THE STORY: The Baltimore Ravens seek a fourth straight win and an AFC North title Sunday when they host the Cincinnati Bengals. To win the division, Baltimore will need to beat Cincinnati, and the Cleveland Browns will have to knock off the Pittsburgh Steelers, who own the division tiebreaker over the Ravens despite identical 11-5 records. To make matters worse, the Ravens’ Week 2 loss to the Bengals cost Baltimore the tiebreaker, and Pittsburgh has won 13 of the last 14 against Cleveland. This could be the last game as a Bengal for both head coach Marvin Lewis, who has had two winning seasons in eight years, and QB Carson Palmer, whose contract is up after this season and hasn’t lived up to expectations.
TV: Baltimore, 1 p.m. EST, CBS
OPENING LINE: Baltimore -10, O/U 43
WEATHER: Temperatures should be in the low to mid-40s by game time with a 40 percent chance of showers.
ABOUT BALTIMORE (11-5): As usual, the Ravens rely on their dominating defense, which ranks third in points allowed (17.5) and eighth in total defense (294.2). Solid numbers, but their worst ranking since 2002. Baltimore got four takeaways to beat Cleveland 20-10 last week. Safety Ed Reed had two of Baltimore’s three interceptions and the Ravens added a fumble recovery while limiting Peyton Hillis to 35 yards and the Browns to 280. The Ravens are dangerous because they can add a balanced offense to their ferocious defense. Ray Rice averages 76 yards per game rushing and 4.0 per carry and is a threat out of the backfield with 63 catches for 556 yards.
ABOUT CINCINNATI (4-11): The Bengals have shown a little spunk of late, winning their last two after a franchise-tying 10 consecutive losses in which their offense and defense both underperformed. Cincinnati got a measure of satisfaction by knocking San Diego out of the playoffs last week in a 34-20 home victory. Palmer threw four touchdown passes and finished with a career-best 157.2 passer rating. With both Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco out with injuries, Jerome Simpson caught six passes for 124 yards and two TDs. He had one catch in his first 2 ½ years in the league.
WHO'S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Since throwing four interceptions and posting a 23.8 quarterback rating against Cincinnati in Week 2, Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco has 20 TDs and just three picks in his last 10 games. The defense has held five of its last six opponents under 300 yards. Opponents had posted over 300 yards in five of the first nine games, including a season-high 514 by Buffalo on Oct. 24. The Ravens have forced 19 turnovers (plus-10 turnover margin) in the last 10 games after snagging just three in the first five (-6).
QUARTERBACKS: Flacco is having another fine season, completing over 62 percent of his passes for just under 3,500 yards with 25 TDs against just nine picks. He’s playoff tested with three wins, but he has not played well in the postseason, completing just 47.5 percent with a TD and six interceptions. With the addition of Owens, the Bengals’ passing game, which was non-existent last season, was supposed to catch fire. While Palmer has thrown for 3,665 yards and 25 TDs, including nine to Owens, the offense has sputtered most of the season. Cincinnati ranks 22nd in both scoring and yards - almost identical to last season’s rankings of 22nd and 24th.
RECENT HISTORY: Cincinnati beat Baltimore 15-10 on Sept. 19. Flacco had his worst game as a pro and Mike Nugent capitalized with five field goals. Rice ran for 87 yards. Palmer was 16 of 35 for 167 yards and Cedric Benson ran for 78 yards on 23 carries for the Bengals. Overall, Cincy has won three straight and six of the last eight, including two of three here.
KEY INJURIES: Baltimore, TE Todd Heap (hamstring); WR David Reed (concussion); S Tom Zbikowski (back); LB Tavares Gooden (shoulder). Cincinnati, WR Chad Ochocinco (ankle); CB Jonathan Wade (knee).
LAST WORD: Baltimore is in the postseason for the third straight season, but the jury is still out on whether Flacco is a franchise quarterback despite his improvement each year and his hot stretch the last 10 weeks of this season. Baltimore has won three postseason games despite his abysmal play, and the 25-year-old will have to come up big in January to get Baltimore where it wants to be.