The Ravens are still looking to lock up a spot in the playoffs with a win on Sunday, but they’ll need to get past the Bengals to earn it.
The Baltimore Ravens control their own destiny when they head home for their Week 17 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, and they can’t be sitting in a more ideal situation to end their regular season.
The Ravens just need a win to get in to the postseason, currently sitting as the fifth seed in the playoffs if the season had ended last week. Now, they’ll face off with an AFC North rival in Baltimore with a victory placing them right back in the hunt for a Super Bowl run. They beat the Bengals once before in 2017, a 20-0 rout on the road, and they’ll need a similar effort on Sunday.
On the other hand, the Bengals are on the outside looking in, just as they have been all season. They, alongside the Cleveland Browns, have made the AFC North relatively weak in 2017, and they’ll need a big win on Sunday to prove they can still compete when needed against some of their fiercest rivals.
Odds: Ravens -9.5, according to Odds Shark
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This one should be an easy game for the Ravens, just like the odds say it should be for the boys in purple and black. They’ve been a defensive powerhouse in their 2017 campaign, as they proved against the Bengals to start the season, and they’ll need to channel that same energy at home on Sunday.
This game will definitely be a win for the Ravens, but I see it as a low-scoring affair with the Ravens defense taking a turnover to the house to give the home squad the win and a postseason spot.
Prediction: Ravens 23, Bengals 13