AFC Wild Card
(6) Baltimore Ravens at (3) Cincinnati Bengals
Ravens: I had them making the playoffs when I was previewing divisions. I also said if they were healthy, they’d win the AFC North. It’s been an interesting year for them. Many of you that follow me know I’ve already bashed them for not being able to hold a lead and close games out. It’s one thing when you blow one lead, that’s common and every team does it here and there per season. But five of them? That’s absurd. When you are up by double digits, you close out, plain and simple. I had to get that out before I moved forward. The biggest debate we’ve seen through the football community is the future of Lamar Jackson. He didn’t sign the contract extension that was offered to him during the Summer in 2022 and he took a chance and bet on himself. When he got off to the quick start, many were saying to pay the man and he was showing why he deserved to get paid. Then, you have some who are saying he doesn’t deserve the extension because he’s regressed since his MVP season back in 2019. I’ll tell you which side I’m on. Pay the man. I say that because the Ravens offense is completely different without number 8 under center. Let’s look at these numbers. In the games Lamar has missed, Baltimore has only scored a total of four touchdowns, and they’ve averaged 12 points per game during that stretch. What’s been carrying them has been the defense which is still one of the best in the league. On Sunday night, they’ll return to Cincinnati for a Wild Card game.
Bengals: It’s never how things start, it’s how they finish. The beginning was rocky, but as the season continued, they rounded into form and got hot. You sometimes just need that push to get yourself going and that’s exactly what they did. For the second consecutive season, they have won the AFC North under Head Coach, Zac Taylor. Remember those years when they would breeze through the regular season, and they’d get to the playoffs only to fall short each time? I think those times are behind them now and this is a different organization with a stronger mindset at this point. On the radio and on this site, I’ve said several times that there are two teams I don’t want to see come playoff time. The first is the San Francisco 49ers. They’ve been hot and have won ten in a row and the other is these Cincinnati Bengals. Excluding the Buffalo game, they enter January on a nice winning streak with the offense hitting its stride and clicking on all cylinders with Joe Burrow, Joe Mixon and Ja’Marr Chase, the defense is an incredibly, yet sneaky physical unit and most importantly, this is a team with a year of experience under their belts after last year’s Super Bowl run. Three of their wins that impressed me were the showdown with the Chiefs on December 4th, the Buccaneers on December 18th and they had to grind the game out on Christmas Eve against the Patriots. Remember, the AFC still goes through them as far as I’m concerned. They’ll be home on Sunday night for a playoff showdown with Baltimore.
Ravens X-Factor: Marcus Peters– His presence in that secondary makes all the difference. If there’s any definition of ball hawk in the league today, it’s Marcus. Somehow, the football can just find its way into his lap. He takes chances and making that attempt shows he’s not afraid of the moment. Marcus plays center field when covering, then he pursues the football. Marcus just knows where to be to make a play. He’ll be seeing a lot of Ja’Marr Chase in this game.
Bengals X-Factor: Logan Wilson– He’s a tackling machine! Logan is a sideline to sideline Linebacker with instincts, range and cover skills. He can control the middle of the defense and is the thump when it comes to helping to stop the run. meaning he’s hard hitting if you run in his direction. There are many dynamic offenses in the AFC playoff picture and Logan’s leadership, big play ability and communication skills could come in handy moving forward.
Final Thoughts: They split the two regular season meetings. This is the most important one, the playoff showdown. The Ravens are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2020 when Lamar won his first playoff game. The Bengals are the reigning AFC Champions looking to defend their crown and get back to the Super Bowl. As I said last week, Baltimore must run that football to control the clock and keep that Bengals offense on the sideline. Mark Andrews is also back, and he will be a key force for that passing attack. The Bengals are clicking right now and playing with momentum on their side. They have way too much firepower offensively and that’s what’ll end up doing Baltimore in unfortunately.
Prediction: Bengals 29, Ravens 14
