’s 17-yard line, the Bears handed the ball off to receiver DJ Moore, and he sped down the left side toward the end zone. Officials ruled him out at the 1-yard line, but he did seem to lose the ball as he went out of bounds.

Bengals coach Zac Taylor threw the red challenge flag, attempting to overturn the play by saying Moore had fumbled out of the end zone, which would have resulted in a touchback for the defense. That’s not what happened.

Replay review ruled that Moore had actually crossed the goal line before losing the ball, and that instead of putting the ball on the 1-yard line, the Bears were awarded a touchdown.

You judge for yourself:

Is this a fumble by Moore? Bengals have challenged the spot on the field pic.twitter.com/ZFctBWLBZr
— Rate the Refs (@Rate_the_Refs) November 2, 2025

And here’s another angle where it’s pretty clear he crosses the line:

DJ Moore, I never stopped believing: 91 all-purpose yards and 2 TDs with 4 minutes left in the game! 🥹🥹🥹🥹pic.twitter.com/ynVIzRraRU
— Joshua Cho (@jbchoknows) November 2, 2025

Yeah, that’s a bad challenge.

The score increased Chicago’s lead to 41-27 and put the Bengals in an even deeper hole.

That wasn’t Moore’s only noteworthy play of the afternoon. In the first quarter with the ball on the 2-yard line, he took a reverse and tossed a pass to a wide-open Caleb Williams for a touchdown.