Bengals win first playoff game in 31 years, set the table for a run at AFC title – Cincinnati Bengals Blog
CINCINNATI — Ship those people textual content messages. The Cincinnati Bengals have eventually gained a playoff recreation.
Cincinnati defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 26-19 at Paul Brown Stadium in an AFC wild-card recreation on Saturday. It was Cincinnati’s first playoff victory in 31 many years, considering that prior to cell telephones were being able of sending texts, as memes on the net reminded people in the days previous the recreation.
But the earn wasn’t just about ending the longest playoff earn drought in the NFL. It was about the first move in creating a operate at the AFC title.
In excess of the system of the season, Cincinnati went from the projected cellar dweller in the AFC North to division champs, ending a 6-calendar year stretch without a playoff look. That journey involved an overtime loss to the Inexperienced Bay Packers, a single of the best teams in the NFL, and a 7 days 17 earn above the Kansas Town Chiefs, the AFC representatives in final year’s Super Bowl.
These performances indicated Cincinnati wasn’t just a workforce that could earn a playoff recreation. They showed the Bengals can hold with the greatest in the NFL.
For the 2nd time this season, the Bengals necessary to hold tough from the Raiders in buy to select up a earn. The first came on 7 days 11 and set the tone for the 2nd 50 % of Cincinnati’s season.
The 2nd victory was significantly extra important. It gave the metropolis of Cincinnati a thing it hasn’t expert in a long time and set the table for the Bengals to have a really particular postseason.
Describe the recreation in two words and phrases: Curse ending. The Bengals ended the fabled “Curse of Bo Jackson” — the former Raiders running back’s last NFL recreation in January 1991 that also ended Cincinnati’s final playoff operate that featured a earn.
Pivotal perform: On 3rd-and-4 at the conclusion of the first 50 %, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow scrambled and discovered Tyler Boyd for a ten-lawn touchdown pass to give Cincinnati a twenty-six guide. In the beginning, it appeared Burrow was likely to go out of bounds. A referee even blew an errant whistle. But the perform ongoing and Cincinnati obtained a essential purple-zone touchdown.
QB breakdown: Burrow was successful in his playoff debut. Following throwing for 148 yards before in the season from the Raiders, Burrow finished Saturday’s earn completing 24-of-34 passes for 244 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
