Bengals Early Bird Special: And It All Comes Down To This

Good morning Bengals Nation! It's time to rise and shine. It's Wednesday and you know what that means? It means we're halfway done with this week and everything else is downhill from here, in the good way that is, hopefully. Anyways, if for some reason you're having a bad day then grab yourself some coffee, maybe even some donuts and take a deep breath. Just think, it could be worse whatever it is you're dealing with.

Holy cow, how about them Bengals? Heading into the final week of the season they control their own destiny for the playoffs. It's quite simple, win and they're in. But if they lose, well they still stand a shot at making it to the playoffs, but in order for that to happen this scenario would have to happen.

Just imagine the Bengals making the playoffs. Now that would be quite a feat for them considering most analysts and people around the league pegged them to win maybe four games if they were lucky. And to our surprise the Bengals have easily exceeded most of our expectations. And they remain one win from making the playoffs or if they lose, then one very screwed up scenario that would enable them to continue playing football.

The final test is on Sunday when the Bengals host the rival Baltimore Ravens. And unfortunately for the Bengals the Ravens have been cruising of late winning five of their last six games with their only loss coming to the San Diego Chargers. We all know the Ravens have one of the league's best defenses, so it's going to be vital for the offense to step up their game and come through in the clutch. Also, let's hope the same officiating from their first match-up doesn't occur during this time around. Come on, we all know Jermaine Gresham's catch should have been a touchdown instead of being ruled an incomplete pass. If that call would have stood then the Bengals could have won that game in overtime. Regardless, the defense will also have to step up their performance. Last time the Ravens absolutely humiliated the Bengals defense and the Bengals cannot afford to have that happen again.

Alright, so regardless of what happens on Sunday, I want to give credit to the Bengals for playing some impressive football this season. It's given us fans a glimpse of hope for the future. Hopefully their success this season will be the first step towards sustained success for years to come. The Bengals have a solid foundation on both offense and defense which makes it very plausible for that to happen.

Alright here is a look at what you may have missed or overlooked from Tuesday.

• Bengals rookie wide receiver A.J. Green has been named to the 2012 Pro Bowl. His hard work has paid off. Now let's hope we see him in 498 more Pro Bowls before his playing days are over.
• Bengals wide receiver Andre Caldwell has been placed on Injured Reserved thus ending his season prematurely. Taking his place on the roster will be former Cincinnati Bearcat standout and rookie wide receiver Armon Binns.
• After their win over the Arizona Cardinals the Bengals leaped back into the Top-10 in the latest NFL Power Rankings.
• The Baltimore Ravens open as three-point favorites over the Bengals heading into Week 17.
• Bengals Director of Football Operations Jim Lippincott has announced his retirement. Good luck Jim with your future opportunities.
• Check out the Bengals top-five defensive plays against the Arizona Cardinals.
• Jerome Simpson has been nominated for Hardest Working Man for Week 16. His touchdown catch was absolutely jaw-dropping. There's no other way to describe it.
• Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton has been nominated for the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week, more like Rookie of the Year if you ask me.
• Even though there is a mountain of items to debate and discuss such as the Bengals record, ownership, and attendance, none of that matters this Sunday. The only thing that does matter is defeating Baltimore in order to secure a spot in the playoffs.
• The Bengals offensive and defensive snap count against the Arizona Cardinals.
• After missing four games this season Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap has returned at the right time. They need him now more than ever on Sunday against the Ravens.