The Baltimore Ravens found out Friday that they could wind up with a home playoff game in a contingency adopted by the NFL. But that doesn’t mean the Ravens will play all their regulars against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. Here is how the scenarios have affected the Ravens-Bengals line for NFL Week 18.
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Cincinnati is up to as much as a 9.5-point favorite on Sunday (our OddsShopper tool to find the best NFL odds. The Bengals opened as 6-point favorites.
“We’re going to play this thing for short-term and long-term considerations,” Baltimore coach John Harbaugh told the Ravens website Friday. “Long-term considerations being the most important thing is being as prepared as we can for the playoffs.”
With news about the NFL playoffs breaking almost daily, following the medical emergency of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin on Monday, teams prepared during the last week of the regular season uncertain how things might ultimately play out.
For example, the Ravens-Bengals game could have decided the AFC North championship. But after the unfinished Bengals-Bills game from Monday was cancelled by the NFL, a new set of circumstances arose. Cincinnati (11-4) won the AFC North, but if Baltimore (10-6) wins Sunday, and the payoff seedings, now determined by winning percentage, place the Bengals and Ravens against each other next week in the AFC Wild Card Round, then the site of that game would be determined by a coin flip.
For that to occur, the Ravens would have to win, and then have the Los Angeles Chargers defeat the Denver Broncos later Sunday.
“Whatever they do is good with me personally,” Harbaugh said of the playoff scenarios. “We’re just excited to go play the game on Sunday, and we’re going to try to play our best football. That’s really what we’re thinking about.”
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Because the Ravens already have clinched their spot in the playoffs, and there are so many things that have to occur for them to get a home game, Harbaugh acknowledged some of the regular players could be given this game off. Baltimore is already playing with backup quarterback Tyler Huntley in place of injured Lamar Jackson (knee).
“You really can’t sit too many guys out,” Harbaugh said. “This is not the preseason; you don’t have an unlimited number of guys. So, it’s not as big a deal as I think it’s sometimes made out to be, but our plan is to go up there and win the football game, and do the best we can to win. I’m sure the Bengals are going to be looking at it the same way and I’m sure it will be a hard-fought game.”
The changes approved by the NFL on Friday also affect Cincinnati, who with a win could wind up playing the AFC Championship game at a neutral site, rather than at Buffalo or at the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bengals also would like to confirm their AFC North title on the field Sunday.
“Let’s go get a win. That’s the mindset,” Cincinnati special teams captain Mike Thomas told the Bengals website. “Let’s go win Sunday so we have hats and T-shirts in the locker room and know that we earned it.”
