Bengals, Ravens on collision course for division title

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Bengals, Ravens on collision course for AFC North title

By Aaron Becker | Last updated 12/13/22

The Bengals (9-4) and Ravens (9-4) are atop the AFC North with just four games left in the regular season. Will the AFC North title come down to their Week 18 meeting?

Both teams seem to be on the way to the postseason, but Baltimore is the current favorite to win the AFC North.

Updating the Ravens' playoff odds ...

• FiveThirtyEight: 99% playoffs, 61% AFC North title
• ESPN's FPI: 99.6% playoffs, 67% AFC North title

If the Ravens beat Cleveland on Saturday, they'd need just 1 win over their final 3 games to lock up a playoff berth without help.
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) December 12, 2022

The Ravens won round one in Week 5 and hold the lead. However, the projections should be even closer than they are. Baltimore only won by two points in their first meeting and must travel to Cincinnati in Week 18.

The Bengals have since gone 7-1 while the Ravens have had a record of 6-2, each with their sights on an AFC North title.

The Bengals keep winning. Cincinnati is now 9-4 after today’s win over the Browns.

Baltimore is also 9-4 and still holds the lead in the AFC North but winning the division and hosting a playoff game is definitely in the Bengals sights if they keep playing how they are pic.twitter.com/gX503416kY
— Kelsey Conway (@KelseyLConway) December 11, 2022

There are some other important factors with just four weeks to go.

Baltimore is without QB Lamar Jackson for up to two more weeks but has a very winnable schedule with the Browns (5-8), Falcons (5-8), and Steelers (5-8) on deck.

Cincinnati is red hot but is also dealing with injuries to wide receivers Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd. They face the Buccaneers (6-7), Patriots (7-6), and Bills (10-3) before Week 18 as well.

Even if either team drops a game, it will still come down to the final week of the regular season. So, stay tuned for what is likely to be an exciting photo finish.

More must-reads: