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Evan McPherson’s last-gasp field goal saw the Cincinnati Bengals stun the Tennessee Titans, winning 19-16 in the divisional round of the NFL play-offs.
As the top seed in the AFC Conference, the Titans enjoyed a first-round bye and home advantage against the Bengals.
The Titans levelled after being 16-6 down but an interception allowed the Bengals to clinch a memorable victory.
They move on to the AFC Championship game for the first time since 1989, to play for a spot in Super Bowl 56.
After claiming their first play-off win for 31 years on wildcard weekend, Cincinnati have now registered their first ever away win in the play-offs.
The Bengals are now just one win from the sport’s biggest game, just two years after finishing with the NFL’s worst record.
That meant they had the first pick in the 2020 draft, with which they selected quarterback Joe Burrow, who has helped to transform the franchise and continued to show his rapid development.
The Titans welcomed back fit-again running back Derrick Henry and sacked Burrow nine times – more than any other game in his burgeoning career – yet the 25-year-old threw for 348 yards and got them in position to make the game-winning kick.
Henry was last season’s Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for 2,027 yards and led the league with 937 when he fractured a foot during week eight of the regular season, but with a steel plate and five screws in his foot, Henry returned after 12 weeks out.
Although he got into the end zone untouched from three yards in the second quarter, he failed to do the same with the two-point attempt so the Bengals led 9-6 at half-time after kicking three field goals.
Joe Mixon made it 16-6 by rushing for a 16-yard touchdown, before a dramatic two-minute spell saw Tennessee draw level heading into the final quarter.
The Titans kicked a field goal and on the next play, Burrow’s pass was tipped by a receiver and Tennessee’s Amani Hooker dived to claim an interception.
Two plays later Ryan Tannehill made a pinpoint pass to AJ Brown for a 33-yard touchdown and the Titans added the extra point to tie it up.
And a tense final quarter climaxed as Tannehill was intercepted for the third time with 20 seconds left, by Cincinnati linebacker Logan Wilson.
Burrow then made two completions to get the Bengals within field-goal range, and rookie kicker McPherson held his nerve to convert from 52 yards as time expired.
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