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Not many gave the Baltimore Ravens a lot of an opportunity to upset their divisional rival Cincinnati Bengals within the Wild Card spherical of the playoffs. The Bengals had been driving a seven-game successful streak into the postseason and had been 8.5-point favorites. The Ravens, in the meantime, had been with out star quarterback Lamar Jackson and sputtered down the stretch with backup Tyler Huntley behind heart.
Yet the Ravens outplayed the Bengals for a lot of Sunday night time. They outgained their rivals 364 to 234 yards, they averaged way more yards per play (5.5) than the Bengals (4.3), and Huntley was even outdueling All-Pro Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.
After shaking off an early interception, Huntley gave the Ravens offense life. He led the Ravens on a powerful 17-play, 75-yard drive bringing Baltimore inside two factors early. A couple of minutes later, he was capable of orchestrate a two-minute drill to provide the Ravens an unbelievable 10-9 lead on the half.
When the Bengals got here out firing within the second half, Huntley was up for the battle. After Burrow retook the lead for Cincinnati late within the third quarter, the Ravens quarterback answered simply three minutes later with a 41-yard landing bomb to Demarcus Robinson to tie the sport up.
Then got here the pivotal drive within the sport. At first, the drive had all of the makings of a career-changing second for Huntley. He dropped a go proper within the bucket to tight finish Mark Andrews for a 25-yard acquire on third-and-1. On the very subsequent play, he took a learn choice for 35 yards all the best way down the the Bengals 2-yard line. He was six ft away from giving the Ravens a landing lead over their division rivals with lower than 13 minutes left within the sport.
Three performs later, it was the Bengals who had a lead during which they’d not relinquish the remainder of the sport.
Between these moments, Huntley made a crucial error that value the Ravens their season. Facing a third-and-goal from the one, the Ravens dialed up a quarterback sneak. But relatively than put his head down and push ahead, Huntley made his personal determination to try to leap over the pile. There, Bengals linebackers Germaine Pratt and Logan Wilson had been ready for him. Wilson punched the ball out of Huntley’s arms, and it conveniently landed in Cincinnati defensive finish Sam Hubbard’s arms, who turned and ran 98 yards for the go-ahead rating.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh confirmed after the sport that the design of the play was to go low.
“It wasn’t executed just the right way,” Harbaugh stated. “Tyler went over the top. That’s a burrow play. He’s got to go low on that. That’s the way the play’s designed.”
Huntley stated he thought the protection was giving him sufficient room excessive, however he needs he had gone low on the play.
“Yeah, maybe they wouldn’t have returned it all the way,” Huntley stated. “But at the time, I just felt like everyone was packed in, they shot for our linemen’s legs, the (line)backers just felt pretty good up on the line, and I just tried to make a play.”
The Ravens are within the midst of a quarterback disaster. Jackson is on an expiring contract, and Baltimore has failed to succeed in an settlement with the previous MVP in two offseasons of negotiations. While Baltimore has insisted they are going to re-enter negotiations when the time is correct, some have questioned Jackson’s curiosity in returning based mostly on him sitting the previous six video games with a knee damage. More questions had been raised on Sunday night time when the NBC broadcast reported Jackson didn’t even journey with the workforce for the Wild Card sport.
Harbaugh didn’t touch upon Jackson’s state of affairs after the sport, solely providing reward for Huntley—who was coping with a pair of accidents on his personal—for a gutsy effort in a troublesome place.
“I think coming off the shoulders and the wrist injuries and fighting his way back onto the field and just giving it everything he had (in) that kind of a performance.”
The Ravens head again to Baltimore to determine the place to go from right here, and the Bengals advance to face the Bills within the Divisional spherical.