Nashville, Tennessee - The Cincinnati Bengals continued to tear their way through the playoffs with another big win, this time over the AFC’s top team, the Tennessee Titans.

The Bengals beat the Titans 19-16 on Saturday for their first trip to the AFC Championship Game in over 30 years.

This gritty, hard-fought victory was a total shocker, especially for the home fans.

The Bengals jumped out early, setting the tone by controlling the flow of the game but more importantly, keeping the Titans off of the scoreboard with a 6-0 lead after one quarter.

Tennessee then found the end zone but could only end up tying after their two-point conversion failed, followed by another Cincy field goal for a 9-6 lead at halftime.

The Bengals started the second half with a touchdown of their own to extend their lead by 10, but then the Titans put up ten straight points to tie things up again at the end of the third quarter.

Both teams struggled through the fourth, but after the Titans threw an interception – their third of the game – the Bengals got into position to kick a game-winning field goal that punched their ticket to the AFC title game.

In so many playoff games over the NFL's history, a team’s placekicker can often walk off of the field as the hero, and it was no different in this matchup.

The Bengals’ rookie kicker Evan McPherson (22) was one cool customer as his team’s leading scorer, never missing a kick attempt on Saturday night.

Three out of his four kicks were good from over 45 yards, including the game-winner that was booted through from 52 yards out.

McPherson was a perfect 4-for-4 with his kick attempts, for a total of 12 out of Cincy’s 19 total points scored.

The Bengals are back in the AFC title game for the first time since 1988.

This is the third time in franchise history that they have a spot in this game and both times before, they went on to the Super Bowl.

Their wins against the Raiders and Titans were close, but this team has a knack for making the right plays at the right time in order to put themselves in the position to seal the deal.

It was Cincy’s defense that closed things out, with interceptions that held off the opposition, and as long as they can keep putting up these walls, the Bengals have a great chance to succeed next Sunday.

The Bengals will play on the road in the AFC Championship Game against the winner of Sunday night’s divisional matchup between the Bills and the Chiefs.