The Cincinnati Bengals don’t play the Baltimore Ravens until Week 18, a game often thought as the one that will decide the AFC North.
But the Bengals can actually clinch the division in Week 17 with some help from those Ravens.
Per ESPN, these are the clinching scenarios:
- CIN win + BAL loss or tie OR
- CIN tie + BAL loss
So the Bengals have to beat the Bills on Monday night and hope the Ravens lose to the Steelers. That’s not totally impossible — Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson continues to battle injury issues and the game between the two earlier this season was merely a two-point Ravens win.
Even so, ESPN numbers give the Bengals a 65 percent chance at winning the division and a nine percent chance at winning the No. 1 seed. They’ll need help to do either, hence the theme continuing to be one of simply taking care of their own business.
