It was too much to ask. After a horrendous season, the Cincinnati Bengals needed to win out their schedule post their bye, and they just lost to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 15 after a dysmal performance.
With this loss, the Bengals are eliminated and won’t go to the playoffs. Mathematically, it’s impossible for them to win the AFC North, and that’s the only way they could have qualified for the postseason.
The Bengals didn’t score a single point during the game. It’s not like they were facing a tough defense. The Ravens have the 24th-ranked defense in football, yet the Bengals couldn’t produce.
What does this mean for the Ravens?
As for the Ravens, their playoff chances increased to 44% and they’ll have to wait on the Steelers game on Monday Night Football to see how the divisional standings play out, but with the win, they put huge pressure on Pittsburgh.
The Ravens haven’t been good and are a very flawed team, but they must go to the playoffs. If not, the team would surely reconsider plenty of stuff, including a possible head coach change.
The AFC North has been wildly disappointing
Usually a very competitive and strong division, the AFC North has just been competitive this year. However, it’s a close division because of how bad the teams have looked. As of now, being one game over .500 is the best you can find in the division.
At the beginning of the year, the Bengals and the Ravens were Super Bowl contenders, and the Steelers were poised for a huge season with Aaron Rodgers’ arrival. Now, any of the teams that win this division are looked like a possible one-and-done in the playoffs.