CINCINNATI — Danielle Hunter tied Jared Allen on the Vikings sacks leaderboard with a less-than-conventional sack and passed him Saturday with one of a more traditional variety.
The two sacks by Hunter were part of five by Minnesota, but the Vikings fell to the Cincinnati Bengals **27-24 in overtime** Saturday.
"That was a tough one. We prepared all week, and at the end of the game, we came up short and lost the turnover battle," Hunter said. "We've definitely got to get better at that."
Hunter matched Allen while delivering a key stop in the red zone after the Bengals drove 63 yards to start the game.
The Bengals tried a trick play involving a tight end pass by Tanner Hudson, but Hudson was unable to set and throw the pass. Hunter ushered him out of bounds for a loss of 4 on a third-and-1 from the Minnesota 12-yard line.
View game action photos from the Vikings vs. Bengals Week 15 at Paycor Stadium.
The sack prompted Cincinnati to settle for a 34-yard field goal to finish its opening drive and gave Hunter 14.5 on the season, matching his previous career high for a single campaign (2018 and 2019).
Hunter passed Allen, moving into sixth in franchise history (86.5 sacks) with a takedown of Browning for a loss of 14 on a second-and-10 from the Cincinnati 34 inside the 2-minute warning.
The loss forced the Bengals to punt two plays later and gave Minnesota's offense a chance, but a promising drive ended with an interception of Nick Mullens by defensive tackle B.J. Hill.
"I'm about going out there and doing what I need to do for my teammates," Hunter said. "It's not about me. It's about the team, so I'm doing what I can for them."
A 7-3 halftime edge was all Minnesota had to show for an impressive first half in which Minnesota outgained Cincinnati 188 to 101, had three of four possessions gain 44 or more yards and limited the Bengals to 42 yards of offense on their second-through-fifth possessions of the game.
"That's a great football team," Hunter said. "Unfortunately, we had more mistakes than they had."
Vikings Single-Season Sacks Leaders
- Jared Allen, 22 in 2011 (16-game season)
- Chris Doleman, 21 in 1989 (16-game season)
T-3. Keith Millard, 18 in 1989 (16-game season)
T-3. Alan Page, 18 in 1976 (14-game season)
T-5. John Randle, 15.5 in 1997 (16-game season)
T-5. Danielle Hunter, 15.5 in 2023 (through 14 of 17 games)
