Playoff Picture: Bengals And Ravens Swap Tiebreakers With AFC North Race Winding Down

Margins are razor thin between the two top teams in the AFC North.

CINCINNATI — Cincinnati has nearly locked in a playoff spot following their 23-10 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. The Bengals enter Week 15 as the AFC's fifth seed.

They now hold a one-game lead on the other AFC Wild Card teams and will cement a playoff spot with two wins in the final four games. The Steelers disappointed fans in Cincinnati by losing 16-14 to a third-string Ravens quarterback on Sunday.

That means Baltimore still holds the tiebreaker at 9-4 due to their 19-16 win over Cincinnati earlier this season. The season finale is zeroing in on being the 2022 AFC North Title game. Cincinnati has to keep winning because they won't get much help winning the North via tiebreakers.

The first tiebreaker is head-to-head, which Baltimore already leads 1-0. The second tiebreaker is division record, and Baltimore is already 3-0 to the Bengals' 2-3 record.

The third tiebreaker is equal as well. Both teams are 7-2-3 in common games this season, with the final number representing the three common opponents each team still has to play. The fourth tiebreaker? Also tied.

Cincinnati and Baltimore are both now 6-3 in AFC games. The fifth tiebreaker is where the Bengals hold an advantage. They own a better strength of victory than Baltimore.

So to summarize, if the Bengals win out, they are the AFC North champs and at least the No. 2 seed in the AFC with a head-to-head tiebreaker over Buffalo and a better record than Baltimore (13-4, 12-5) and the AFC South winner.

Lose to either Tampa, New England, or Buffalo? That's when all of these tiebreaker levels come into play. Fans and players would much rather keep it simple and let the wins take care of the final result.

All in all, Cincinnati now has a 98% chance to make the playoffs and a 38% chance to win the division.

The Bengals battle Tom Brady and the Buccaneers at 4:25 p.m. ET this Sunday. Fans can watch on CBS via fuboTV—start your free trial here.

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