The Baltimore Ravens' trip to face the Cincinnati Bengals in Sunday's Wild Card clash presents both franchises with the opportunity to improve upon their postseason records in the first playoff clash between the teams.
While the Bengals marched all the way to the Super Bowl before a narrow 23-20 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams last year, the 2021 season marked the first time in 30 years that Cincinnati celebrated a victory in the playoffs – having lost seven Wild Card clashes in a row previously.
Meanwhile, the Ravens have won just two playoff clashes since their victory in Super Bowl XLVII a decade ago, losing four of six postseason clashes since.
Home field advantage for the Bengals will not matter to Baltimore, however, who stand as the only franchise in NFL history to boast a winning record in road playoff games at 11-7.
Without Lamar Jackson due to a knee injury, the Ravens go in as underdogs and may look towards their running game to provide a breakthrough.
They have excelled this season on the ground, earning a first down on 31.7 per cent of their rushing attempts this season – the highest such percentage in a single season by any team in the Super Bowl era.
Though most of those yards have come through Jackson himself (764 yards), J.K. Dobbins has tallied 520 yards from 92 carries and Kenyan Drake leads the Ravens with four rushing touchdowns, while only the Chicago Bears (3,014) had more rushing yards in the regular season than the Ravens (2,720).
The Bengals' most effective outlet in response is likely to be star quarterback Joe Burrow, who boasts a career completion percentage of 68.3 in playoff matches – the second highest among NFL quarterbacks with at least 100 postseason pass attempts.
In the 2022 regular season, Burrow's completion percentage also stood at 68.3, behind only the Seattle Seahawks' Geno Smith (69.8), while 35 touchdown passes ranked as the third highest across the NFL.
Victory against the Ravens would also extend Cincinnati's current win streak to nine, which would set a franchise record. The Bengals are the only NFL team who have not recorded at least one winning streak of at least nine games in their history.
Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins will be instrumental to the Bengals' hopes, with the pair both boasting over 1,000 receiving yards this season and having a combined receiving touchdown total of 16 – almost half of the Bengals' team total in 2022 (35).
The two sides met only last week, where the Bengals emerged 26-17 victors, and the all-time series record stands at 28-26 in favour of the Ravens.
With the Bengals and Ravens having never previously met in the playoffs, the rivalry is now set to see a new chapter written.
Broncos reportedly trade for Jets QB Wilson
Zach Wilson has a chance to restart his career in a new setting after the Denver Broncos reportedly traded for the former starting quarterback from the New York Jets on Monday, according to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.
The Broncos are also acquiring a seventh-round pick in this year's NFL draft, and the Jets will receive a sixth-rounder.
New York will also pay part of Wilson's $5.5million salary next season.
Wilson arrives in Denver after never living up to expectations with the Jets after the franchise selected him second overall in the 2021 draft.
He went 3-10 as a rookie in 2021, and things didn't improve in 2022, leading to his benching.
The Jets had seen enough and decided to move on from Wilson, trading for Aaron Rodgers prior to the 2023 season. Wilson, though, got another chance to start after Rodgers tore his Achilles on his first drive with New York in the season opener.
He was unable to take advantage of that opportunity, however, throwing for eight touchdowns and seven interceptions in 12 games in 2023. His 77.2 passer rating ranked 30th out of 32 qualifying QBs last season.
In 34 career games, he has completed 57.0 per cent of his passes for 6,293 yards with 23 TDs and 25 picks.
Among the 30 quarterbacks with a minimum of 700 pass attempts since 2021, Wilson ranks last in completion percentage and QB rating (73.2), and 29th in both touchdown passes and yards per attempt (6.34).
In Denver, he'll likely get a chance to compete for the starting QB job after the Broncos released Russell Wilson in early March.
The only other quarterbacks on Denver's roster are Jarrett Stidham and Ben DiNucci, but the team could also decide to select one in Thursday's draft.
Eagles lock up wide receiver Smith through 2028
The Philadelphia Eagles locked up wide receiver DeVonta Smith through the 2028 season on Monday.
Philadelphia exercised its fifth-year option on Smith for the 2025 season and agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension that runs through 2028.
Smith’s extension is reportedly worth $75million, including $51million in guaranteed money.
Philadelphia selected Smith with the 10th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft after he won the Heisman Trophy with Alabama in 2020.
Smith was the first wide receiver to win the Heisman since Desmond Howard in 1991 and first non-quarterback or running back to capture the honour since cornerback Charles Woodson in 1997.
Smith has caught 240 passes for 3,178 yards and 19 touchdowns in 50 regular-season games while adding 27 receptions for 405 yards and a TD catch in five postseason contests.
OJ Simpson: Cherished star whose fall from grace was seen live by millions on TV
From cherished American superstar to villain whose murder trial captivated a global audience, OJ Simpson’s fall from grace was startling.
Simpson, nicknamed ‘The Juice’, has died at the age of 76 after losing his battle with prostate cancer, leaving behind four children.
Before the low-speed car chase by police and ‘Trial of the Century’ that began the unravelling of his reputation, Simpson was a darling of American sport who had also carved out a successful acting career.
He was raised in a low income neighbourhood in San Francisco and joined a local gang but his athleticism offered a route out and he found his purpose in gridiron.
A prolific running back, he starred for USC and in 1968 won the Heisman Trophy awarded to the outstanding player in college football. Inevitably, he was first overall draught pick the following year.
Progress in his first couple of seasons at the Buffalo Bills was slow but his impact grew and he went on to become one of the most successful operators in his position, winning the NFL’s most valuable player in 1973 and being inducted into the hall of fame in 1985.
He became the game’s highest paid player and lucrative commercial deals also followed as companies looked to leverage his charisma and popularity, while his acting career included parts in blockbusters ‘Towering Inferno’ and ‘The Naked Gun’.
For all his film presence he was little known outside the United States but that changed for all the wrong reasons when he was arrested in 1994 for the murder of his former wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman.
Brown and Goldman had been found stabbed to death in LA and once police had filed charges, Simpson refused to turn himself in and was pursued in an extraordinary car chase that was at low speed because he had a gun pointed to his head.
The event was televised live to millions and projected his notoriety worldwide, with the broadcasting of his subsequent murder trial only intensifying interest in this fallen star.
He was acquitted the following year but a civil lawsuit found him liable for the deaths, resulting in an order to pay £26.7million pounds to the victims of the families. Only a fraction of that amount was actually paid.
Arrests followed for a variety of offences in the early 2000s and his lowest point eventually came in 2007 when he was charged with armed robbery and kidnapping.
He served nine of a 33-year jail sentence and upon his release he continued to live in Las Vegas, looking increasingly frail when in public but active on social media. Simpson always maintained his innocence of the murders.
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