Cincinnati Bengals’ Sam Hubbard gave the longest fumble return in play-off history to hand the Bengals a 24-17 win over the Baltimore Ravens on wildcard weekend.
Hubbard ran 98 yards in the fourth quarter to send the last season’s Super Bowl runners-up into week two of this season’s NFL playoffs.
Last Sunday, the New York Giants for their own game, defeated the Minnesota Vikings 31-24.
While the Miami Dolphins scared the Buffalo Bills before the pre-season Super Bowl favourites won 34-31.
Cincinnati’s win brought a tense end to an intriguing day two of the wildcard weekend as all three games went down to the wire.
Read: NFL Announces Divisional Round Schedule
Bengals’ receiver Ja’Marr Chase scored an opening touchdown that was cancelled out by Baltimore’s JK Dobbins as the Ravens led 10-9 at half-time.
Joe Burrow Cincinnati’s quarterback got in from a yard to cap an 83-yard drive before Tyler Huntley, who was covering for the Ravens’ injured quarterback Lamar Jackson, hit Demarcus Robinson for a 41-yard touchdown.
That tied the score for both teams heading into the final quarter and as Huntley lunged for the end zone from a yard, the ball was knocked out of his hands. It fell right into Hubbard’s waiting arms and he raced downfield for an unbelievably match-winning score.
New York Giants Secure Their First Play-off Win In 11 Years
The New York Giants took the lead for most of the match at Minnesota, the third seed in the NFC; fourth-year quarterback Daniel Jones secured a road victory in his first playoff appearance.
Giants running back Saquon Barkley claimed a combination of 109 yards and two rushing touchdowns, the first from 28 yards, as New York gained a half-time lead of 17-14.
Minnesota and New York scored a touchdown in the third quarter before a Vikings field goal made it 24-24 early in the fourth.
Saquon then capped a 12-play drive with a two-yard score to restore New York’s lead and they held on for their first playoff victory since winning their fourth Super Bowl at the end of the 2011 season.
Daniel Jones also became the first quarterback in play-off history to throw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns while adding more than 70 rushing yards.
This weekend the Giants will visit their NFC East rivals the Philadelphia Eagles, who are the number one seed and had a bye to the divisional round.
Damar Hamlin Inspires Buffalo Bills
Miami Dolphins bounced back from a 17-0 deficit to briefly lead 24-20 against the Buffalo Bills who drew inspiration from a recovering Damar Hamlin for their NFL playoffs game.
Hamlin watched last Sunday’s game from his home where he is recuperating from the Cardiac arrest he suffered on the field on 2nd January. On Saturday the Bills’ safety visited his team for the first time since the incident.
“There was a big line of guys ready to love up on him”, quarterback Josh Allen said. Allen had three touchdown passes and two interceptions. “It was a blessing come true to see him back in the facility.”
Buffalo Bills are the AFC’s number two seeds and looked on course for a blowout win after Dawson Knox and James Cook scored.
The Dolphins lost five of their last six games in the regular season and had to play Skylar Thompson their third-choice quarterback, but drew level when he found Mike Gesicki for a touchdown.
A field goal tipped the Bills into a 20-17 lead at the half, only for Zach Sieler to score a defensive touchdown for the Dolphins after Allen fumbled.
However, Buffalo quickly recovered and answered with two rapid touchdowns from Cole Beasley and Gabe Davis, and after getting back to within three during the final quarter, Miami could not get within scoring range on their final possession.
The Bills will now relive an emotional matchup against the Bengals, in a rematch of the cancelled regular season game when Hamlin had a cardiac arrest.
The first round of the NFL playoffs will conclude with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosting the Dallas Cowboys at 01:15 GMT on Tuesday.
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Jane Njoku
November 1, 2024 at 2:46 am[…] between matches. But, after their game with the Denver Broncos, they’ll host division rivals Cincinnati Bengals. This means they will play two matches in five […]