Bengals vs. Ravens becomes a must-win: Predict the outcome

Remember when we all thought this would be the week to decide the AFC North?

Well, a terrible incident has changed all that.

After the Monday night game between the Cincinnati Bengals (11-4) and Buffalo Bills has been terminated, the Bengals have become the AFC North champs for the second straight year. However, if they lose to the Baltimore Ravens (10-6), a coin flip will decide who hosts a rematch between them in the postseason (should that occur).

That’s why the Bengals will have to play their starters in Week 18 in order to have at least one home playoff game.

Nobody knows how Joe Burrow and the Bengals will respond to a strange situation and a traumatic incident. It’s only natural that a scary injury that happened on a routine play will make it feel at least a little awkward to go out there and hit people and get hit again.

Fortunately, the offense was in a groove against the Bills and Burrow was on fire. That seemed completely on par with the trajectory we’ve seen from them this year. The third-year quarterback has found ways to connect with everyone from Ja’Marr Chase to Trenton Irwin and Mitchell Wilcox due to injuries. Now Burrow has all his guys back to near full health, giving him a ton of options. But can he keep it up against a physical Baltimore defense?

Meanwhile, the Ravens are still without former MVP Lamar Jackson, whose knee injury seems to be worse than originally thought. Backup QB Tyler Huntley has not looked spectacular in relief of Jackson, failing to reach a QBR of 20 in two of the four games he’s started.

So how do you see this one playing out?

For a more detailed analysis of the game, watch the video preview below:

You can also listen on iTunes or using the player below: