The Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals are both in a familiar position when the AFC North rivals face each other for the second time in 17 days on Sunday.
The Ravens (6-7) are one game behind Pittsburgh in the division with four games to play, while the Bengals (4-9) have playoff hopes that are hanging by a thread.
“We need to win. If you win, then you have a chance to control your destiny. If you don’t, then it’s going to be out of your hands. It’s as simple as that,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said.
The Ravens started 1-5, so they've had little margin for error most of this season. They revived their hopes with a five-game winning streak before dropping two in a row to the Bengals and Steelers.
“It’s a little annoying — not from you guys, but for myself having to get up here every week and be like, ‘We need to turn it on. We need to turn it on,’” safety Kyle Hamilton said. “It’s been like that ever since Week 1. It’s time that we go out and do it, and there’s no excuses that are to be made at this point.”
The Ravens get another shot at the Steelers in Week 18. But Baltimore is 2-2 in AFC North games while Pittsburgh is 3-1. So if the Ravens lose this week and the Steelers take care of Cleveland in Week 17, then Pittsburgh would own the tiebreaker over Baltimore no matter what happens in the finale.
After facing the Bengals, the Ravens have a tough stretch. They host New England and play at Green Bay before the finale at Pittsburgh.
Cincinnati needs to win out and hope both Baltimore and Pittsburgh falter down the stretch. The Steelers host Miami on Monday night before ending the season at Detroit and Cleveland and hosting the Ravens.
The Bengals have an easier closing stretch. They are at Miami next week before hosting Arizona and Cleveland.
Although Cincinnati could be eliminated from the playoff race with a loss, coach Zac Taylor isn't feeling any extra pressure.
“I don’t. Maybe it sounds silly, but every week for us, I can tell you what we’re doing every minute of every single day leading up to Sunday to get ourselves right and that’s what we focus on,” he said. “We want to win more than anything, so we don’t look at it in that light. It’s just, ‘What can we do to win this game?’ and that’s the same approach that we have every week.”
Another week, another missed practice for Lamar Jackson, who was absent Wednesday. This time, however, the Ravens listed it as a rest day instead of designating a specific injury. Jackson has had hamstring, knee, ankle and toe issues this season, so pretty much anything could be bothering him.
“Sure, you’d rather have everybody practicing all the time, but if it’s not the best thing to practice, because you want to get your body right, I think you have to respect that as a coach,” coach John Harbaugh said Monday. “I know you have to respect that as a coach, so I respect Lamar and his judgment.”
The star quarterback looked a little better in last weekend’s loss to Pittsburgh, but he hasn’t had a full week of practice since early November, and the offense hasn’t exactly been humming. Baltimore did manage over 200 yards rushing against the Steelers, so perhaps the Ravens are capable of more than the 14 points they put up against Cincinnati’s beleaguered defense late last month.
Joe Burrow will look to bounce back after throwing two interceptions in the second half against Buffalo, including the sixth pick-6 of his career.
Burrow passed for 261 yards and two touchdowns in Cincinnati's 32-14 win over Baltimore on Thanksgiving night, his first game back after missing two months due to a turf toe injury.
The six-year veteran said the key in the first meeting was Cincinnati running for 128 yards and having the ball for nearly 39 minutes.
“We ran the ball really well, we protected. If you do those two things then you’re going to have some success as a team,” he said.
Wide receiver Tee Higgins missed the first game against the Ravens and could be out for this one after suffering his second concussion in three weeks.
It could be the second-coldest regular-season game at Paycor Stadium. The National Weather Service is predicting a high temperature of about 13 degrees Fahrenheit (minus-10 Celsius) on Sunday. The coldest kickoff temperature since the stadium opened in 2000 was 9 degrees.
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AP Sports Writer Noah Trister in Owings Mills, Maryland, contributed to this report.
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