Cincinnati @ Baltimore preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 10, 2017 ) Baltimore 20, Cincinnati 0

Marvin Lewis looks to play the role of spoiler in what appears to be his game as head coach of the Bengals when Cincinnati visits the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. The Ravens have won five of their last six games and currently hold down the No. 5 seed in the AFC, but still need a win to lock up a playoff berth.

"We're a team, that if we get it, we'll be a team to be reckoned with," Baltimore defensive back Eric Weddle said. If the Ravens lose, they can still get into the playoffs with a loss by the Tennessee Titans or the Buffalo Bills, both of whom are 8-7. The Bengals snapped a three-game slide last week, throwing a dagger into the Detroit Lions' playoff hopes. Lewis, who has coached the Bengals for the past 15 years, announced a few weeks ago that he'd be stepping aside at the end of the season but no official announcement has come from the team.
TV: 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Ravens - 9.5. O/U: 40.5.

ABOUT THE BENGALS (6-9): Andy Dalton was picked off five times and fumbled another time in the team's first matchup of the season, a 20-0 Ravens' win in the season opener. Cincinnati doesn't expect to have the services of linebacker Vontaze Burfict (shoulder) or rookie running back Joe Mixon (ankle). Giovani Bernard, who relieved Mixon and ran for 116 yards and the game-clinching touchdown against the Lions last week, expects to make the start.
ABOUT THE RAVENS (9-6): Coach John Harbaugh criticized the NFL's decision to move the kickoff for Sunday's game from 1 p.m to 4:25 p.m. because he fears the later start on New Year's Eve could affect the size of the crowd at M&T Bank Stadium. "I don't think the NFL did us any favors by moving it back," Harbaugh told reporters earlier in the week. "But they don't care about us." Baltimore enters the game ranked fourth in the NFL, allowing just 18.1 points, and may try to control the ball on the ground behind power running back Alex Collins who scored five touchdowns in a four-game stretch recently but has failed to hit pay dirt in the past two outings.

EXTRA POINTS
1. Ravens WR Jeremy Maclin missed the previous game with a knee injury and it is unclear if he will play Sunday against the Bengals.
2. Bengals WR A.J. Green went over the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the sixth time in his seven-year NFL career.
3. After the Bengals won five straight in the series, the Ravens have won two of the past three meetings.

PREDICTION: Ravens 20, Bengals 10