Just when it appeared as though Tyler Huntley and the Baltimore Ravens were about to silence Paycor Stadium and take a shocking 24-17 lead on the Cincinnati Bengals, the pendulum swung in an entirely different direction, all thanks to an alert Sam Hubbard.
On third-and-goal, Huntley made an attempt to leap over the pile but failed to break the plane before fumbling the ball directly into Hubbard’s hands, as the 6-foot-5 defensive end rumbled all the way for the 98-yard touchdown.
There are momentum shifts and then there are straight-up stomach punch-like moments, especially for a road team about to get a sense of control and increasing confidence. And this one was just devastating.
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Sam Hubbard rumbles for 98-yard TD, makes NFL Playoff history
Hubbard’s sprint to paydirt — which was honestly impressive for a player of his size — is now the longest go-ahead TD in the fourth quarter in NFL postseason history. It was also the longest fumble to be returned for a touchdown in NFL postseason history.
To say he was in the perfect position to snatch Huntley’s fumble would be wildly understating what took place.
It was as if Sam Hubbard was being given a head start in the final leg of a relay race.
Major credit is in order to NBC’s Mike Tirico, who treated the moment with the appropriate level of excitement during the entire sprint, including a top notch reference to Hubbard as “the Cincinnatti kid!”
It almost felt like Mike Breen was reacting to a shocking three-pointer, that’s just how good Tirico’s call was.