Raiders, Bengals to Meet for First Time Since 2021-22 Wild Card Round

The Cincinnati Bengals ended the Las Vegas Raiders' epic 2021-22 season. Sunday will be the first time the teams meet since.

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) throws from the pocket in the third quarter during an NFL AFC wild-card playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Las Vegas Raiders, 26-19 to win the franchise's first playoff game in 30 years. Las Vegas Raiders At Cincinnati Bengals Jan 15 Afc Wild Card Game / Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Las Vegas Raiders are looking to put Sunday's narrow 27-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs behind them as they get ready to head on the road to face an opponent they have seen in quite some time, the Cincinnati Bengals.

The two teams last met in the 2021-22 postseason, the last time the Raiders made the playoffs.

Cincinnati ended what was a dream season for the Silver and Black, who had won four straight games to clinch their spot in the postseason for the first time since 2017.

The Raiders had found themselves staring at a 6-7 record with four games to play, a situation where the odds were severly stacked against them.

But under interim head coach Rich Bisaccia, the team soared to a four-win streak to close out the regular season, capping it off with one of the most epic wins in Raiders history, their overtime victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Raiders were set to face a Bengals team that finished with the same record, 10-7. Unlike Las Vegas, Cincinnati never had a hole to dig itself of that season, never even holding a below .500 record.

The two teams battled down to the wire, as the Raiders climbed back from a 20-6 deficit, eventually making it a one-possession game at 26-19.

With just under 2 minutes left, Las Vegas marched all the way down to Cincinnati's 9-yard line. With first-and-goal, the Raiders had four opportunites to find the end zone and tie the game with an extra point. They failed on all four attempts, including the game-sealing play when former Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was picked off by Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt.

While the Raiders didn't do enough to win the game, a very controversial call altered the trajectory of the contest when just before halftime, a whistle was blown before Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd caught a pass in the end zone for Cincinnati's second touchdown of the game, giving the Bengals a commanding 20-6 that they would take into the break.

The league said afterward that the whistle was blown after Boyd caught the pass. That was not the case.

The Bengals, of course, would ultimately make a run to Super Bowl LVI, where they fell to the Los Angeles Rams.

It's safe to say there will be some bitterness for Raider Nation going into this weekend's matchup, but for the Raiders themselves, the only focus should be getting the win and ending their four-game losing streak.

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