Resurgent Raiders Look for Revenge Against Bengals

The Las Vegas Raiders are riding high into the NFL Playoffs and start by seeking revenge against the Cincinnati Bengals

The Las Vegas Raiders are traveling to play the Cincinnati Bengals, who beat them during the regular season.  The wild card playoff game at Paul Brown Stadium on Saturday isn’t as cut-and-dried as it might seem.

The Bengals (10-7), who captured the AFC North title for the first time since 2015, defeated the Raiders, 32-13, on Nov. 21 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, but the Silver and Black was within 16-13 with 11:42 left in the game after Derek Carr threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to backup tight end Foster Moreau.

However, quarterback Joe Burrow threw a six-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, running back Joe Mixon ran 20 yards for a touchdown and Evan MacPherson kicked a 47-yard field goal as the Bengals broke it open by scoring the last 16 points of the game.

Burrow completed 20-of-29 passes for 148 yards and the touchdown, while Mixon helped the Bengals control the ball and the clock by rushing for 123 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries. Carr completed 19-of-27 for 215 yards with a touchdown and an interception, while the Bengals limited Josh Jacobs to 37 yards on nine carries.

But the Raiders (10-7) are a different team these days, having won their last four games to clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2016, when Daniel Carlson kicked a 47-yard field goal on the final play of overtime to beat the Los Angeles Chargers, 35-32, on Sunday night at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Jacobs has regained the form of his first two seasons, when he went over 1,000 yards both times, by rushing for 324 yards in the last three games despite a rib injury, and was especially effective when he gained 69 yards in overtime against the Chargers and set up Carlson’s winning kick.

The Raiders were underdogs against the Chargers after losing to Los Angeles, 28-14, at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., on Oct. 4, and are on the wrong side of the odds again but hope to reverse things against the Bengals, too.

Although the Raiders dominated the series for years and still hold a 21-12 record over Cincinnati since they first met in 1968, the Bengals have won four of the last five games—also prevailing by 30-16 in 2018, 33-13 in 2015 and 34-10 in 2012.

The only time the Raiders beat the Bengals during that span came in 2019, when Carr threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Moreau and ran three yards for another score before Carlson finished off a 17-10 victory with a 20-yard field goal at the Oakland Coliseum.

The Raiders won 16 of the first 21 games they played against the Bengals, including 31-10 and 34-0 in that first year of 1968, with Cincinnati ending that long negative stretch when Jim Breech kicked a 34-yard field goal with 1:01 left in overtime for a 24-21 victory at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati in 1992.

The Bengals had their first two-game winning streak in the series when Doug Pelfrey kicked three field goals in a 16-10 victory the following year at Riverfront.

Another good omen for the Raiders heading into Saturday’s game is that they have won the only two games they have played against the Bengals in the post-season.

The Raiders built a 31-14 lead in the fourth quarter behind three touchdown passes from quarterback Kenny “Snake” Stabler, who passed for 199 yards, but quarterback Ken Anderson, who passed for 201 yards, threw for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to make it 31-28—and that’s how it ended at the Oakland Coliseum.

In a 1991 playoff game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum after the Raiders moved South, quarterback Jay Schroeder’s second touchdown pass of the game covering 41 yards to tight end midway through the fourth quarter broke a 10-10 tie and Jeff Jaeger’s 25-yard field goal finished off a 20-10 victory.

The Raiders downed Bengals, 28-17, during the 1980 regular season behind quarterback Jim Plunkett, who ran four yards for the clinching touchdown in the final minutes, and the Silver and Black went on to become the first wild card team to win the Super Bowl by dominating the Philadelphia Eagles, 27-10, in SB XV.

By beating the Bengals on Sunday, the Raiders can keep alive their hopes to repeat that feat.

Want to talk about this? Want to air your opinion about all things Las Vegas Raiders? Maybe you like to talk about other sports that aren't Silver and Black related? We got your back. Join our 100% FREE message board, a brand new option, when you CLICK RIGHT HERE.

Make sure you like our Facebook Page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.

Want the latest breaking Las Vegas Raiders news delivered straight to your email for FREE? Sign up for the DAILY Raiders Nation newsletter when you CLICK THE FOLLOW button on the main page. Don't miss any of the latest up to the second updates for your Las Vegas Raiders when you follow on Twitter @HondoCarpenter