CINCINNATI (AP) — Joe Burrow led an efficient offense that scored on six drives, including two of his touchdown passes, and rookie Evan McPherson made four field goals as the Bengals finally advanced in the playoffs with a 26-19 win over Las Vegas in Saturday’s wild-card game.
“It’s exciting for the city, for the state, but we are not going to dwell on that, we are moving forward,” said Burrow, who threw two touchdown passes. “This is expected, this isn’t like the icing on top of the cake, this is the cake. So we are moving on.”
It was a victory three decades in the making for the Bengals (11-7).
After going from worst to first in the AFC North with a generally young roster, they ended an embarrassing long postseason drought that spanned 31 years and eight consecutive defeats.
“Who Dey” indeed.
Their next opponent will depend on results in the other two AFC wild-card games this weekend.
A mostly tense game between teams with long playoff droughts was disrupted by some problematic officiating.
The margin of victory for Cincinnati was Joe Burrow’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd late in the second quarter on which the quarterback barely was in bounds when he threw the ball.
But an official right at the sideline where Burrow threw appeared to blow his whistle while the ball was in the air.
Players on the field for the Raiders protested a bit to no avail.
Daniel Carlson, the league’s top scorer, made a 47-yard field goal on the game’s opening possession, and the Bengals countered. And kept scoring, though mostly field goals. Burrow took Cincinnati 75 yards in 10 plays, connecting with C.J. Uzomah in the front of the end zone from the 7 to make it 7-3. Burrow threw for 65 yards on the drive and Uzomah celebrated his score with the Ickey Shuffle.
Then the Bengals’ defense stepped up with their sacks leader, Trey Hendrickson, stripping Carr of the ball. Defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi rumbled 11 yards with it to the Raiders 10, but Las Vegas held and McPherson made a 31-yard field goal.
The mistakes kept coming for the visitors. Peyton Barber touched a botched kickoff heading out of bounds at the Raiders 2, putting them in a hole. All-Pro punter A.J. Cole got off a 58-yarder, but Trent Taylor’s 14-yard return set up Cincinnati once more in prime position.
Ja’Marr Chase, who had nine receptions for 116 yards, kept victimizing the Raiders, his 38-yard reception getting the Bengals to the 6. McPherson made a 30-yarder for a 13-3 lead. It soon was 13-6 on Carlson’s 28-yard field goal.
Then came Boyd’s TD, followed by an impressive two-minute drill covering 80 yards for Las Vegas, capped by Carr’s 14-yard pass to Zay Jones that made it 20-13. McPherson, a fifth-round draft pick last April, made two more second-half field goals, as did Carlson.
Carr finished 29 of 54 for 310 yards.
The crowd of 66,277 fans hungry for some playoff gold had to hold their breath before getting it.