NFL playoffs: Sam Hubbard's 98-yard fumble return lifts Bengals over Ravens

CINCINNATI — The ball went right to Sam Hubbard, and he took off down the field. All the way down the field.

The 6-5, 265-pound defensive end returned Tyler Huntley‘s fumble 98 yards for the tiebreaking touchdown early in the fourth quarter as the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Baltimore Ravens, 24-17, in an AFC Wild Card game on Sunday night.

It was the longest fumble return for a touchdown in NFL postseason history. It also was the longest go-ahead TD in the fourth quarter in the postseason.

“You can’t even dream that one up,” Hubbard said. “It’s pretty special.”

Facing third-and-goal at the 1 with about 12 minutes left, Huntley tried to go over the top of the line for the go-ahead score, but he was stood up by Germaine Pratt and the ball was knocked loose by Logan Wilson. It went directly to Hubbard without hitting the ground and he took off down the middle of the field, helped by a convoy of three teammates. Only the hustling Mark Andrews had any chance to stop him, and his dive at about the Ravens’ 25 proved futile.

“That’s why you never give up on a play, even inside the 2,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Huntley was supposed to go low on the play that resulted in the fumble.

“That’s the way the play is designed,“ he said. “We felt that was the best call. We just didn’t execute it right.”

Moments after the TD by the Cincinnati native, with the Paycor Stadium crowd of 66,399 still buzzing, Hubbard sucked on oxygen as he sat on the bench on the sideline.

“To make the play and be the guy to come through is an amazing feeling,” he said.

Baltimore drove to the Cincinnati 17 in the final minute, but Kevin Zeitler was flagged for holding and Huntley threw incomplete to the end zone on the final play.

“I feel like we controlled this game from start to finish, and it just didn‘t turn our way,” Andrews said.

Playing behind a patchwork offensive line, Joe Burrow passed for 209 yards and a touchdown for the Bengals. He also had a 1-yard touchdown run.

A year after Cincinnati made a surprise run to the Super Bowl, it won a playoff game for the second straight postseason for the first time in franchise history.

“Hard-fought. That’s how it is in the playoffs, especially when you play a divisional team for a third time,’’ Burrow said. “It’s never going to be easy.”

Next up for Cincinnati is a trip to Buffalo for a rematch of a Week 17 game that was canceled after Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest on the field.

Playing without Lamar Jackson again because of the quarterback’s knee injury, Baltimore managed two offensive touchdowns for the first time since Nov. 27. Huntley passed for 226 yards and two TDs, but he also had a costly interception.