Bengals’ McPherson hits FG as time expires for win
NASHVILLE, TENN. >> The Cincinnati Bengals just keep ending postseason droughts, and their latest victory has them in their first AFC championship game in 33 years.
Rookie Evan McPherson kicked a 52-yard field goal as time expired, lifting the fourth-seeded Bengals past the top-seeded Tennessee Titans 19-16 on Saturday to end the NFL’s longest active road playoff skid.
“He’s got ice in his veins,” Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow said of McPherson. “There’s not much more to be said. He’s just as cool as it gets.”
A week after snapping a 31-year playoff victory drought, the Bengals (12-7) finally won their first road game in the postseason after losing their first seven. They reached the 1981 and 1988 Super Bowls by winning on their home field.
Cincinnati will play in the AFC championship game next Sunday at the winner of the Buffalo-Kansas City matchup in the other AFC divisional round game today.
The Bengals intercepted Ryan Tannehill three times, setting up two of McPherson’s four field goals. Logan Wilson picked off Tannehill with 20 seconds left at the Cincinnati 47. Joe Burrow hit Pro Bowl rookie receiver Ja’Marr Chase with a 19-yard pass, then the Bengals ran twice to set up McPherson for the win.
“That’s a kicker’s dream,” McPherson said, “to have the game on your shoulders.”
Burrow shook off being sacked nine times as Tennessee tied an NFL mark held by four other teams for the most in the postseason. The Bengals’ secondyear quarterback threw for 348 yards, and Chase finished with 109 yards receiving.
Joe Mixon ran for the Bengals’ lone touchdown, a 16-yarder on their first drive of the third quarter.
“We found a way all year,” Burrow said. “Man, crazy, crazy game. That’s a really, really good team. Unbelievable defensive line. They had a great plan on defense. Credit to them, we found a way at the end.”
The Titans (12-6) wrapped up their 25th season in Tennessee with their third straight loss on their own field as the AFC’s No. 1 seed. “I don’t think Ryan or myself or anybody did enough to win the game,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said. “That’s how it goes. It’s never going to be about one person, not as long as I’m head coach, which will be a while.”
Tennessee had Derrick Henry, the 2020 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year, on the field after he missed nine games with a broken foot. He ran for a touchdown and finished with 66 yards.
Tannehill was picked off on the Titans’ first play of the game. His second came on first-and-goal at the Bengals 9 in the third. He finished with 220 yards passing. A.J. Brown had five catches for 142 yards.
Burrow was the NFL’s most sacked quarterback during the season, just ahead of Tannehill.
Fantasy pick: Rams WR Cooper Kupp. The receiving Triple Crown winner has 29 catches, 362 yards and three touchdowns vs. Tampa Bay in regular-season games the past three years. Needing to match the Bucs’ offense, you know where Stafford will look first. Prediction: Bucs 26, Rams 24. The Rams might pay the price for blowing their regularseason finale and slipping from second to fourth seed, which is what makes this a road game instead of a home game. Imagine it comes down to a late Rams drive, and the crowd is making communication hard. This should be a tight game between teams whose last three meetings have been won by the underdog.
— Kevin Modesti