Sam Hubbard sat in front of his locker, stained and stretched black uniform still on, and stared straight ahead while slowly ripping tape off his hands.

The look on his face matched the feeling of the 66,376 leaving Paycor Stadium.

What the heck just happened?

“That was probably the most adversity we have faced all season in a single game,” Hubbard said, starting the conversation.

A few minutes later, he tried to further explain and process how this improbable season added an even more improbable victory.

“Just unbelievable effort, it comes down to being resilient and … ” Hubbard stopped himself mid-thought. He paused. Then perfectly summed it up.

“Wow,” he said.

Wow, indeed. The Bengals’ 27-24 overtime victory against the Vikings served as a microcosm of Cincinnati’s season, in many ways. One that started as Super Bowl favorites has endured an avalanche of obstacles and imperfections then left for dead without Joe Burrow, all the odds stacked against them.

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