Media pool report filed by The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr.
The Bengals held what is expected to be their last practice in Cincinnati Saturday before Tuesday’s departure for Los Angeles and a week of workouts at UCLA culminating in Super Bowl LVI against the Rams.
The Bengals went to the University of Cincinnati practice bubble for the third straight day in a workout right guard Jackson Carman (back) didn’t participate. Carman, wearing sweats, missed his second straight day.
Tight end C.J. Uzomah, who suffered an MCL sprain in last Sunday’s AFC title game in Kansas City, worked on the side during the portion of practice open to media. He worked on a stationary bike, worked his knee by repeatedly kicking into the air and did some easy running with resistance on a band from trainer Nick Cosgray.
Bengals executive vice president Katie Blackburn took in the workout and spent time chatting with former Bengals wide receiver Collinsworth. Collinsworth, who played in the Bengals two previous Super Bowls, is calling the third an analyst for NBC.
The Bengals won’t practice Sunday. Monday, save for workouts and treatments, is dominated by media commitments before the team appears at the 6 p.m. Paul Brown Stadium pep rally as part of Super Bowl Opening Night.
Next week is going to be exciting for Loveland City Schools. We are hosting our Showcase Night at Loveland High School beginning at 6 PM on Wednesday, February 9. This is a great opportunity for our families, and our community members to see our students and their great work. You can think of this as a district-wide Open House, highlighting cool programs and projects.
If you’re the parent of a younger Loveland Tiger, this is a chance to see what kinds of things your students may want to get involved with as they move up next year.
If you’re a community member, this is a chance for you to see what’s already going on, and find out how you can help!
Quality Profile
Our Quality Profile was also released this week. This 12-page document we created in-house is a great chance for you to review district accomplishments over the last year, so even if you can’t make it to Showcase Night, you can still be informed. You can view our Quality Profile by following this link to our website.
All of this is building up to our Strategic Vision process, which kicks off Wednesday night with a pair of Community Input sessions.
Portrait of a Tiger Vision Process
These will be held alongside Showcase Night at LHS at 5:30 and 6:30 PM. We’ll be reviewing our “Portrait of a Tiger” which will form the basis of our Strategic Vision process. Together as a community, we’ll build a shared vision of success for our students and lay out the action plan to get us there. You will not have to attend these sessions to participate because we will be sharing tools next week on our website at www.lovelandschools.org/vision to gather as much input as possible from our community.
Strategic Vision Design Team
We are also building a Strategic Vision Design Team, made up of about 100 people from our community to help in this process. The team will include parents, students, staff, and community members who will sit down several times over the next few months to work together to create our vision. We want this group to represent the diverse opinions and insights of our Loveland City Schools community and if you or someone you know feels called to help us on this important project – you can fill out this form to let us know of your interest and we will be in touch.
Superintendent Mike Broadwater said, “We really want our community involved in this process. Help us spread the word – we come up with a better plan when we work together across our Loveland City Schools community.”
WASHINGTON — Pfizer and BioNTech on Tuesday asked the federal government to begin the approval process for a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine for children under 5.
The companies said in a joint statement they began the rolling submission process for an emergency use authorization at the request of the Food and Drug Administration “in response to the urgent public health need in this population.”
While the approval process is underway for the two-dose regimen, the company will continue researching a third dose that would likely be given at least eight weeks after a child receives the second dose.
Pfizer Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said in the statement that increasing infections and hospitalizations of young children led the two companies to begin the approval process.
“As hospitalizations of children under 5 due to COVID-19 have soared, our mutual goal with the FDA is to prepare for future variant surges and provide parents with an option to help protect their children from this virus,” Bourla said.
“Ultimately, we believe that three doses of the vaccine will be needed for children 6 months through 4 years of age to achieve high levels of protection against current and potential future variants.”
Bourla said that if the FDA authorizes the two doses, that would allow parents to begin vaccinating their young children while waiting on approval of a third dose.
The submission announcement on Tuesday comes sooner than previously expected.
In mid-December, Pfizer and BioNTech announced they were modifying their trial to include a third dose of the vaccine for children between 2 and 4 years old after the two-dose approach didn’t lead to the type of immune response researchers sought. The trial did, however, produce the levels desired in children between six months and 2 years old.
The company said at the time that if the three-dose trial was successful, it would likely submit its emergency use request to the federal government in the first half of 2022.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, then said last week that parents needed to be patient in waiting for approval of the vaccine for younger children.
“I don’t think we can predict when we will see an [emergency use authorization] with that because the company is still putting the data before the FDA,” Fauci said during a White House briefing on the pandemic.
A poll released Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation indicated about 31 percent of parents would get their small children vaccinated immediately.
Another 29 percent said they would wait and see while 12 percent said only if required and 26 percent of respondents said they definitely would not give their young child the vaccine.
Kickoff: 3 p.m. Eastern. Television: The game will air nationally on CBS-TV. In the Bengals’ home region, it will be carried by WKRC-TV (Ch. 12) in Cincinnati, WHIO-TV (Ch. 7) in Dayton and on WKYT-TV (Ch. 27) in Lexington. Broadcasters are play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz and analyst Tony Romo, with sideline reporters Tracy Wolfson, Evan Washburn and Jay Feely.
Radio: The game will air on the Bengals Radio Network, led by Cincinnati flagship stations WLW-AM (700), WCKY-AM (ESPN 1530; all sports) and WEBN-FM (102.7). Broadcasters are Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Dave Lapham (analyst).
The game also will air nationally on Westwood One Radio. Broadcasters are Ian Eagle (play-by-play), Tony Boselli (analyst) and Ross Tucker (sideline reporter).
Setting the scene: The Bengals on Sunday travel to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the two-time defending AFC-champion Kansas City Chiefs, in what will be Cincinnati’s third-ever appearance in an AFC Championship Game. Cincinnati won both of its previous AFC Championship appearances — vs. San Diego in the 1981 season, and vs. Buffalo in the 1988 season.
The Bengals earned their spot in the NFL’s final four in thrilling fashion on Saturday, when rookie K Evan McPherson nailed a 52-yard FG as time expired in the Divisional Playoff to give Cincinnati a 19-16 win over top-seeded Tennessee.
“It feels great,” said Bengals head coach Zac Taylor. “This is the expectation for these guys — it’s not too big for them.
“I know we haven’t been here before, but it sure feels like we have. You see the attitude of the team and the confidence that they have, that we’re going to find a way to win. You just can’t replace the confidence that these guys have earned in themselves.”
The contest began in what turned out to be fitting fashion — with a key defensive play that swung the game’s momentum. On the very first play from scrimmage, Titans QB Ryan Tannehill faked a handoff to star RB Derrick Henry, who was playing for the first time since Halloween (foot injury), and then fired a pass over the middle that was intercepted by Bengals S Jessie Bates.
“They were in a ‘pass-alert’ formation that we talked about all week,” Bates said. “Honestly, Tannehill just stared it down, and I knew exactly what was going on. We talked about coming out fast with a sense of urgency, and it couldn’t have worked out any better.
The Bengals took over possession at the Titans’ 42-yard line, however the offense managed just a FG. Cincinnati went on to add two more FGs in a first half dominated by defense, and took a 9-6 lead into the locker room.
The Bengals received the opening kickoff of the second half and quickly jumped ahead 16-6, thanks to a nine-play, 65-yard drive that HB Joe Mixon capped with a 16-yard TD run. The Bengals have now come away with points on their first offensive drive of the second half in 14 of 19 games this season (six TDs, eight FGs). During the regular season, Cincinnati’s 56 combined points on the first possession of the second half were second-most in the NFL.
“We called ‘stretch right,’ and all of a sudden the linebackers and safety were flowing hard over the top,” Mixon said. “I put my toe in the ground, then I put my toe in the ground again, and I just (saw) the backside was like open like the Red Sea. I was fortunate enough to find daylight, and everything worked out.”
On the ensuing possession, Tennessee turned to its fifth-ranked rushing attack and marched 66 yards on just four runs to reach Cincinnati’s nine-yard line. But on the fifth play of the drive, Bengals nickel CB Mike Hilton batted a screen pass from Tannehill into the air and came down with an INT.
“We had a lot of jokes about Mike getting caught after that pick,” Bates said with a laugh. Hilton returned the INT 19 yards before being caught by Tannehill.
“We were trying to line up the order of who had the worst returns this year, and I think Mike’s pretty much at the top of that list right now (laughs). But he made a hell of a play. You jump in the air and you track the ball — I think he was almost maxed out at that point, so we can’t complain too much about that.”
After a Bengals punt, the Titans again marched downfield but mustered only a 34-yard FG that cut the margin to seven points. On the ensuing possession, a pass from QB Joe Burrow bounced off the hands of HB Samaje Perine and into the grasp of Titans S Amani Hooker. The INT was Burrow’s first since Week 13 against the L.A. Chargers, and broke a string of 209 consecutive passes (regular season plus playoffs) without a pick — the second-longest such streak in team history.
Tennessee took over possession on Cincinnati’s 27-yard line, and two plays later Tannehill found WR A.J. Brown for a 33-yard TD that knotted the game at 16. Entering the game, Cincinnati had allowed just one third-quarter TD in its previous nine contests. It was also just the fourth TD allowed by Cincinnati’s defense in the 19 combined possessions (regular season plus playoffs) immediately following a Bengals turnover.
After scoring a combined 17 points in the third quarter, neither team’s offense found much traction in the final period. Cincinnati’s first two possessions in the fourth quarter both were thwarted by third-down sacks of Burrow. The Titans ended the day with nine total sacks of Burrow, the most takedowns of a winning QB in NFL postseason history.
“He’s the toughest guy in the league,” DT D.J. Reader said of Burrow. “He’s a super tough guy, and he’s gritty. I love that about him. He doesn’t complain, he just goes out there and does his job. I really appreciate Joe.”
But the Bengals’ defense put together an impressive showing of its own. Henry was held to just 3.1 yards per carry on 20 attempts, and most notably was stopped for a two-yard loss by LB Logan Wilson on a fourth-and-one play mid-way through the fourth quarter. But while Bates, Hilton and Wilson made the highlight plays of the day, there was little question among players and coaches about the defense’s key component.
“D.J. Reader was unbelievable,” Taylor said on Sunday. “He was Superman, quite frankly.
“You see him make some plays during the game, but then you really dial in and watch the tape, and you can further understand the impact he had on the game. Overall, you can point out every single player on defense making some key plays in that game. But if you’re going to single out one guy for their performance, D.J. Reader is certainly deserving of that.”
With the score knotted at 16, Tennessee took over possession just before the two-minute warning and looked to move into range for a potential game-winning FG. But Reader yet again stopped Henry for no gain, and then Tannehill threw a five-yard completion as the Titans seemed content to drain nearly all of the remaining clock. On the next play — a third-and-five with 28 seconds remaining — Bengals CB Eli Apple tipped a pass into the air, and a leaping Wilson came down with one of the most significant INTs in team history.
This week’s AFC Championship features a battle between two of the NFL’s top young players in Burrow and Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes. This will be Mahomes’ fourth consecutive AFC Championship game (all at home), while Burrow last week became the first QB picked No. 1 overall to reach a conference title game within his first two seasons.
The game is also a rematch of a dramatic Jan. 2 meeting between the two teams, which ended in a 34-31 Bengals win at Paul Brown Stadium. That contest was also decided by a McPherson walk-off FG, and it clinched the AFC North division title for Cincinnati. But among Bengals fans, it is perhaps best remembered for Chase’s 266 receiving yards, which set both a Bengals single-game record and the NFL’s single-game rookie record.
“I’m tired of the underdog narrative,” Burrow said after the Titans game. “We’re a really, really good team. We’re here to make noise, and teams are going to have to pay attention to us. We’re a really good team with really good players and coaches, and we’re coming for it all.”
The AFC West champion Chiefs finished the regular season 12-5, and earned the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs. They opened postseason play with a 42-21 home win over Pittsburgh in the Wild Card Playoff. Then, in Sunday night’s Divisional Playoff against Buffalo, they scored a walk-off TD in overtime to win 42-36 at Arrowhead.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who bounced back from a left knee injury suffered in 2020 to throw for a franchise-record 34 TDs and lead the Bengals to the playoffs for the first time since 2015, is the 2021 NFL Comeback Player of the Year, chosen in voting conducted by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA).
Burrow was on pace to break several Bengals single-season and NFL rookie passing records, along with NFL rookie passing marks before he suffered a knee injury against Washington on November 22, 2020 in his 10th game of his rookie season. He had surgery on December 2, 2020, and he embarked on a long rehab process that culminated in him taking the first snaps of Cincinnati’s 2021 training camp.
He returned to the starting lineup and led the NFL in completion percentage (70.4 percent) and yards per attempt (8.87) and was second in passer rating (108.3) in his 16 games (all starts). He completed 366 of 520 passes for 4,611 yards (sixth in the NFL) and 34 touchdowns. On December 26, Burrow set a franchise record with 525 passing yards – the fourth-highest total in NFL history – on 37 of 46 passing and four touchdowns in a 41-21 home victory over the Baltimore Ravens. He was a 2021 PFWA All-AFC selection.
Burrow is the second member of the Cincinnati franchise to receive Comeback Player of the Year honors (QB Jon Kitna in 2003) since the award was instituted in 1992.
ABOUT THE PFWA
In its 58th season in 2021, the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) is the official voice of pro football writers, promoting and fighting for access to NFL personnel to best serve the public. The PFWA is made up of accredited writers who cover the NFL and the 32 teams daily. Lindsay Jones of The Athletic is the PFWA president for the 2021-22 seasons and the organization’s 30th president. Jenny Vrentas of Sports Illustrated is the PFWA’s first vice-president, Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News is the second vice-president and Mike Sando of The Athletic is the secretary-treasurer. At-large board members include USA Today’s Mike Jones, ESPN.com’s Jeff Legwold, The Athletic’s Dan Pompei and ProFootballTalk.com’s Charean Williams. Follow the PFWA at ProFootballWriters.org and on Twitter at @PFWAwriters.
Columbus, Ohio – The ranking Democrat in the Ohio House said Attorney General Dave Yost has blocked her from legal representation as the Ohio Supreme Court reviews the latest redistricting proposal from state lawmakers.
The Ohio Redistricting Commission voted 5-2 along party lines Saturday to send over a revised map after the court overturned its first effort, determining it to be an unconstitutional gerrymander.
Democrats on the commission have previously been represented by their own counsel and submitted their own arguments — distinct from Republicans on the committee. House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Columbus, said in a statement Wednesday however that Yost has since blocked them from their legal representation. This comes as a deadline looms for the state officials to respond to objections to the GOP-approved map submitted for the court’s review.
Through spokeswoman Maya Majikas, Russo said Yost is “denying” her “the ability to consult with her legal counsel,” two attorneys with the Ice Miller law firm in Columbus retained through the attorney general’s office.
“Leader Russo is being denied her outside counsel representation at this stage of the litigation period,” Majikas said. “Ice Miller is not permitted by the AG to provide Democrats counsel/bills for any service to us.”
Yost seemed to confirm Russo’s central claim through spokeswoman Bethany McCorkle on Wednesday evening.
“The Ohio Supreme Court ordered the Commission to draw a new map, which is why one counsel will respond to the court on behalf of the entire commission,” McCorkle said. “None of the individual members will respond separately.”
Democratic members of the commission are technically named as defendants in the lawsuit. However, their interests largely align with the plaintiffs — a spread of special interest and voting rights organizations — and against Republicans on the commission who defended the maps.
“The Republican Legislative Commissioners prepared maps so lopsided that Republicans are essentially guaranteed veto-proof majorities in the General Assembly no matter how many votes Democrats earn,” the Democrats’ lawyers wrote in court filings.
The Supreme Court, overturning the legislative maps, found they likely guaranteed Republicans a supermajority in defiance of voter’s preferences, as required by the constitution. They ordered the commission to draw a map as close as possible to the state’s 54% Republican to 46% Democratic partisan tilt.
The newest proposal would create a projected 57-42 split in the House and 20-13 split in the Senate, far more advantageous for Democrats than the original. However, the Democrats’ margins are much tighter. For instance, in the House, 12 of the “Democratic leaning” seats in the latest map could also be considered tossups, with a Democratic edge of only 50-51%. All of the GOP-leaning seats favor Republicans by more than 52%.
The Ohio Redistricting Commission — comprised of four, bipartisan legislative appointees along with the governor, state auditor and secretary of state — was ordered to respond to the objections by Friday.
The commission itself is represented by two lawyers. The statewide officeholders and Republicans on the commission have their own lawyers as well. Even if, as Yost said, the commission’s members don’t respond individually, it’s likely that Republicans who control it will likely shape its arguments.
Sen. Vernon Sykes, D-Akron, the other Democrat on the committee, did not respond to an inquiry to his office.
Republican mapmakers Ray DiRossi, at podium, and Blake Springhetti present the GOP legislative map proposals to the Ohio Redistricting Commission on Saturday. The commission passed the GOP maps on a 5-2 simple majority. (Photo: Susan Tebben, OCJ)
After two more days of discussion and debate, the GOP majority on the Ohio Redistricting Commission adopted four-year legislative maps Saturday night with a 5-2 simple majority, setting up the time table for potential objections and court review.
The Ohio Redistricting Commission meeting went into Saturday night after recessing Thursday and not meeting again until 2:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
Ohio House districts, as proposed by the GOP majority and adopted by the Ohio Redistricting Commission on Saturday. (Right-Click to open in a new tab to view larger)
During the Saturday afternoon session, Republicans and Democrats presented separate maps, though the Democratic co-chair of the commission, state Sen. Vernon Sykes, D-Akron, said the purpose of the Democratic caucus effort was not to present separate maps as much as it was an exercise to prove constitutionally proportional representation could be done.
It became clear as the day went along that disagreement was still threatening the process. House Speaker Bob Cupp said even in the last hour of the commission’s time on Saturday, when they recessed to discuss each plan, the co-chairs were discussing whether or not it was worth it to continue negotiations or try to amend the maps.
“A majority of the commission felt that that was just, while it may have been a good thing, was not possible to do,” Cupp said.
Earlier in the day, the Democratic co-chair said members of his caucus were still operating under the idea that agreement and common compliance to the constitution was at the end of the redistricting tunnel.
“Not until just a day or two ago was I told that there was a feeling that we could not meet the proportionality requirements,” Sykes said.
The Ohio Supreme Court told the commission they needed to come back with a map that followed Section 6 of the constitution, the part of the redistricting process that prohibits overt partisanship. The court said the commission had to endeavor as much as possible to get to a 54% Republican to 46% Democratic split in statewide voter preferences.
The Republican maps adopted had a 57 GOP to 42 Dem split in the Ohio House, and a 20 GOP to 13 Dem breakdown in the Senate. Four of the Democratic-leaning seats give the Dems a narrow 50-51% advantage, considered a tossup by many. All but one of the Senate seats in the plan were above 54%.
In the House, 12 of the “Democratic leaning” seats in the GOP plan could also be considered tossups, with a Dem favor of only 50-51%. All of the GOP-leaning seats favor Republicans by more than 52%.
The Democratic attempt had 45 Dem-leaning seats in the House and 54 GOP districts, with 18 GOP districts in the Senate and 15 Democratic districts.
After the vote, Cupp argued that while 54-46 was a goal expressed by the supreme court, perfection was not. He denied that the constitution or the court order spoke to an “absolute ideal,” instead saying the court wanted a plan to “closely correspond.”
“If the ideal is 55 House seats or 54 House seats, we have 57 leaning Republican,” Cupp said. “That is just three seats off and in a 99-member legislature, that is essentially 97% to the goal.”
The minority side released an opposition statement, read at the end of the ORC meeting by House Minority Leader-Elect Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, which accused the Republican commissioners of “a lack of political courage and a blatant disregard for the court’s order and the will of the Ohio voters.”
She also touched on the same concern that Democratic mapmaker Chris Glassburn brought up in the last few days of commission hearings, the “razor-thin margins,” those districts considered tossups, within the maps.
He spoke on the topic again, saying the Democratic proposal has less tossup districts, which leads to less concern that the Ohio Supreme Court could consider the map “asymmetrical” in its partisanship.
Ohio Senate districts, adopted by a 5-2 simple majority of the Ohio Redistricting Commission on Saturday. (Right-Click to open in a new tab to view larger)
Republican mapmakers Ray DiRossi and Blake Springhetti presented the map before the commission, saying they spent the week attempting to bring the maps into compliance with the constitution and the supreme court order.
“The decisions were centered around complying with the court order, and closely corresponding with Section 6, and we did this,” Springhetti told the commission.
The Republicans also released a statement to comply with a constitutional requirement explaining why a 4-year map was passed with a simple majority, rather than a 10-year, bipartisan map.
“The commission believes that the number of Republican-leaning districts and Democratic-leaning districts closely corresponds to strict proportionality, particularly in light of the distribution of voters and geography of Ohio,” the statement reads.
The adoption of the maps sends them back to the state’s high court for review, and sets the stage for a three-day window in which objections can be filed with the Ohio Supreme Court, who said in their decision rejecting the previous maps that they would oversee the process yet again.
Anti-gerrymandering groups have already come out in force against the maps, criticizing not only the final product but the lack of public process along the 10-day stretch.
“I knew it would be a challenge, but it certainly becomes a challenge when you don’t engage in a public process, when you don’t actually discuss regionally,” said Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Bengals are going to next Sunday’s AFC title game on rookie Evan McPherson’s 52-yard field goal at the gun that felled the top-seeded Titans, 19-16
After stuffing Derrick Henry on fourth-and –one, Bengals middle linebacker Logan Wilson caught cornerback Eli Apple’s deflected pass with 20 seconds left at the Bengals 47. Joe Burrow then threw a 19-yard arrow to rookie wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase to set it all up as Burrow finished with 348 yards and a 93.1 passer rating.
A killing turnover turned into Burrow’s first interception since Dec. 5 and 209 straight passes. And it shouldn’t have happened. He went play action and threw a catchable ball to running back Samaje Perine and it went right off his hands. Safety Amami Hooker made a diving catch at the Bengals 27 with 1:19 left in the third quarter.
Then the Titans took a page out of the Bengals playbook against a Cincinnati secondary that had an uncharacteristically tough night defending the long ball. On second-and-16, Tannehill threw a beauty at the right pylon to wide receiver A.J. Brown racing past cornerback Chidobe Awuzie and strong safety Vonn Bell (having a great game) and when Awuzie didn’t turn his head in time, Tannehill put it right in Brown’s stomach for a 33-yard touchdown that tied it at 16 with 15 seconds left in the third quarter.
Burrow’s offensive line responded on the first series of the second half, when they scored another touchdown to continue a season-long trend. On third-and-one, the Bengals, who seven yards rushing in the first half, went to a quick screen to wide receiver Tee Higgins, to get it. Then on third-and-five, Burrow pulled off a quarterback draw for seven yards, complete with the first down sign.
Then Mixon finally got some room. He went to the right, got hemmed in and then made a razor jump cut to the left and there was nobody there and he knew it as he high-stepped in from the 5. It was a 16-yard touchdown run and with 9:34 left in the third quarter they had that coveted two-score lead at 16-6 lead that everyone thought the Titans wouldn’t be able to erase.
But they did with 10 points in the final 95 seconds of the third quarter.
The Bengals drove to within field-goal range, but Burrow took a 16-yard loss on a sack by unblocked linebacker Harold Landry that was cleaned up by outside linebacker Bud Dupree and they had to punt.
The Bengals defense responded again from their own 35 on fourth-and-one when Wilson dethroned The King and blew up Henry for no gain.
But the Bengals could do nothing with it. After running back Joe Mixon false stared, the Titans ended the drive with 2:43 left on their ninth sack of the night, tackle Jeffery Simmons’ third and the 13th hit of the game on Burrow.
The Bengals took a 9-6 halftime lead on three McPherson field goals as the Titans’ ferocious pass rush gave Burrow no room to breathe and in the first half pummeled him for five sacks.
But the Bengals defense was even better, rumbling downhill to hold Henry to 30 yards on 10 carries and the Titans to just 129 total in ushering them off the field on four of five third downs.
They only faltered once in the half and that was when Tannehill hit wide-open wide receiver A.J. Brown for 41 yards in the half’s lone touchdown drive. But another Bengals penalty proved to be fortuitous for them. When a too-many-men-on-the-field penalty on the extra point, nudged it closer, the Titans went for two. But little-used linebacker Clay Johnston came screaming off his left edge as they tried to bang Henry on the right side. But Johnston grabbed an ankle, rookie tackle Tyler Shelvin penetrated and strong safety Vonn Bell stood him up to keep it tied at 6.
Burrow got sacked five times in the first quarter, but a delay of game flag and a timeout wiped out two of them. The Titans tortured them with basically four-man rushes, but they disguised them well and the Bengals had a tough time sorting out who was coming and who wasn’t. Burrow finished the half with a 102 passer rating on 17 of 24 for 178 yards.
When they got the ball back with 6:07 left in the half, they seemed to figure it out. After Burrow converted a a rare third-and-short (the Bengals were just four of nine in the half) over the middle to tight end C.J. Uzomah, Burrow hit two big plays over the middle of the Titans zone for a total of 35 yards. Higgins, the Tennessee native, was the Bengals leading offensive player in the half with five catches for 71 yards.
But they had the ball at the Titans 20 at the two-minute warning and went backward. Uzomah fell down on a screen to set up yet another third-and-long that was made even longer when right tackle Isaiah Prince false started. Then Burrow didn’t get rid of it and took a tough sack (his fifth of the half) snap that gave McPherson a 54-yard try in the freezing weather. He made it 9-6 with 1:30 left in the half for his third of the game and seventh field goal of the postseason, already the second most in Bengals history and two shy of Jim Breech’s club record.
The defense again came up big, force Tannehill out of the pocket on his next three passes to force the Titans’ fourth punt.
Free safety Jessie Bates III, who picked Tannehill last year at Paul Brown Stadium, did it here on the first play of the game. It looked like Tannehill saw nine men at the line and checked to a play-action pass and Bates was all over wide receiver Julio Jones in the middle of the field and the Bengals had it at the Tennessee 42.
Mixon bounced off linebacker David Long Jr, to get the majority of his yards on a 21-yard check down after Burrow took a sack when he couldn’t find anyone open. McPherson delivered a 38-yarder to start the scoring courtesy of Bates.
On the Titans’ first full series, the blitz forced a three-and-out. Strong safety Vonn Bell drilled Henry for nothing on second down and both Bell and slot cornerback Mike Hilton came on third down to sack Tannehill.
But the Bengals couldn’t protect Burrow. On first down Burrow threw an uncharacteristically poor pass when he hurried a low throw to Uzomah. Then he got drilled for a sack with Harold Landry blowing through a hole vacated by right guard Hakeem Adeniji.
A great first-down stop by nose tackle D.J. Reader led to a stop and Burrow went to a screen to offset an all-out rush that was disregarding everything but the pass. Chase got inside on old LSU buddy, cornerback Kristian Fulton, and raced 57 yards to the Titans 28.
But there was nothing available. Burrow got sacked on second down with Denico Autry getting past left tackle Jonah Williams when Burrow couldn’t unload in time and it was another unworkable third-and-long, so McPherson hit a 45-yarder with 2:11 left in the first quarter for the 6-0 lead.
It was a dominant defensive quarter for the Bengals. Reader led a surge that held Henry to 11 yards on his first five carries as the Titans scrounged for just 37 yards.
Saturday marks the 77th all-time meeting between these two franchises, as the Bengals used to play the Titans twice a year in the AFC Central when they were the Houston Oilers. As these teams meet for just the second time in the playoffs, Cincinnati will look to keep its postseason mark perfect against the Titans, having won the only previous meeting 41-14 on January 6, 1991, in the Wild Card Round.
Here are 5 things to know ahead of Saturday’s Divisional Round Game against the Tennessee Titans:
1. Protect The Rock
A key reason as to why the Bengals have won four of their last five games is ball security. Joe Burrow has not thrown an interception in five straight games, as his last turnover came back in Week 13. Burrow’s 180 pass attempts without an interception is the fourth-longest streak in team history and is the second longest in the NFL this season behind Aaron Rodgers 243.
The Bengals are 10-1 on the season when they win the turnover margin or the line is even. Over the last decade, teams that have won the turnover battle in the postseason have a .744 winning percentage.
2. Tough In The Third
The Bengals defense has been stingy to start the second half. Cincinnati has not allowed a single third-quarter point in the last four games, and since they bye, teams have only scored 10 points in the third quarter on the Bengals. On the season, Cincinnati has outscored opposing teams 102-40 in the third quarter, as the 40 third-quarter points allowed is the second-fewest in the league.
3. Rivalry Renewed
The Bengals have had the upper hand in recent history against the Titans, having won five of the last seven meetings including last season’s contest. In Week 7 of 2020, the Bengals defeated the Titans in Cincinnati 31-20, in a game where Jessie Bates picked off Ryan Tannehill and Logan Wilson recorded his first career sack.
The Bengals and Titans are tied 2-2 since 2002 in games played in Tennessee.
4. Dethrone The King
Titans running back Derrick Henry is expected to play on Saturday, but a big question, is how much will the king play? Henry has been out since Week 8 with a foot injury, and despite missing the last 10 weeks of the regular season, he still finished ninth in rushing yardage with 937 yards.
Henry logged a season-high 182 yards Week 2 against Seattle and has recorded three games this season with three rushing touchdowns.
5. Wheels Up To Nashville
As the Bengals hit the road for the remainder of the playoffs, it’s a position they’ve been successful in this season. Cincinnati won five road games this season, outscoring opponents 146-61 in those contests.
Cincinnati looks to punch their ticket to the AFC Championship game for the first time since the 1988 season, and historically they’ve been successful the second week of the postseason. The Bengals have an all-time winning percentage of .667 in the second round of the playoffs.
Find yourself a C.J. 🧡 Turn up the volume for @cj_uzomah mic'd up against the Raiders!
The Cincinnati Bengals continue their run in the AFC Playoffs facing the Tennessee Titans on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Here is everything you need to know to follow the game.
TV BROADCAST
Network: CBS
Kickoff: 4:30 p.m. ET
Play-by-Play: Ian Eagle
Analyst: Charles Davis
Sideline: Evan Washburn
Rules: Gene Steratore
Download The Official Bengals App
Stay up to date on the latest Bengals news and highlights with the Official Bengals App! Download App
ONLINE
Fans can watch Saturday’s game for FREE through the Bengals app nationwide. Fans can also live stream the game on Safari on mobile iOS devices through Bengals.com.
NOTE: iOS mobile web and app users should “Allow Location Access” (via Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Safari).
*Geographic and device restrictions apply. Local & primetime games only. Data charges may apply.
The game will air on the Bengals Radio Network, led by Cincinnati flagship stations WLW-AM (700), WCKY-AM (ESPN 1530) and WEBN-FM (102.7). The pregame show begins at 3 p.m.
Play-by-Play: Dan Hoard
Analyst: Dave Lapham
Pregame Show: Wayne Box Miller
Westwood One will also air the game nationally. Check your local listings for where the game airs in your area.
