LOS ANGELES – Just how much the Bengals’ first Super Bowl appearance in 33 years means to the city of Cincinnati is clear to one of the team’s players.
Defensive end Sam Hubbard grew up in Cincinnati, played at Moeller High School there and then went to Ohio State. On Sunday, he will play in the Super Bowl with his hometown team.
“It’s amazing,” Hubbard said. “It’s hard to describe. I’m in one of the most fortunate positions of anybody in the NFL and I want to make the most of it.
“I’m going to give it all I’ve got. I think you will see me on Sunday leaving everything out of the field. I’m not going to hold anything back just because this is everything to me.”
Hubbard recorded sacks on back-to-back plays late in the AFC Championship Game, even forcing a fumble on one that Kansas City recovered.
Sam Hubbard, a Cincinnati native, will play for the Bengals in the Super Bowl. AP“I was just a hole dropper,” Hubbard said of getting the ball out from Patrick Mahomes. “It was a three-man rush. I saw an opening and I took the shot. I did a good job tracking the hip and got the ball out. We had chased him for 14 plays straight. The guys on the back end did a good job of sticking on their receivers. He had nowhere to throw it and I was able to run him down.”
These playoffs have been all about key plays being made in critical situations, something Hubbard knows something about.
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“It’s just football,” Hubbard said. “You keep chopping wood. We always say that. First and second quarter sacks are cool. But ones in the third and fourth quarter are legendary. They change the outcome of games. A lot of times, you don’t have success getting to the quarterbacks early in an NFL game.
“But if you keep going for four quarters, guys are going to wear down and opportunities are going to come. Those plays you make at the end of the game are the ones that are going to matter.”
Hubbard has recorded the second-most sacks on the Bengals this season. APA 2018 second-round pick by the Bengals, Hubbard received a four-year, $40 million contract extension after the 2020 season. He had 7 ½ sacks this season, the second-most on the team.
“I think that was important just as far as the confidence, playing free and having upstairs just trusting me and being a part of the future here,” Hubbard said. “Having that out of the way this year has been a blessing. All I have focused on is winning games, being a leader and doing the right thing for my teammates and not have to worry about any of that.”
