Saturday's NFL roundup: Bengals finally win in playoffs, 26-19 over Raiders

Cincinnati — Paul Brown Stadium nearly shook in triumph. The city of Cincinnati might have, too.

Its latest hero, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, merely seemed to shrug after leading his team to its first playoff victory in 31 years, 26-19 over Las Vegas on Saturday in an AFC wild-card game.

“It’s exciting for the city, for the state, but we are not going to dwell on that, we are moving forward,” said Burrow, who threw two touchdown passes. “This is expected, this isn’t like the icing on top of the cake, this is the cake. So we are moving on.”

Burrow led an efficient offense that scored on six drives, Evan McPherson became the first rookie to make four field goals without a miss in a postseason debut, and Germaine Pratt sealed it with a fourth-down interception in the dying seconds.

It was a victory three decades in the making for the Bengals (11-7). After going from worst to first in the AFC North with a generally young roster, they ended that embarrassingly long postseason drought that included eight consecutive defeats.

“Who Dey” indeed.

Coach Zac Taylor said game balls were going to team owner Mike Brown and to the city itself.

“Some of them might not understand the significance of what happened today,” he said of his players. “The city can finally enjoy … this team and take the pressure off of the last 31 years. Today was significant for a lot of people.”

Their next opponent will depend on results in the other two AFC wild-card games this weekend.

“It’s going to be fun tomorrow to watch the games knowing we have the win,” said Burrow, the top overall selection in the 2020 draft who led the NFL in completion percentage this season. He went 24 for 34 for 244 yards Saturday.

Helped by some problematic officiating by Jerome Boger’s crew that might have allowed Burrow’s touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd to count when it shouldn’t have, the Bengals also extended a lengthy postseason drought for the Raiders (10-8). Las Vegas, which won its final four games to squeeze into the playoffs, last won in the postseason in the 2002 AFC championship game.

Cincinnati made it 4 for 4 on scoring drives late in the first half, though with some controversy. Burrow rolled right to avoid pressure and threw from close to the sideline. Play continued despite an erroneous whistle by an official, who thought Burrow stepped out of bounds. Boyd caught the 10-yard pass in the back of the end zone for a 20-6 lead. The play counted, to protests from the Raiders, who cited the rule that the ball should be returned to the previous spot.

And Las Vegas lost by seven points.

Daniel Carlson, the league’s top scorer, made a 47-yard field goal on the game’s opening possession, and the Bengals countered. And kept scoring, though mostly field goals. Burrow took Cincinnati 75 yards in 10 plays, connecting with C.J. Uzomah in the front of the end zone from the 7 to make it 7-3. Burrow threw for 65 yards on the drive and Uzomah celebrated his score with the Ickey Shuffle.

Then the Bengals’ defense stepped up with their sacks leader, T rey Hendrickson, stripping Carr of the ball. Defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi rumbled 11 yards with it to the Raiders 10, but Las Vegas held and McPherson made a 31-yard field goal.

The mistakes kept coming for the visitors. Peyton Barber touched a botched kickoff heading out of bounds at the Raiders 2, putting them in a hole. All-Pro punter A.J. Cole got off a 58-yarder, but Trent Taylor’s 14-yard return set up Cincinnati once more in prime position.

Ja’Marr Chase, who had nine receptions for 116 yards, kept victimizing the Raiders, his 38-yard reception getting the Bengals to the 6. McPherson made a 30-yarder for a 13-3 lead. It soon was 13-6 on Carlson’s 28-yard field goal.

Then came Boyd’s TD, followed by an impressive two-minute drill covering 80 yards for Las Vegas, capped by Carr’s 14-yard pass to Zay Jones that made it 20-13. McPherson, a fifth-round draft pick last April, made two more second-half field goals, as did Carlson.

Carr finished 29 of 54 for 310 yards.

The crowd of 66,277 fans hungry for some playoff gold had to hold their breath before getting it.

“I think Germaine has made a really big step this year, Taylor said. ”I thought last year was a good step, I think this year he has made a tremendous jump. Super reliable for us.”

►Buffalo 47, New England 17: Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills erased any doubt of who now rules the AFC East.

Allen set a team playoff record with five touchdown passes, including two to Dawson Knox, and Devin Singletary ran for two scores in the first half of a 47-17 throttling of the division rival New England Patriots in a wild-card playoff game Saturday night.

Allen finished 21 of 25 for 308 yards in a game Buffalo scored on each of its seven possessions that didn't end with a kneeldown.

The Bills beat New England for a second time in three weeks and rebounded from an embarrassing 14-10 loss at home on Dec. 6 in which the Patriots attempted just three passes while finishing with 222 yards rushing to counter the blustery conditions.

The margin of defeat was the largest for New England in coach Bill Belichick’s tenure, which began in 2000.

Though the winds were relatively calm Saturday, the Bills were hot in frigid conditions, with a game-time temperature of 7 degrees.

The third-seeded Bills advanced to the divisional round to host either the Cincinnati Bengals, who beat the Raiders earlier in the day, or travel to Kansas City, depending on the outcome of the Chiefs game against Pittsburgh on Sunday. A trip to Kansas City would feature a rematch of last year’s AFC championship game, which the Chiefs won 38-24.

Buffalo gained 300 yards of total offense, had 19 first downs and built a 27-3 lead at halftime. The 30-point margin of victory and 47 points scored were the second most by the Bills in a playoff game behind a 51-3 win over the Los Angeles Raiders in the AFC championship game on Jan. 20, 1991.

The Bills rolled into the postseason by winning their final four games to clinch their second consecutive division title. After losing 35 of 40 meetings to New England from 2000 to 2019, Buffalo has now defeated the Patriots in four of the past five meetings, coinciding with Tom Brady’s departure to Tampa Bay.

The Patriots limped into the playoffs by losing three of their last four, and were effectively outclassed in rookie Mac Jones' postseason debut.

New England's previous worst playoff loss under Belichick was a 33-14 defeat to Baltimore also in the wild-card round on Jan. 10, 2010.

Jones struggled in finishing 24 of 38 for 232 yards with two touchdowns to Kendrick Bourne, including a 4-yarder in the final two minutes. Jones was also intercepted twice in closing his season with a combined seven touchdowns passing and seven interceptions in his final five outings.

The Bills put the Patriots on their heels from the opening drive, with Allen patiently waiting in the pocket before scrambling to his right and avoiding a sack. Before stepping out of bounds, Allen lobbed an 8-yard pass to a wide-open Knox in the back right corner of the end zone.

Buffalo’s defense then snuffed out the Patriots' opening drive with Micah Hyde having the speed and angle to make a leaping interception in snatching the ball away just before Nelson Agholor was about to catch it in the end zone. Jones was also intercepted on New England’s opening drive of the second half, when his pass intended for Hunter Henry was deflected by linebacker Matt Milano and picked off by Levi Wallace.

No series was more indicative of New England’s flat-footed performance than allowing Singletary to score on a 16-yard run to cap a four-play, 89-yard scoring drive to put Buffalo up 27-0 with 1:53 left in the first half. Allen placed a perfect 45-yard pass to Stefon Diggs, who had a step on New England’s top defensive back J.C. Jackson, a Pro Bowl selection, up the right sideline. Two plays later, Singletary eluded the entire Patriots defense in reaching the end zone.