Down 15-10 late in the fourth quarter at home to the hated Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals receiver A.J. Green made his first career playoff touchdown to finally give his team the lead with less than two minutes remaining. It ended up being the game-winner, sending the Bengals to the divisional round with their first win since 1991.
AJ McCarron, who had a rough evening, found the All-Pro receiver deep down the left sideline in between defenders. The pass was a bit high, but as he’s done throughout his career Green went up and got the ball and finished off the play with a strong move towards the end zone.
Here is a clip of the remarkable play:
Game on the line?
Throw it deep to A.J. Green.
What a catch. What a throw. #Touchdown! #PITvsCIN https://t.co/aKXtWfkfYy
— NFL (@NFL) January 10, 2016
Green’s score put Cincinnati up 16-15 with 1:50 left on the clock after a missed two-point conversion.
The play almost ended up being the game-winner, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Backup Steelers quarterback Landry Jones threw an interception to Vontaze Burfict. On the next possession, Bengals running back Jeremy Hill fumbled the ball, giving Pittsburgh another chance to win the game.
Ben Roethlisberger, after being carted off the field earlier in the game after Burfict drove him into the ground (watch here), came back and led a game-winning drive from the Bengals’ nine-yard line, thanks to a dumb personal foul penalty by Burfict and then another by Adam Jones, putting the Steelers in easy field-goal range.
Because of some stupidity by his teammates, Green’s tremendous effort wasn’t rewarded. Pittsburgh walked out of Paul Brown Stadium with a 18-16 victory.