Devastating dropped pass leads to Bengals win, a breakdown
What Happened
With 34 seconds left in the game, the Tennessee Titans hold a 16-16 tie against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Titans have the ball and just need a first down to run out the clock and head to overtime. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill drops back and finds his receiver wide open, but the pass slips right through the receiver's hands. Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt (#44) makes the heads-up play, tipping the ball up in the air where it is intercepted by fellow linebacker Logan Wilson (#51). The Bengals sideline erupts in celebration, realizing this could be their chance to win the game. Replays show the ball was simply dropped by the Titans receiver, though Pratt did make an attempt to knock it away. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow quickly grabs the loose ball and gets his team in position for a game-winning field goal attempt. Kicker Evan McPherson trots onto the field, shaking out his legs to stay loose in the cold weather. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor calls a timeout, allowing McPherson to collect himself before the decisive kick. As the snap arrives, McPherson calmly lines up and drills the 52-yard field goal, sending the Bengals fans into a frenzy. Bengals linebacker Markus Bailey (#89) celebrates the make before the ball even goes through the uprights, knowing the kick has split the posts. Burrow rushes over to embrace his head coach, the two exchanging an excited high-five after the Bengals clinch their first AFC Championship game appearance in 33 years. "That's much more fun being the team doing the kicking than not," says Zac Taylor after the game. Burrow echoes the sentiment, simply stating "Gotta be good to hug the coach" as he reflects on the Bengals' hard-fought victory. This heartbreaking loss for the Titans marks the end of their season, while the Bengals advance to face the winner of the Chiefs-Bills matchup with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentthe bengals are about to play in their
first afc championship game in 33 years
older than me this is how they got there
i edited this last week and i forgot to
record the voiceover because i was busy
tied up at 16 a piece 34 seconds left
tennessee all they have to do is get a
first down and then their kickers who
are warming up going to kick it and
bengal's coach is thinking huh man
how good would it be if we were the ones
doing kicking that guy talks to his
girlfriend and they're dressed the same
like bang like bangles anyway here's the
throw first down it was right in their
hands tip drill catches it bangles
number 44 turns the number 51. oh my god
classic football guys celebration
putting their heads together and then
just looking around in disbelief i don't
know what happens here either it hits
the receiver right in the hands and just
bounces up which very well is the case
or
the defender's right hand does something
does the defender's right hand
knock the receiver's right hand down
or does tan and hill just have a perfect
throw
not be caught and then that's the entire
game right there
i don't know i don't know how much
credit that defender should be getting
or not getting you need another angle
looks like he just cut try to come up
from underneath it 55's right there oh
my god heart broken so
heartbroken because now burrow just
grabs the ball it gives you gonna put
them right in the field goal range with
one play just a lot easier than uh what
happened to the tennessee on the play
before and they're going crazy on the
sign line
yeah he's like man
that must be nice to put a ball in the
guy's hands and he just catches it and
then you get to kick a field goal and
you get to go to the championship game
mcpherson he's like i'm good i'm good
i'm ready to go i'm just going to go
hang out by the heater real quick
because i am a bit cold and i think this
might help so just giant tube heater
socks i mean look at the pants when you
really stop and you look at the pants
situation in football sometimes it
really weirds you out those are really
high it's like lederhosen uh so he gets
warm now variable's like oh my this i'm
just i guess i'll call it time out i
gotta collect myself they call a timeout
burrow scurries over there gets a couple
more seconds off the clock moves the
ball evan mcpherson three game-winning
kicks this season puts his mean face on
lines it up just how he likes it and we
are off drills it look at this
at this point 89's already celebrating
on the left there
and he stops watching the kicker
stops watching right
and
knows it's good gonna turn around and
celebrate with his buddy doesn't need
the satisfaction of watching it go
through the uprights i think if i was a
kicker i'd need the satisfaction of
watching it go through the uprights i
celebrate with him fourth game winning
field goal coach
he was right it was much more fun to be
the team doing the kicking than not
burro he gets to go on
see another day he's the new stud in
town one pass after that and does it
hugging the coach
gotta be good to hug the coach can't
just be like a bum and you hug the coach
little lick of the fingers little nod
well all right just how we drew it up
sucks for uh
the titans