Today Is 2-Year Anniversary of One of Most Iconic Plays in Bengals Lore, and It May Have Rewritten Team's Future
CINCINNATI – Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer got the reminiscing started a little early.
Sawyer’s 83-yard fumble return for a touchdown in Friday night’s 28-14 victory against Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinals instantly drew comparisons to Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard’s 98-yard fumble return for a touchdown in a Wildcard win against the Baltimore Ravens.
The Fumble in the Jungle instantly became one of the most iconic plays in Bengals history, and today it celebrates its two-year anniversary.
In was Jan. 15, 2023, and the Bengals were tied with the Ravens 17-17 early in the fourth quarter. Baltimore was facing third and goal at the 1-yard line when quarterback Snoop Huntley – playing for the injured Lamar Jackson – tried to leap over the pile of bodies and extend the ball across the goal line as teammates Patrick Ricard and Mark Andrews pushed him from behind.
But Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt stopped Huntley’s progress, and linebacker Logan Wilson batted the ball with both hands into the waiting arms of Hubbard.
It turned into the longest fumble return touchdown in NFL postseason history, and the ball Hubbard lugged for 98 yards now resides at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
It wasn’t the first touchdown of Hubbard’s career.
That came during his fifth game as a rookie when he returned a fumble 19 yards for the final points in a 27-17 victory in a game the Miami Dolphins had led 17-0.
And the Fumble in the Jungle wasn’t Hubbard’s last.
As it stands today – and perhaps forever – that would be the 1-yard touchdown reception he had at Tennessee in Week 15.
But in terms of significance, it’s No. 1 on the list.
Not only did it provide the winning points in a 24-17 victory that sent the Bengals to the Divisional Round at Buffalo, where they won 27-10 to reach a second consecutive AFC Championship Game, but the Fumble in the Jungle might have saved some jobs this month.
What if that play never happens?
What if the Bengals lose to a Lamar Jackson-less Ravens team?
The win in Buffalo – arguably the best postseason performance in franchise history – never happens. Nor does going to Kansas City and coming within a last-second field goal of going to back-to-back Super Bowls.
What if the Bengals ended this season 9-8 and were staring at a three-year drought without a playoff win?
Would the 2021 run to Super Bowl LVI be viewed as a fluke?
Would Zac Taylor and the rest of the staff have been fired at the end of this season rather than just defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo and a handful of assistants?
There’s no way to know for sure.
Bengals owner Mike Brown kept Marvin Lewis around for 16 seasons without a playoff win. So the odds aren’t great he would get rid of Taylor if it was just one magical postseason run followed by three disappointments.
But the odds aren’t zero.
We’ll never know because the Fumble in the Jungle not only made history, it also reshaped the future.
It’s also worth noting that today is the three-year anniversary of another momentous occasion in franchise history -- the Wildcard win against the Las Vegas Raiders that ended Cincinnati’s 30-season drought without a postseason victory and kickstarted that run to Super Bowl LVI.
Hubbard had a sack and a pass breakup in that game. He also had a tackle for loss against Josh Jacobs wiped out by a penalty.
Jan. 15 is the only day on the calendar when the Bengals have an undefeated record (minimum two games played).
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