Redskins vs. Bengals: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 Regular Season

Football fans at Wembley Stadium in London aren't strangers to games ending in a draw. It's just that the football is normally of the Premier League variety. 

On Sunday, however, the Cincinnati Bengals and Washington finished tied at 27-27. It was the second tie in the NFL in as many weeks—and the first time there have been two ties in one season since 1997, per the NFL on ESPN.

Washington had the opportunity to win the game late in overtime, but kicker Dustin Hopkins missed a 34-yard field goal wide left. That spoiled a huge game from quarterback Kirk Cousins, who finished 38-of-56 for 458 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Robert Kelley (87 rushing yards and a score), Jamison Crowder (nine receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown) and Jordan Reed (nine catches for 99 yards and a score) also led the way for Washington (4-3-1).

For Cincinnati (3-4-1), Andy Dalton finished 27-of-42 for 284 yards, a score and a pick, while A.J. Green was again dominant (nine receptions for 121 yards), and Tyler Eifert provided the team with a serious boost in the passing game (nine receptions for 102 yards and a score).

The teams combined for an impressive 961 yards from scrimmage and a less impressive 22 penalties.

Washington didn't waste any time putting points on the board. After receiving the opening kickoff, the team marched 80 yards in 15 plays, capped off by Kelley's four-yard touchdown plunge.

The NFL on Twitter shared the touchdown:

Washington appeared to be well-acclimated to a new setting, as Grant Paulsen of 106.7 The Fan noted:

The Bengals didn't take long to answer back with a score of their own.

A 65-yard kick return from Alex Erickson put the Bengals in Washington territory on the game's next drive, and the Bengals promptly went 36 yards in seven plays, with Giovani Bernard scoring on an eight-yard touchdown run.

Washington drove down the field on its next drive, however, reaching Cincinnati's 18-yard line before deciding to go for it on 4th-and-1. But Kelley slipped as he attempted to make a cut and was stopped short by the Bengals defense.

After holding Cincy to a three-and-out, Washington again drove down the field, this time settling for a Hopkins 20-yard field goal to give the team a 10-7 lead.

Cincinnati's Mike Nugent couldn't equalize on Cincinnati's next drive, missing a 51-yard attempt. The Bengals earned a reprieve three plays later, however, as Cousins attempted to find DeSean Jackson on 3rd-and-14 but instead threw an interception deep down the field to George Iloka.

But the Bengals went three-and-out again, and Washington had the opportunity to pad its lead to close the half. Hopkins' 55-yard field-goal attempt fell short, though.

Nonetheless, it was a dominating first half for Washington's defense, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Still, all of Washington's dominance didn't translate to points, and the Bengals made their opponent pay early in the second half.

Cincy opened the third quarter with an 11-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in a 15-yard touchdown reception from Eifert. 

A Nugent missed extra point kept the score within a field goal, 13-10.

But the touchdown was a reminder of how much the team missed Eifert while he was hurt, especially in the red zone, as Richard Skinner of WKRC-TV tweeted:

One drive later, the Bengals pushed the lead to 20-10, as Dalton sealed a 10-play, 64-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run on a naked bootleg. 

But with Cincinnati seemingly owning all of the momentum, Washington answered.

Cousins orchestrated a five-play, 91-yard drive that resulted in Reed's fantastic 23-yard catch and run to pull Washington to within 20-17. 

Reed's impressive scamper demonstrated the versatility he brings to Washington's offense, per Charlie Casserly of NFL.com:

The Bengals seemed poised to answer with another score early in the fourth quarter, as they drove down to Washington's 20-yard line. But Dalton tried to force a throw under pressure to Eifert, which floated into the arms of linebacker Will Compton.

It was the sort of push from the defensive front that Washington built into its game plan against Dalton, as Casserly noted:

Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com pointed out how Dalton has kept the turnovers to a minimum this season:

The mistake would prove costly.

Seven plays after Dalton's ill-advised throw and interception, Cousins found Crowder for a 33-yard touchdown pass, reclaiming a 24-20 lead for Washington.

Washington again had all of the momentum. And Cincinnati again had an answer.

This time, Dalton orchestrated a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, highlighted by a brilliant 40-yard reception from Green.

Jeremy Hill would ultimately walk into the end zone from one yard out, and Cincinnati regained the lead, 27-24, with 6:54 remaining in the fourth quarter.

After each team was forced to punt on its following drive, Washington took over on its own 33-yard line with 3:15 remaining. Cousins again led Washington down the field but couldn't punch the ball into the end zone, and Hopkins tied the game with a 40-yard field goal with 1:07 remaining.

Washington's pass rush continued to put pressure on Dalton, however, and the Bengals couldn't get in position to kick the game-winning field goal, which sent the game to overtime.

Washington won the toss and elected to receive in the extra frame, but the drive ended in a punt. The Bengals would do the same, and then Washington drove down the field, setting up Hopkins with a game-winning 34-yard attempt. He hooked it wide left, though, giving the Bengals one final shot to win with just over two minutes remaining in overtime.

But Dalton fumbled the ball on a quarterback sneak on 3rd-and-1, giving Washington the ball back on Cincinnati's 47-yard line. Washington couldn't muster one final scoring drive, and the game drew to its uneventful close.

Up next for both teams is a bye week.

Postgame Reaction

Neither team seemed particularly thrilled with the result, as was to be expected.

"I don't know what to say after this game," Washington coach Jay Gruden told Mike Jones of the Washington Post. "Don't know if I should be upset or happy...lot of guys fought, played through injury."

He added: "I don't know how to react. I didn't know it was possible to tie. There was a tie last week and I was like, 'How the heck did they tie?'"

Either Gruden was joking or he went full Donovan McNabb with that admission. Albert Breer of NFL.com suspected it was the former:

Marvin Lewis, meanwhile, was equally torn about the final result.

"Obviously not winning the game is disappointing," he told Shawn Pogatchnik of the Associated Press, via KIRO 7. "We had opportunities on both sides of the ball to win it."

The conversation for many of the players, meanwhile, dealt with whether games should end in ties at all. Washington lineman Trent Williams understood the need to end the game at some point.

"It's such a physical game you've got to put a cap on it," he told Jones. "Putting a cap on it is smart, but it does suck coming out with a tie."

DeSean Jackson, on the other hand, revealed he isn't a fan of the current setup, per Mike Garafolo of NFL.com:

Josh Norman wasn't a fan of a lot of things after the game.

He wasn't a fan of anyone blaming Hopkins for Washington's failure to win:

And he certainly wasn't a fan of the officiating:

After spending much of the contest matched up against Green, who had a huge game, it isn't hard to understand why Norman may have felt frustrated in general. 

And Washington lost the opportunity to gain ground in the NFC East, with the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles facing each other Sunday night. The Bengals can be equally frustrated: The AFC North is wide open and likely will be a tight race until the end of the season. 

For both Washington and Cincinnati, the failure to win Sunday could come back to haunt them in December.

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.