Bengals beat Ravens to secure home playoff game

Cincinnati jumped to a three-score lead early in the second quarter and went on to beat the Baltimore Ravens, 27-16, for an eighthstraight win in their regular-season finale Sunday at Paycor Stadium. Only a win could have ensured a home Wild Card game, which was in doubt because of a rule change following the decision to call their game against the Bills a no-contest.

The Bengals (12-4), who celebrated being back-to-back division champions for the first time, finish as the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoff picture and will face the sixth-seeded Ravens (10-7) in their playoff opener next weekend. The playoff schedule will be announced after the Sunday night game.

“That’s our standard now (winning AFC North titles),” Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said, noting a guarantee of the title based on winning percentage alone wouldn’t have been satisfying. “We’re going to celebrate it every time we do it. We’re going to smoke our cigars, we’re going to wear our T-shirts and hats, but we expect that every single year.”

The Ravens sat several key players Sunday, including their top two quarterbacks, as they took the opportunity to heal up some injuries for the playoffs. The Bengals benefited against a mistake-prone rookie, picking off third-string quarterback Anthony Brown twice in the first half to set up touchdowns and getting a defensive touchdown on a strip-sack.

Baltimore starting quarterback Lamar Jackson hasn’t practiced in weeks so it was no surprise he was not available Sunday, but backup Tyler Huntley had been questionable with a right shoulder and wrist injury suffered late in the fourth quarter of the Week 17 loss to Pittsburgh. With Jackson potentially out for the playoffs as well, Baltimore will want to give Huntley a better chance to be 100 percent next weekend.

Running back J.K. Dobbins, right guard Kevin Zeitler and tight end Mark Andrews were all healthy scratches, and cornerback Marcus Peters (calf) and his backup, Brandon Stephens (illness) also were inactive. The Ravens also lost Gus Edwards to a concussion in the first quarter.

“You really try to just put that out (of your mind) because you gotta go play football,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “We needed this win. There was a lot on the line for us (with) potentially losing the home field goal. … There was just too much on the line, and we had to block that out and just play whoever they put out there.”

Cincinnati was leading 17-0 until the Ravens got on the board with just under two minutes left in the first half, but the Bengals went into halftime with a 24-7 lead thanks to Trey Hendrickson’s sack on Brown, forcing a fumble that Joseph Ossai recovered in the end zone for a touchdown. Baltimore never drew within single digits.

The Bengals’ offense was hit and miss Sunday, but big plays by the defense put Burrow in position to make things happen. After settling for a field goal on their first drive, the Bengals got the ball back quickly in a good position when Jessie Bates grabbed his fourth interception of the season. Brown’s throw went off target as B.J. Hill was hitting him, and Bates picked it off with ease.

That put Cincinnati on the 48-yard line of the Ravens, and eight plays later, Joe Mixon was celebrating a 1-yard touchdown run with a coin flip mocking the league’s decision to give Baltimore a chance at a home playoff game had the Ravens beaten the Bengals for a second time this season.

Brown, an undrafted college free agent signing out of Oregon, then was intercepted again when his throw to Demarcus Robinson bounced off the receiver’s hands and right to Mike Hilton. That one set the Bengals offense up at the 32-yard line, and Ja’Marr Chase finished off a three-play drive by catching Burrow’s 26-yard touchdown pass for the 17-0 lead with 14:12 left in the second quarter. With that reception, Chase crossed over 1,000 yards for the season in just his 12th game, joining Tee Higgins in that milestone achievement.

A roughing the passer penalty on Hendrickson bailed out the Ravens on third down on their lone scoring drive of the first half. A 28-yard pass from Brown to tight end Isaiah Likely moved them into Bengals territory to set up their touchdown, which came on a 4-yard run by Kenyan Drake. Hendrickson made up for the penalty on the strip-sack with 30 seconds left in the half.

Baltimore held Cincinnati to three points the rest of the way, but the Bengals did just enough to stifle a comeback attempt, limiting the Ravens to three field goals. Vonn Bell sealed the win recovering a fumble with less than three minutes left after Bates jarred the ball loose tackling wide receiver Sammy Watkins at the end of a 47-yard catch at the Bengals’ 33-yard line.

Burrow finished with 215 yards passing and one touchdown, which gave him 35 for the season to break his own single-season franchise record. Chase had 86 yards on eight catches, and Boyd, who suffered a head injury but was cleared of a concussion in the first half, had five catches for 51 yards.

Cincinnati lost right guard Alex Cappa to an ankle injury in the fourth quarter, and Higgins took a hard hit to the ribs but returned.

“AFC North football, show me a pretty game anyone has won in this division yet, and that will be the first one I’ve seen,” Taylor said. “I’m proud of the way these guys just found a way to get it done, winning by two scores. I thought our defense was excellent taking the ball away and finishing off some drives. Offense tacked on the points when we needed to. Certainly some things we can clean up, that could be better, particularly on offense, but found a way to win in January and that’s all that matters. Finished off the season 8-0 in the right way and these guys have a lot of confidence going into the playoffs.”