It was a winnable game for the Raiders, but penalties, Carr’s two turnovers and an inability to score touchdowns proved too much to overcome.īisaccia, Carr and other players all talked about the frustration, and how they would be able to build off this.Īfter all, no one thought the Raiders would even be here, given Jon Gruden’s resignation, Henry Ruggs III’s car crash and other off-field issues and injuries. The Raiders’ season ended on a Carr interception with 12 seconds left, and the Bengals held on to a 26-19 win in the first playoff game of the weekend. That’s what I thought going in, and the game indeed came down to the last play. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr dropped back and fired a pass toward Zay Jones, and Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt intercepted the ball and drove a striped stake through the heartbreak of history.ĬINCINNATI - If the Raiders kept it close on the road against the Bengals on Saturday, that surely would mean interim coach Rich Bisaccia, general manager Mike Mayock and quarterback Derek Carr would be back next season. A spike and two incompletions set up fourth-and-goal at the 9. The Raiders had first-and-goal at that same 9-yard line with a chance to force overtime in the closing seconds after trailing for almost the entire game. There they were again on Saturday evening. It was there, on that same 9-yard line, where Andy Dalton attempted to tackle Stephon Tuitt late in the 2015 season, breaking his thumb and shattering Super Bowl dreams in the process.Īnd one month later, that same 9-yard line is where the Steelers began their game-winning drive after Jeremy Hill’s fumble gave them - and the devil within - new life, which Pittsburgh capitalized on for an 18-16 victory. For the Cincinnati Bengals, expelling the postseason demon that has haunted them for 31 years had to happen inside Paul Brown Stadium.Īnd while any spot on the PBS field would have sufficed, there was a symbolic, full-circle nature to the fact that the play which sealed their 26-19 wild-card victory against the Raiders began at the 9-yard line in the north end zone.

You can’t hold an exorcism just anywhere.

Raiders versus bengals score