It’s third-and-goal at the Buffalo nine-yard line in the last minute of the third quarter, and the game is hanging in the balance.
The Buffalo Bills defence, after just watching their offence score the team’s first touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens to take a 10-3 lead, finds themselves with their backs against their own end zone and the reigning league MVP ready to cap a nine-minute drive with a touchdown to tie the game heading into the final quarter.
As the play clock winds to zero, Lamar Jackson catches the snap, takes a quick drop back and slings the football in the direction of tight end Mark Andrews at the front of the end zone.
The only problem? Jackson doesn’t see Taron Johnson cutting underneath the route.
Johnson intercepts Jackson’s pass a yard deep in the end zone, finds his footing, and begins sprinting out of the end zone. The rest is history.
Johnson’s extraordinary pick-6 – the longest in Bills franchise history and tied for the longest-ever in NFL playoff history – changed the tide in a game that felt destined to come down to a field goal. Or, more likely, a missed field goal based on how kickers Justin Tucker and Tyler Bass fared against the Buffalo wind on Saturday night.
Thanks to stellar all-around play from the Buffalo defence and the eventual exit of Jackson from the game, the jaw-dropping interception sealed a contest where neither offence looked much like the high-flying attacks football fans had seen over the final weeks of the season.
It would be the final score in a 17-3 Bills win over the Ravens, setting up an AFC Championship date with either the Kansas City Chiefs or Cleveland Browns next Sunday.
But the pick-6, Johnson’s second of the season, will not only go down as the play that returned the Bills to the AFC title game for the first time since January 1994. It will be cemented as a play that members of Bills Mafia who watched him scamper 101 yards to pay dirt will never forget.
RAVENS THEIR OWN WORST ENEMY IN ANOTHER PLAYOFF DISAPPOINTMENT
The Ravens’ night went from bad to worse on the drive following Johnson’s gut-punch pick-6 when Jackson was forced to chase down a botched snap deep in Ravens territory, recover it and toss it downfield only to get injured on the ensuing tackle when his head violently bounced off the turf in the end zone.
Jackson immediately left the game to enter concussion protocol and never returned to the game, ending Baltimore’s hopes of a fourth-quarter comeback.
The play was a microcosm of the night for the Ravens, who just couldn’t seem to get out of their own way.
Whether it was wayward snaps (we counted at least three from centre Patrick Mekari, two of which resulted in fumbles), missed field goals, shanked punts, untimely sacks for big losses, or miscues in the passing game, Baltimore missed an opportunity to take advantage of a Bills offence that was off its rhythm in a game that was there for the taking.
Now, instead of a shot at a trip to the Super Bowl, John Harbaugh’s Ravens enter another off-season much earlier than many of us expected.
RODGERS, PACKERS BATTER TOP-RANKED RAMS DEFENCE
This is officially an Aaron Rodgers appreciation post.
Fresh off one of the best seasons of his Hall of Fame career at the ripe age of 37, Rodgers delivered a nearly immaculate performance in Saturday’s thoroughly dominant 32-18 win over the Rams.
Racking up 296 yards on 23-of-36 passing with two touchdowns and a rushing score, the 2020 MVP favourite put on a show against the Rams’ top-ranked defence.
Exhibit A:
Exhibit B: This calmness and patience in a quickly collapsing pocket in the end zone leading to a mind-blowing pin-point 25-yard throw.
But it isn’t just Rodgers who makes this Packers offence so dangerous as Green Bay gets set to host the NFC Championship – the ground game is equally devastating.
The interior of the Packers’ offensive line took full advantage of the Aaron Donald-sized hole in the Rams defence, opening up large gaps on the line of scrimmage for Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams. The running back duo torched the L.A. defence to the tune of 164 yards and a score on 6.3 yards per carry, while rookie AJ Dillon chipped in with six totes for 27 yards.
Combine all that together – a red-hot Rodgers through the air and a punishing machine on the ground – and the full extent of Green Bay’s strength on offence was on full display Saturday evening at Lambeau.
DONALD INJURY TOO MUCH FOR RAMS DEFENCE TO OVERCOME
Whenever a team is forced to play with its best player at less than 100 per cent, that team is going to struggle to be itself. It’s that simple.
Donald is the Rams’ best player, hands down. And it was clear on Saturday night the two-time defensive player of the year just wasn’t right after suffering a rib injury last weekend against the Seahawks. Donald played only 39 of L.A.’s 72 defensive snaps in Green Bay, and registered just a single tackle and one pressure.
The impact of Donald’s absence was felt throughout the defence, and the Rams’ top-ranked unit from the regular season had one of its worst outings of the year against Rodgers and the Packers. L.A. gave up season-highs in both passing yards (296) and rushing yards (188), allowed Green Bay to convert 66.7 per cent of third downs after allowing a conversion rate of just 35.4 per cent in the regular season, and failed to register a single sack.
With the offence far from full strength, the Rams needed a monster game out of their defence, but the notable absence of their best player was just too much to overcome.
