NFL playoffs: Defending AFC champion Bengals stuff Ravens in dramatic AFC wild-card victory
The Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens split their meetings this regular season, so the AFC wild-card game between the two on Sunday night served as the decider of this grudge match.
And in true AFC North fashion, a defensive play was the difference.
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley, starting in place of an injured Lamar Jackson, attempted to score on a 1-yard dive on third-and-goal early in the fourth quarter. He got stuffed, and linebacker Logan Wilson knocked the ball free, which lineman Sam Hubbard scooped up and ran back for an astonishing 98-yard touchdown. The score gave the Bengals a 24-17 lead, a margin they held for the victory.
Hubbard’s 98-yard return was the longest defensive TD in the playoffs since @BuffaloBills Taron Johnson’s 101-yard pick six off #Ravens’ QB Lamar Jackson in the 2020 Divisional Round. #RuleTheJungle @Bengals
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) January 16, 2023
Up next for the Bengals: a trip to Buffalo in the AFC divisional round.