A.J. Green is one of the best wide receivers in football, but his big play at the end of regulation against the Ravens had nothing to do with skill.
Green said his touchdown catch on a Hail Mary that allowed the Bengals to force overtime was the result of “luck” as opposed to some design that called for him to stand off to the side and catch the ball off a carom. That’s just what happened as an initial tip sent the ball toward Ravens safety James Ihedigbo, who blundered by tipping the ball up in the air for Green to snatch.
“I was in the right spot at the right time; we talk about that a lot,” Green said, via the Cincinnati Enquirer. “And I was just looking for someone to tap the ball so I could catch it. I stood off to the side and watched. I was thinking about coming back closer to the ball but I stayed right where I was and the ball found me. It would have been a great play had we won.”
Had the Bengals won, the excitement over the comeback from 17-0 down would have overshadowed the self-inflicted wounds that led them to that deficit in the first place. The turnovers and penalties turned out to be too great an obstacle, however, and the Bengals can’t escape how much those errors have contributed to two straight overtime losses.