CINCINNATI -- All the stars were aligning.
Just after they capped a 15-point comeback with AJ McCarron's 25-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Green with 1:50 left in Saturday night's wild-card round game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Cincinnati Bengals appeared to be receiving some favor from the cosmos.
Here, the cosmos appeared to be saying, 'You're about to win your first playoff game in 25 years, Cincinnati.'
And then, 14 seconds later, the cosmos gave an abrupt "not so fast," and snatched the postseason destiny that has eluded this city for a generation.