Baltimore Ravens vs. Cincinnati Bengals - Thursday Night Football: Inactives, How to Watch, Betting Odds

Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens host Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals at M&T Bank Stadium in a primetime matchup that could help decide the AFC North title at the end of the season.

Timm Hamm | Nov 16, 2023

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Baltimore Ravens

Lamar Jackson and the Ravens host Joe Burrow and the Bengals at M&T Bank Stadium in a primetime matchup that could help decide the AFC North title at the end of the season.

For the past two seasons, the Ravens have led the AFC North late in the season, only to be passed for the division crown later by the Bengals. With a win on Thursday night, Baltimore can make that much less likely this year.

A win means a sweep of Cincinnati and a 2.5-game lead over the Bengals, who would fall to last place after winning the North the past two seasons.

All four contestants in the very competitive AFC North have winning records, so the division title will likely be fought for until the final week. “Every game for us is a must-win for us, not just because it’s a division game,” Jackson said. "But I believe our team is definitely a lot hungrier just from what happened Sunday in a division loss in a close game.”

This is the fourth time in the past five seasons Baltimore has been on top of the AFC North after 10 weeks. But they haven't finished first since 2019 - Jackson's MVP season.

The Bengals are 5-4 for the third year in a row, but falling back to .500 with a loss on Thursday night would make a division title seem much less likely. “It's a big part of the year for both of us,” Burrow said. "They're coming off a loss, we're coming off a loss. We're both trying to win the division, so it's a big game."

Burrow seems to be healthy again, as evidenced by his 347 passing yards and two touchdown passes last week, but two fourth-quarter picks hurt his team in the 30-27 loss to Houston.