Hubbard's historic 98-yard fumble return TD lifts Bengals over Lamar Jackson-less Ravens in AFC wild-card game

Sam Hubbard returned Tyler Huntley's fumble 98 yards for a tiebreaking touchdown in the fourth quarter, helping Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Baltimore Ravens 24-17 at home in an AFC wild-card game on Sunday night.

The ball went right to Hubbard at the two, and the defensive end took off down the field for the longest fumble return for a touchdown in NFL post-season history. It also was the longest go-ahead TD in the fourth in the post-season.

Moments after the play 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.

Baltimore drove down 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.

Next up for Cincinnati (13-4) is a trip to Buffalo for a rematch of their Week 17 game that was cancelled after Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest on the field. With Hamlin watching from home, Buffalo advanced with a 34-31 victory over Miami on Sunday.

Playing without Lamar Jackson once again because of the quarterback's knee injury, Baltimore (10-8) 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.

Hubbard's dramatic trip to the end zone sent the Ravens into a uncertain off-season centred around the future of Jackson, who is eligible for free agency. The 2019 MVP got hurt during a 10-9 win against Denver on Dec. 4, and he did not travel with the team to Cincinnati for the playoff game.

Bills overcome turnovers to hold off Dolphins

Josh Allen shrugged off a three-turnover outing by throwing two touchdown passes 3:11 apart in the third quarter, and rallying the Buffalo Bills to a 34-31 home win over the injury-depleted Miami Dolphins in an AFC wild-card matchup on Sunday.

The Bills defence, which forced six punts and two turnovers, then held on to secure the win when Miami turned the ball over on downs on its final possession.

Rookie Skylar Thompson's pass on fourth-and-six went just off the fingertips of tight end Mike Gesicki with 2:22 remaining.

Buffalo was able to run out the clock when Devin Singletary bulled his way for a seven-yard gain to convert a third-and-seven.

It was a sloppy game played between two division rivals, and the outcome fitting after Miami and Buffalo split their regular-season series in games decided by a combined five points. The Dolphins beat Buffalo 21-19 at Miami in September, with the Bills rallying to beat Miami 32-29 last month.

Allen finished 23 of 39 for 352 yards and three TDs, but also threw two interceptions, which resulted in the Dolphins scoring 11 points. He also lost a fumble while being sacked by Eric Rowe, with Zach Sieler recovering the ball and returning it five yards for a touchdown to put Miami ahead 24-20, just 61 seconds into the third quarter.

"It's a one-week season, that's it," Allen said. "All that matters is surviving and advancing."

The 24-year-old Hamlin was released from a Buffalo hospital on Wednesday and visited with his teammates at the Bills facility on Saturday.

Cornerback Tre'Davious White said Hamlin's visit "gave us a lot of juice." for this game. "It lifted our spirits for sure," he added.

WATCH | NFL players, fans show support for Hamlin:

NFL players, fans show their support for Damar Hamlin

2 years ago

Duration 2:04

Less than a week after Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest during a game, fans and players showed their support for him and his recovery at NFL stadiums across the U.S.

Giants top Vikings on the road

The Minnesota Vikings faced plenty of questions about their legitimacy as a contender in the NFC, the rare 13-win team with a negative point differential during the regular season.

Playoff newbie Daniel Jones passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 78 yards to lead an unflappable performance by a Giants team that was nowhere near the NFL's most productive offences in 2022.

The tone was set the first time the Giants touched the ball, when they went 85 yards in five plays for the tying score — a 28-yard run around left end on a quick pitch to Saquon Barkley. He knifed through a seam between his blockers and somehow scampered all the way down the sideline untouched.

Then the Giants went 81 yards in four snaps, capped by a touchdown pass by Jones to Isaiah Hodgins. The first play of that drive was a 47-yard pass to Darius Slayton, who sprung wide open on the type of crossing route the Vikings were vulnerable against so often this season with their two-high safety scheme and underneath zones.

Jones took advantage of the typically deep drops by Vikings linebackers into their coverages to run free when he didn't see anyone open. Usually he did, with Hodgins and Slayton especially successful at working those spaces in the middle of the field.

The 17 rushing attempts by Jones, including kneel-downs, were the second-most by a quarterback in a post-season game, according to Sportradar data available since 1948. Lamar Jackson ran the ball 20 times for Baltimore in a loss to Tennessee on Jan. 11, 2020. Only 13 quarterbacks in NFL history have rushed for more yards in a playoff game, per Sportradar.