Super Bowl MVP Von Miller's sack adds to Bengals' fourth-quarter woes

Making big plays and finishing the game right were post-game mantras for multiple Bengals players after Denver’s 29-17 win, and Cedric Ogbuehi was among them.

The right tackle held off Super Bowl 50 MVP Von Miller for most of the game, but allowed a sack with just 74 seconds remaining Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium. Miller dropped Andy Dalton for a 5-yard loss.

“We’ve got to finish better. Myself, as a team. The last drive, I gave up a sack. You’ve just got to finish better and just next time win the fourth quarter,” Ogbuehi said.

Miller, an outside linebacker who’s often quarterbacks’ worst nightmares, had three sacks last week against the Colts but largely was neutralized by Ogbuehi and other Bengals. Andrew Whitworth and Jake Fisher helped prevent major damage.

Asked if there was any consolation that the four-time Pro-Bowler garnered his lone sack when the game was nearly over, Ogbuehi said no.

“I mean, my job is to not let my guy touch Andy. So I failed that,” Ogbuehi said.

Ogbuehi went one-on-one and alternately had help with Miller, who also finished with a quarterback hurry and two tackles but was relatively quiet on a day the Bengals gained 332 total yards. Miller bypassed Lyle Alzado for fifth on the Broncos’ all-time sack list with his late takedown.

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The game was a reunion for Ogbuehi and Miller, former Texas A&M players whose college careers overlapped Ogbuehi’s freshman season. Ogbuehi said his incentive to play well had less to do with that connection than Miller’s caliber as an elite player.

The outing marked Ogbuehi's third career start.

Miller showcased his lightning speed with his first tackle of the afternoon. With 8:26 left in the first half, he blazed past Tyler Kroft to help Brandon Marshall bring down Jeremy Hill.

Ogbuehi was called for holding on Miller early in the third quarter. The penalty was declined and the Bengals punted.

While the Broncos logged two sacks on a disastrous Bengals possession minutes later, both came courtesy of Shane Ray. He had three of Denver’s four sacks throughout.

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“I think you’re going to see that from Shane and Shaquil Barrett,” Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said. “They’re stepping in for DeMarcus Ware, but they’ve really been working as starters since April 27 when we went to minicamp. They’ve worked for their opportunities and they’re taking advantage of (them).”

Ogbuehi's blocking helped the Bengals end a drive with a field goal for the 17-16 lead. Then, in the outing’s final minutes, he twice denied Miller’s attempts before the Broncos player broke through for the sack.

“Tomorrow we’ll watch tape and fix mistakes but we’ve got to do a better job of finishing the fourth quarter,” Ogbuehi said.

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Whitworth agreed. He thought the Bengals “did a good job” on Miller overall but squandered too many late chances to change the outcome.

“I think in the NFL, anytime you’re in the ball game at the end with a chance to win it, you’ve done something good – but you may not have done something great. And the great teams finish those games. We’ve got to find a way to finish,” Whitworth said.

“This is a very good football team. We consider ourselves a very good football team. We went toe-to-toe there at the end and just didn’t find the great plays that make the difference in winning that game.”

Ogbuehi briefly talked to Miller afterward. Miller told Ogbuehi he had a good game and that it was fun playing against him.

“He just told me, ‘Congrats,’” Ogbuehi said.