The Cincinnati Bengals enter the season finale as AFC North champions on paper, yet due a wrinkle in a convoluted situation, must beat the Baltimore Ravens to guarantee home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
With the team’s Week 17 game classified as a no-contest and voted-upon rules in place, the Bengals and Ravens would flip a coin to determine home-field advantage if the Ravens win on Sunday to set up a rematch in the wild card round.
That makes Sunday effectively a playoff game for the Bengals as they want to avoid becoming the first team to ever win a division but open the wild card round on the road.
Drama aside, the spread is a big one because the Ravens won’t have superstar quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Bengals have won seven straight. Here’s a look at viewing info.
Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, January 8 (1 p.m. ET)
TV info: CBS
In-market live stream: fuboTV (try it for free).
Radio: Cincinnati – WCKY-AM (1530), Cincinnati – WEBN-FM (102.7), Cincinnati – WLW-AM (700)
Location: Paycor Stadium
Forecast: Cloudy, 44 degrees
Referee: Ron Torbert
Opponent Wire site: Ravens Wire
Odds: Bengals -8.5