3 winners, 3 losers from Bengals’ thrilling win vs. Titans in Divisional Round

One game stands in between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Super Bowl. It’s crazy to think the Bengals would be in this spot a year ago, as Joe Burrow was recovering from a knee injury and the team had won just six games under Zac Taylor.

Yet, a year later, here the stripes are — One win away from Super Bowl LVI. Insane, isn’t it?

Cincy took down the Tennessee Titans in thrilling fashion, winning the game 19-16 to knock off the No. 1 seed and advance to the AFC Championship Game. It wasn’t easy, of course, as Burrow was sacked a record-breaking nine times and the Titans had all of the momenta when the two-minute warning hit.

Well, the rest is history. The Bengals got the ball back and Evan McPherson drilled the game-winning field goal from 52 yards out.

I steered clear of doing winners and losers last week due to the excitement of the team ending their 31-year playoff drought but also because there weren’t any clear-cut losers. This week, however, there were.

Just about everyone else could have been considered a winner but to ensure that you weren’t here reading all day, I narrowed it down to three. It was difficult but these three played the biggest role in the team winning this game so that’s why I chose the three I did.

Let’s get to it, shall we?

Bengals Losers vs. Titans

I’m starting with the losers first because we want to end on a positive note, don’t we?

When it comes to the Bengals losers, there were really only three (or seven, depending on how you look at it) who could be options here. You probably already know who’s about to make this section before you even get to the names.

Offensive Line

Nine times. That’s how many times Joe Burrow was sacked on Saturday evening in Nashville. It felt like every time Burrow dropped back to pass, the Titans pass rush was in his face and knocking him to the ground.

Now, it’s worth noting that some of those sacks were Burrow’s fault but when you take those out of the equation, he was still sacked, what, six times? Seven times? Too many times, if you ask me.

Hakeem Adeniji and Isaiah Prince struggled the most but the entire o-line had a rough day at the office. If this game isn’t proof to the front office that the team needs to spend nearly all of their money on the o-line, I’m not sure what will.

Samaje Perine

When a team has the likes of Joe Mixon, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd on their offense, why on earth is Samaje Perine out there on a crucial play?

The fact of the matter is that Perine was out there and he was the reason Amani Hooker picked off Joe Burrow in questionable fashion and the Titans went on to score not long after. That pick could have ended Cincinnati’s season, as Tennessee tied the game on that touchdown and it felt like momentum was squarely on their side.

Chidobe Awuzie

Don’t get me wrong — Chidobe Awuzie was worth every penny Cincinnati spent on him in free agency but oh man this game was by far his worst in a Bengals uniform.

Awuzie was tasked with covering A.J. Brown and it did not go well, to say the least. Brown torched Awuzie on multiple plays, including one where he grabbed the tying touchdown at the end of the third quarter.

With either the Bills or Chiefs up next, it’s important that Awuzie bounce back from this poor performance.

Bengals Winners vs. Titans

It was much more difficult narrowing down the winner list to just three players. Pretty much everyone outside of the three losers listed on the previous segment could be considered winners in this game but I did my best to pick the three that had the biggest hand in the team winning.

Evan McPherson

How could Money Mac not be included on the list? Not only did the rookie kicker connect on all five kicks asked of him, but he had arguably the biggest kick in Bengals history when he knocked through the game-winner from 52 yards out.

McPherson has been the kicker this team needed and he’s continued to rise to the occasion whenever his number is called. Ice in his veins, indeed.

Joe Burrow

Despite being sacked nine times and getting hit 13 times total, Burrow came through in the clutch. He finished the game going 28-of-37 for 348 yards and his first interception since early December.

No, Burrow didn’t have any touchdowns but he continued to make big throws despite not having good protection. That throw he had to Ja’Marr Chase to set up the game-winning field goal was one that few quarterbacks could make.

Logan Wilson

The second-year linebacker had the clutch interception off of Ryan Tannehill to set up the game-winning score. Had this pick not happened, the Titans looked like they were on their way to attempting a game-winning kick of their own.

Wilson finished the game with eight tackles, one QB hit, one defended pass, and the interception heard around the world. He continues to be everything this team dreamed he could be when they made him a third-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

It was extremely difficult narrowing this section down to three but these three were the ones I went with. Guys like Chase, Tee Higgins, C.J. Uzomah, Joe Mixon, Jessie Bates, Mike Hilton, and D.J. Reader were also names I considered. Reader was actually one of the best players in the game so excluding him was tough.

The Bengals won because of all of these guys and now they’ll get a shot to make the Super Bowl. Let’s continue this wild ride!