Evan Macpherson's veins run through ice water. After time ran out, the rookie kicker booted a game-winning 52-yard field goal to send the Bengals into the AFC Championship Game. Money Mac was brilliant throughout the day, scoring 4 for 4 on field goals in a tight match, which included two from more than 50 yards. Jack Taylor's willingness to drop two yards before McPherson's game-winner underlined the team's confidence in the young kicker. The rookie made a poor third-down sack by Joe Burrow from a 54-yard collision late in the first half. McPherson became the first player in NFL history to make more than four FGs in multiple games in a single post-season. None of McPherson's shoes were in doubt from his foot, including his game-winner. In a defensive fight, McPherson's conversion was the difference between Cinci's defeat of the AFC's No. 1 seed.
Joe Burrow overcomes the Titans' sack-fest. Tennessee extended Burrows throughout the game, racking up nine sacks, tied for most post-season runs in NFL history. Jeffrey Simmons was unblockable, chewing Burrow three times. Despite the Titans dominating the Bengals' offensive line, Burrow came into the clutches. Burrow's rifle to Ja'mar Chase shows the finesse of the QB to set up the game-winning field goal. Making 348 passing yards seems unimaginable, given that he had a dropback pressure of 32.6 percent. The Bengals feasted on yards after catch as Burrow was forced to throw low throughout the day - only three pass attempts of more than 15 air yards and none of more than 20. As a result, Cinci covered 242 yards after the catch. This season, the Bengals dunked opponents in submissions, but as Saturday became a grind-it-out game, Burrow & Co proved they could win dogfights, too.
Ryan Tannehill, Titans offense got stuck in the mud. What a waste of a great defensive performance in Tennessee. The Titans' offense couldn't get off the ground in the first half, netting just eight first off six drives. 1 seed, with Tanhill throwing an interception on the play before scrimmage. He threw two more in the day, all proving costly. The second INT spends Tennessee points in the red zone. The final tipped pass set up Cinci for a late-game winning drive when the Titans had a chance to establish their game-ender. It was a bad day for Tannehill, who missed too many passes. He called A.J. Brown deep early, missed a crosser later, and never seemed to be in sync. With Derrick Henry not looking like he was recovering from injury (20 carries for 62 yards and a TD), including being stuffed on fourth and short on stutter - Titans need Tanhill to step up Was. Outside off on a grand TD pass to Brown, the QB doesn't come.
Bengals D proves they can hang. Cincy came flying out from the get-go, forcing Tannehill into tough spots. Creative Blitz put pressure on the QB and was thrown in the wrong direction. In addition to allowing Brown to go off (5/142/1), there was a secondary lock-down. Jesse Bates once again showed that he is one of the lowest rated safeties in the NFL. Mike Hilton's superb tipped INT on a slot blitz proved decisive. Even without Larry Ogunjobi, the run defense performed admirably against Henry, keeping the RB only 3.1 yards per carry. Improvements to the Sinsi defense have gone under the radar this season. Saturday, on the biggest stage, he forced a huge number of turnovers and every Titans punch crossed was the answer.
Luck favors Bengals. Call it luck or good timing, but several plays helped the Bengals win in a close fight. A false start wiped out a burro sack on the opening drive that could have pushed Cinci out of field goal boundary. When he came late, snatched another sack. A Bengals penalty on a Titans PAT attempt left Mike Wrabel early for 2, which Cinci filled in. That decision had tied the Titans of late and was still throwing one instead and churning the clock. Then CBS cameras caught Taylor attempting to call the timeout before Tanhill's game-ceiling INT. The timeout was not given, thankfully for Cinci. Now the No. 4 seed awaits the winner of Sunday's Chiefs-Bills bout to see where they go in the AFC Championship Game.
NFL Research: Joe Burrow is the first QB drafted overall to win a divisional round playoff game within the first two seasons.
Next Generation Position of the Game: Ja'Marr Chase made five catches for 109 yards, 95 of which came after the catch. His first four catches went for -1 air yard, -2 air yard, 0 air yard and 0 air yard. His only catch beyond the line of scuffle was the final reception which went for 17 air yards to set up the game-winning field goal.