The Cincinnati Bengals entered their Wild Card round matchup against the Baltimore Ravens as heavy favorites considering all the injuries the Ravens were dealing with. And while the Bengals ended up winning the game when all was said and done, picking up a 24-17 victory, it was certainly not as easy as they would have hoped it would be.
The Bengals controlled the game for the most part, but the Ravens simply never let them run away with it. In fact, if it weren't for one massive game-changing play (which we will look at in a minute) the Bengals might have ended up losing this game. But at the end of the day, a win is a win, and Cincinnati will be happy to have survived to see another day by advancing to the Divisional Round.
Cincy will have to shift their focus to their upcoming matchup quickly, because they now have a huge matchup against the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round. But before we fully put this game in the rearview mirror, it seems like a good time to look back at the action and see who stood out, and who failed to deliver for the Bengals. So with that in mind, let's take a look at two studs and two duds from Cincinnati's Wild Card victory over Baltimore.
Bengals studs
Sam Hubbard
Talk about a legendary playoff moment. Sam Hubbard didn't do a ton when you look at the box score, as he racked up four tackles and one quarterback hit, which typically isn't good enough from a player who is generally considered to be one of the Bengals best pass rushers. But Hubbard made the play that very well may have saved the Bengals season.
The Ravens were on the Bengals one-yard line early in the fourth quarter with the score tied at 17, and seemed set to take the lead. But Logan Wilson forced Tyler Huntley to fumble the football as he attempted to jump over the pile and cross into the end zone, and Hubbard proceeded to scoop it up and take the ball 98 yards the other way to completely change the course of the game, giving Cincinnati a 24-17 lead that ended up being the final score. Without that play, who knows if the Bengals would be advancing to the Divisional Round.
Ja'Marr Chase
This wasn't the greatest day at the office for the Bengals offense, but that typically happens when you play a divisional rival in two straight games. But that didn't stop Ja'Marr Chase from putting together another spectacular outing in a career that has already been full of them, despite this being just his second season in the league.
Cincy's offense didn't have any sort of consistency in this game, but Chase was the guy they could consistently turn to when they needed yards. Chase's final statline (9 REC, 84 YDS, 1 TD) shows he was key in keeping the ball moving on offense for the Bengals, and while he's had bigger games, it's an even more impressive line when you consider no other Bengals pass-catcher had more than four catches and 45 yards. Once again, Chase will be critical to the Bengals hopes of making a deep playoff run this year.
Bengals duds
Eli Apple
It seems like Eli Apple always seems to find a way to make waves around the league in the playoffs. One of the league's most fearless trash-talkers, despite his mediocre at best play, Apple once again got shown up in this one, and turned in a lackluster outing that will have Cincinnati's coaching staff scrambling to figure out a new strategy for employing their secondary.
Apple finished with six tackles, failing to make a pass breakup or record an interception along the way. He was also the primary man in coverage on Demarcus Robinson's game-tying 41-yard touchdown late in the third quarter, with Robinson somehow getting wide open to saunter into the end zone. Overall, it was another bad outing from Apple, and the Bengals should be concerned with his play in this one.
Hayden Hurst
The four catch, 45-yard performance we mentioned that came in behind Chase was from Hayden Hurst, who generally had a good game as a safety valve for Joe Burrow under center. Hurst also nearly had a touchdown, which may have saved him from making this list, but has also committed a pretty big gaffe that cost Cincinnati.
With just under three minutes left in the second quarter, Burrow found Hurst on a checkdown on third-and-16, but he ended up fumbling the football, with Baltimore recovering it. This led to a field goal for the Ravens, and allowed them to enter halftime with a surprising 10-9 lead. It didn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but these are mistakes that simply cannot happen in the playoffs, and Hurst is lucky that the Bengals still managed to pull out a win despite this mistake on his end.
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