While Mixon ripped off a 47-yard run as part of his 123-yard, two-touchdown day, Hubbard came off the bench for two sacks and a tackle for loss in the 30-16 win.
Three years later, Hubbard ended regulation of the AFC title game when he put the genie back in the bottle with back-to-back sacks of Patrick Mahomes before Mixon zapped overtime to win a Super Bowl berth.
“We still talk about it,” Hubbard says of the ’18 game. “He was the spark for the offense and I had two sacks and was the spark for the defense and we realized at that moment this could be our team and our future and we could take it where we wanted to go and every day we tried to bring the energy despite what was going on around us. Never accept losing.”
The 6-2, 222-pound Mixon complemented that big-back burst with Atomic clock ball security and leaves the Bengals with the NFL’s longest active regular-season streak without a fumble by a running back.
“As reliable as they come,” Hubbard says.
According to Elias, Mixon has gone 661 straight touches without a fumble during a streak encompassing 35 regular-season games and 763 days. And seven more games in the playoffs. His last of six career fumbles came on Dec. 5, 2021 against the Chargers at Paycor Stadium.
But Mixon saved his best for the playoffs.
“There are many iconic moments and runs when he stepped up and made some stuff happen when we needed it the most,” Hubbard says.
In the 2021 AFC title game in Kansas City, he lugged the Bengals into the Super Bowl during their winning drive in overtime when he carried five times for 27 yards. Two weeks later he threw a six-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tee Higgins to cut the Rams lead to 13-10 in the Super Bowl. The next year in the AFC Divisional he navigated a snowy field in Buffalo for 105 yards on 20 carries to key a 27-10 win.
“He never changed. Same guy,” Brown says. “One of the best teammates I’ve ever…
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