The Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Baltimore Ravens 24-17 in their wild-card playoff game, making franchise history in the process. This marks the first time that the Bengals have managed to win a playoff game in back-to-back seasons.
Having reached the Super Bowl last season, the Bengals defeated the Ravens to advance to the divisional playoffs, where the reigning AFC North champions are set to face the Buffalo Bills, who defeated the Miami Dolphins 34-31.
“It’s a whole team, era, whatever you want to call it,” defensive end Sam Hubbard exclaimed following the historic win. “That’s just the mentality we have. We’re not worried about curses or the past or anything like that.”
Dubbed “The Curse of Bo Jackson” due to the then Los Angeles Raiders running back suffering a career-ending injury in a playoff win against the Bengals, the team from Cincinnati had gone 31 years without a playoff victory before finally tasting victory last season.
Last season, the Bengals managed to match its franchise record for most victories in a single season after securing its 12th win against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game.
