Cincinnati (12-4), the No. 3 seed in the AFC, will host Baltimore (10-7) at 8:15 p.m. Sunday in a Wild Card playoff game at Paycor Stadium. The teams split games during the regular season, but the Bengals won this last one, 27-16.
The #NFLPlayoffs start with #SuperWildCard Weekend! pic.twitter.com/blHs0K3j7n
— NFL (@NFL) January 9, 2023
This is the first time since 2009 two teams that met in the last game of the regular season will meet in a first-round playoff game in the same stadium. That year, the Cardinals hosted the Packers in Week 17, a loss, and in the wild card round, an overtime win, and the Cowboys hosted the Eagles in back-to-back weeks with both being wins.
The Bengals are now three wins away from a return to the Super Bowl, where they came up just short of the franchise’s first championship last year.
“It’s very much a fuel,” center Ted Karras said. “We’re in the dance now. So, nothing else matters. It’s disregard the entire regular season, basically, you know, and we have these guys (the Ravens) on our dance card. And we want to be champions. Our goal is still in front of us, and we have to start with one win. But really, when you look at it, it’s four wins to be kings.”
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