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You heard it all week and a handful of times on Sunday: the matchup between the Bengals and Steelers was the 40th anniversary of the "Immaculate Reception", courtesy of Franco Harris and Terry Bradshaw. It is one of the most iconic plays in NFL history and helped build the Steelers victory machine that we have seen over the past few decades and into today. If you ever get the opportunity to meet Hall of Fame inductee John Madden, don't talk about this play or there's likely to an awkward moment or two.
In the wake of the improbable Bengals victory in Pittsburgh on this historic day, some of our loyal readers coined their own phrase encapsulating the event that changed the outcome of the game. Readers "anya" and "Loyal2AFault" cleverly started touting the victory and the play that helped seal the Bengals win (namely Reggie Nelson's interception) as "The Immaculate Interception". We liked it so much that we want to see if we can do what we can to help it catch some fire.
Our own Josh Kirkendall is partial to "The Immaculate Conception" phrase, pertaining to the Bengals starting a new era in their franchise. The issue with Josh's coined phrase is that it is already taken by, you know, what this whole Christmas season is all about. We know what he means though and it has a nice ring to it as well.
Feel free to leave other coined phrases that you might have to describe the play and/or Bengals victory. In the meantime, enjoy your holiday and hold a smile knowing that your Cincinnati Bengals are in the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time in 30 years.