Football is known to be a game of inches, but in a game where the Baltimore Ravens seemed primed to upset the third-seed Cincinnati Bengals, a 98-yard fumble return touchdown made all the difference.
The play occurred in the fourth quarter on a quarterback sneak attempt by the Ravens’ Tyler Huntley near the goal line where Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard came away with the football with nothing but open field between him and the end zone. Veteran tight end Mark Andrews told reporters about the play after the game and made it clear that this massive mistake negated all of the good work that the Ravens’ offense put in over the course of the previous three quarters.
“It’s just tough. I think you look at the offense, and we’re moving the ball, making big-time plays, people are doing their jobs to get down to the one [-yard line] or whatever it was and sneak it. For that to happen – just a freak thing – and for them to turn around and get seven [points], that’s basically a 14-point swing, that’s tough man. With all that being said, we were still in the game. Guys fought hard, continued to fight hard no matter what. You love to see that from the guys. I’m super proud of this team. I’m excited for this team to get back and to get better.”
With an important offseason ahead of them, Baltimore will look to reload and re-focus ahead of a 2023 campaign that should see them as one of the AFC’s top teams if they are able to have a fully healthy Lamar Jackson at the helm.