Ravens

The Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Baltimore Ravens 27-16 in Week 18. The Ravens rested many of their starters, however.

It’s obvious to say this game would be different with Lamar and the starters in, and we might see that, as the Ravens will play the Bengals next week. The Ravens are on to the playoffs. To say the offense was bad would be an understatement, but of course, we know why it was so bad. But to a man – Pro Bowlers, backups and practice-squaders alike – this team played with the effort and the confidence of a winning football team today. The defense played good enough to keep this game interesting. The effort of the team in a weird finale is something to praise. Shoutout to the Ravens defense today. Harbaugh’s decision to rest starters was a good one in my opinion because it’s hard to beat a team twice let alone back to back weeks. I’m proud that the Ravens kind of made it a game. This was basically a preseason game, with both teams running basic plays on both sides of the ball, not wanting to tip their hands for next week. That was the perfect continuation of the Bengals’ ridiculous bellyaching that they did all week following the decision from the NFL that a coin flip might determine the sight of the Wild Card game between the Bengals and Ravens. They actually outgained the Bengals by over 100 yards and held the Cinci offense to 33% on third down conversions.

The Ravens rested many of their starters but still kept it close. The defense got stronger heading I to the playoffs and the rookies rose up.

The Ravens can rely on their running game and defense to be strong in the playoffs, but they're going to have to make plays through the air. Likely could be a key piece to the Ravens trying to unlock the passing game in the playoffs. - In the two regular-season games against the Ravens this year, Burrow has thrown for 217 yards and 215 yards, respectively. - It was good to see the Ravens defense end the first half with a four-and-out against the Bengals offense as end-of-half and end-of-game situations have been a bugaboo this season. However, Brown's fumble recovered by the Bengals touchdown on the ensuing drive was a backbreaker in this game. If Jackson and Huntley are back for the playoffs, the Ravens won't need to call on Brown again. The Ravens held the first-team Bengals offense to just three points in the second half. Lamar Jackson sat a fifth straight game and the Ravens gave Tyler Huntley the day off to get his shoulder feeling as good as possible in case he has to play again. He was all over the field and fiery, and he wasn't the only one. Defensively, the Ravens took a bit of a different strategy. There was not a whole lot of definite upside to playing all the starters, especially on offense, and there was a whole lot of potential downside. The Bengals, meanwhile, had to play their starters the distance.

The Ravens will start undrafted rookie Anthony Brown at quarterback and rest four starters: running back J.K. Dobbins, tight end Mark Andrews, ...

[Lamar Jackson](https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/3916387/lamar-jackson) (knee) had been ruled out for the fifth straight game, and backup [Tyler Huntley](https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/4035671/tyler-huntley) is inactive with tendinitis in his right shoulder after starting the past four games. He has acknowledged that he is not at full strength and hasn't regained his breakaway speed after missing all of last season with a torn ACL, LCL and meniscus in his left knee. The Baltimore offense has struggled mightily in Jackson's absence. Baltimore, which is currently the No. Brown took the first-team reps in practice this past week. [Anthony Brown](https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/4035312/anthony-brown) at quarterback and rest four starters: running back [J.K.

The only loser in this matchup is the NFL and their home field coin toss. Despite already winning the AFC North, the NFL forced the Bengals to play starters in ...

Despite already winning the AFC North, the NFL forced the Bengals to play starters in Week 18 to ensure home field advantage in the first round. This led to a couple injuries for the Bengals right before their wild card matchup. The Bengals will matchup with the Ravens again next week in the playoffs, and after Hendrickson’s performance Sunday, he’s gonna be a key player in shutting down the Ravens offense once again. This is his second season in the league, and he’s gone over at least 1,000 yards in both seasons. Joe Burrow was off, but with a limited playbook, he still led them to a somewhat easy victory. [@AllBengals](https://twitter.com/allbengals) [Subscribe and follow the ONLY Daily Bengals Podcast](https://linktr.ee/LockedOnBengals) He finished the game with two sacks and a huge [Subscribe to the All Bengals YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIs_LnL98oXupcixZDoSovQ) Chrisman had been struggling slightly up to this point, but he was outstanding against the Ravens. This was a tough game to rule any losers. [did a coin flip celebration](https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/gameday/joe-mixon-mocks-nfl-coin-toss-celebration-bengals-touchdown-ravens) after scoring a touchdown early in the game. Here are our winners and losers:

After the Baltimore Ravens lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, head coach John Harbaugh had a very nonplussed reaction to an AFC North rematch in the playoffs.

Dobbins, Mark Andrews, and hopefully Jackson back in the lineup. The Ravens secured the No. 6 seed and the Bengals secured the No.

The Cincinnati Bengals earned massive reactions during their Week 18 win over the Baltimore Ravens. First and foremost, because Joe Mixon and the offense ...

The Bengals faced more adversity today than they expected perhaps. Pass rushers will be salivating. Enjoy the moment. [January 8, 2023] [#Bengals]for not being laser focused today after the week that was. A 27-16 win over a divisional rival and forcing a season split of the series with the Ravens doesn’t hurt either. Looking forward to it. We are going to the playoffs and are 12-4, matching their record for most wins in a season. [January 8, 2023] [#Bengals]tie franchise record with 8th consecutive win.