The undermanned Ravens played hard enough and just well enough to force Cincinnati starters to go the distance in the Bengals’ 27-16 win to close the regular season on Sunday.
These AFC North rivals will clash again at Paycor Stadium in the wild-card round on Sunday night after Cincinnati won the division and clinched a first-round home game with a victory to prevent the potential coin-flip scenario. This will mark the first all-time postseason meeting between Baltimore and the Bengals after the teams split the season series with each winning at home.
The game will kick off at 8:15 p.m. and be televised on NBC.
“We kind of just studied them, so as Chuck [Clark] said, ‘We just had a scrimmage,'” cornerback Marlon Humphrey said. “It was a scrimmage we wish we would have won obviously, but to play them again, they’re pretty familiar with us [and] we’re pretty familiar with them. It’s just going to be who’s a better team. I think when you play a team three times, the better team should usually show.”
Qualifying for the playoffs for the fourth time in five years, the Ravens hope to welcome star quarterback Lamar Jackson back to the field after a knee injury sidelined him for the final five games of the regular season. The 26-year-old hasn’t even been able to practice since suffering a sprained PCL in his left knee in the Dec. 4 win over Denver, leaving many to doubt whether he’ll be ready for the start of the postseason. At the very least, backup quarterback Tyler Huntley should be able to play after sitting out Sunday’s game with lingering right shoulder tendinitis that bothered him more this past week.
Regardless of who’s at quarterback, Baltimore certainly can’t duplicate Sunday’s four-turnover performance that ruined what was a strong defensive effort in which the Bengals gained only 4.0 yards per play and Joe Burrow averaged a season-worst 5.12 yards per pass attempt. Cincinnati scored three touchdowns off turnovers, including the end-zone recovery of a Trey Hendrickson strip-sack of rookie quarterback Anthony Brown with 30 seconds remaining in the first half to make the score 24-7 at intermission.
Despite deactivating tight end Mark Andrews, running back J.K. Dobbins, right guard Kevin Zeitler, and cornerback Marcus Peters for Week 18, Baltimore played the rest of its healthy starters for the entire game, which was surprising after the Bengals jumped to a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter. Asked why he rested those veterans, head coach John Harbaugh said he was doing “what’s best for our team and for our season” without further details, but Andrews, Dobbins, Zeitler, and Peters have all dealt with health concerns to varying degrees this season.
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Unfortunately, neither team was able to escape injury in Week 18 as Ravens running back Gus Edwards was ruled out after being evaluated for a head injury in the first half and Bengals right guard Alex Cappa exited with a left leg injury late in the third quarter. Widely regarded as Cincinnati’s best offensive lineman this season, Cappa was carted to the locker room amidst speculation that he may have suffered a significant injury. The Bengals also lost starting right tackle La’el Collins to a season-ending knee injury in Week 16.
No team is 100% healthy at this point, of course, but it’ll be all hands on deck for both sides to conclude their 2022 season trilogy. The Ravens can only hope that will include Jackson on Sunday night as they aim to hand the Bengals their first loss since Halloween and advance to the divisional round.
“It’s an all-out war, and those guys know that when we come back next week, we’ll be here,” Pro Bowl inside linebacker Roquan Smith said. “I’m excited, and I think it’s going to be a great opportunity for us to show the world exactly what we’re going to do.”
