The Ravens need to beat the Bengals on Sunday, and hope the Steelers lose in Cleveland in order for Baltimore to get a playoff bye.
We should know by now nothing is guaranteed in the NFL, especially in a hard-fought division like the AFC North. After all, the Browns beat the Steelers in Cleveland last year. (The Steelers are better now, but so are the Browns.)
The Ravens win is hardly guaranteed too. The Bengals destroyed one of the hottest teams in football last week, and beat the Ravens earlier this season. Both AFC North games start at 1:00 p.m. ET and Ravens coach John Harbaugh is fine with a little scoreboard watching.
“When the score comes up, I’m sure all of us are going to take a look,” coach John Harbaugh said via the Baltimore Sun. “We’re going to know by the crowd’s reaction. I don’t have a problem with that.”
Harbaugh says that the Steelers score won’t change his approach. In the unlikely event the Steelers had a insurmountable lead, the Ravens won’t pull their starters.
“We’ll just play it like we always play it, and we’ll try to win,” Harbaugh said.