The Bengals defeated the Ravens 24-17 in a wild-card game Sunday to advance to the NFL divisional round next weekend. Here’s what you need to know:
- With just under 12 minutes to play, Bengals edge rusher Sam Hubbard recovered a goal line fumble from Baltimore quarterback Tyler Huntley and returned it 98 yards for the go-ahead score.
- The Bengals defense sacked Huntley four times and held the Ravens scoreless on their final four possessions.
- Bengals QB Joe Burrow finished with 209 yards, hitting one touchdown while completing 23 of 32 passes. Huntley’s two touchdowns and 226 yards were both season highs for the backup who made his fifth start after Lamar Jackson’s injury.
- Cincinnati’s win leaves it with a 19.9 percent chance to win the AFC championship and a 10 percent chance to win the Super Bowl, according to the model run by The Athletic’s Austin Mock. The conference championship probability ranks third among AFC teams, and the Super Bowl mark is fifth among the nine remaining playoff teams.
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
Timely Bengals defense shows up again
A thieving Bengals defense that fueled the team’s run to Super Bowl LVI has been on a takeaway heater since the calendar flipped to December, and it came up with its biggest — and longest — one yet with Hubbard’s 98-yard fumble return for a touchdown to break a 17-17 tie after the Ravens had first-and-goal at the 2.
Advertisement
Linebacker Logan Wilson punched the ball out as Huntley tried to stretch it over the goal line on third-and-goal, rescuing the team from a subpar offensive showing in a typically brutal AFC North slugfest. The Bengals ranked fifth in turnover margin (plus-5) since the start of December and ninth in total takeaways (11). — Morrison
GO DEEPER
Breaking down Sam Hubbard's iconic Bengals TD with those who lived it
Ravens doomed by mistakes
Mistakes and a failure to finish games killed the Ravens all season. There was no bigger example than Huntley’s fumble and Hubbard’s return.
It was a microcosm of the Ravens season. They never were able to fix the back-breaking mistakes that proved to be the difference between them winning and losing. — Zrebiec
GO DEEPER
Ravens have only themselves to blame as their season comes to an end
Playing the what if game in Baltimore
It’s fair to play the what if game with the Ravens. As in what if Jackson was healthy enough to play. Jackson missed the final six games of the Ravens season and Baltimore lost four of them. Huntley played well for much of Sunday, but he made two critical mistakes, an interception that led to a Bengals touchdown in the first quarter and his fumble that resulted in the Bengals score in the fourth quarter.
At the very least, Jackson almost certainly would have helped the team’s red zone woes. — Zrebiec
GO DEEPER
Lamar Jackson's future is increasingly a mystery: Mike Sando's Pick Six
Highlight of the game
PLAYOFF FOOTBALL 😱
A 98-yard turn around. A 14-point swing.
Sam Hubbard takes it all the way for the Bengals lead.
🎥 @NFL | @Bengals pic.twitter.com/ct9PSn7YSG
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) January 16, 2023
Key stat
Hubbard’s fourth-quarter score was the longest fumble-return touchdown in NFL postseason history.
What they’re saying
J.K. Dobbins said he’s tired of not getting the ball, tired of being held back. Said Huntley should have never been in that position on sneak. And then he added, “If we would’ve had Lamar, we would’ve won, too.”
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) January 16, 2023
Joe Burrow on what’s going through his mind as Hubbard takes off: “Run faster, Sam!”
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) January 16, 2023
Required reading
- Bengals weren’t perfect — maybe even lucky — but it doesn’t matter
- Bengals’ run fueled by holstering of a Joe Burrow superpower
- How the Bengals are using last year’s Super Bowl run to kickstart an encore
(Photo: Joseph Maiorana / USA Today)