The Cincinnati Bengals ended the NFL‘s longest postseason victory drought in the wild card round last week. The franchise snapped another dubious playoff drought with their stunning 19-16 victory over the Tennessee Titans Saturday.
With the win, Cincinnati advances to the AFC Championship Game for the first time since the 1988 season — ending the longest conference title game drought in the NFL at 33 years. The Cleveland Browns now own the longest conference title game drought, not advancing that far in the playoffs since the 1989 season.
Each times the Bengals made it to the AFC Championship Game, they went to the Super Bowl (1981, 1988). This will be the Bengals’ first AFC Championship Game on the road, as they will face either the Kansas City Chiefs or Buffalo Bills next weekend. Cincinnati is the No. 4 seed in the playoffs while the Chiefs and Bills are the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, respectively.
The Bengals never won a road playoff game in franchise history before Saturday’s win over the Titans, losing their previous seven appearances (0-7). The Titans fell to 0-3 as a No. 1 seed, losing in the 2000 and 2008 divisional round to the Baltimore Ravens and in 2021 divisional round to the Bengals. The Titans have not won a playoff game in Nashville since the 2002 AFC Divisional Round against the Pittsburgh Steelers and have lost their last four playoff games at home.
The Bengals continue to rewrite their franchise history books with each playoff win, looking to snap their 33-year Super Bowl appearance drought with a win next weekend.
