After months of football, it all comes down to Week 18 of the 2022 NFL regular season. Teams such as the Baltimore Ravens still have a lot at stake. The Ravens are set to travel and face the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium on Sunday.

Baltimore is currently 10-6, sixth in the AFC and has already secured a playoff spot. On the other side of the matchup, Cincinnati is 11-4, third in the AFC and has already clinched the division due to its winning percentage.

This Ravens-Bengals matchup gained more importance once the league announced Bengals-Bills would not be resumed. This Week 17 encounter was declared a no-contest after it was interrupted due to Damar Hamlin’s in-game collapse after a hit.

In case the Bengals and Ravens finish at No. 3 and No. 6 in the AFC, respectively, as long as Baltimore wins on Sunday, they would play each other once again. However, the home advantage would be decided by a coin toss since Baltimore would have defeated Cincinnati twice.

To make things even more complicated for the Ravens, they will be without Lamar Jackson in Week 18. The quarterback is still recovering from the knee injury he suffered in Week 13. Prior to his injury, he was even receiving some MVP buzz. Baltimore should have Tyler Huntley as a starter once again. The team is 2-2 without Jackson.

While the playoff bid is secured and the AFC North is no longer possible, Baltimore can still compete for bigger things with a win on Sunday. With that being said, here are the best and worst-case scenarios for the Ravens in the NFL Wild Card round.

Best-case scenario: Wild Card Round vs. Jaguars/Titans

With the league announcing the no-contest between Buffalo and Cincinnati on Thursday, it opened the door to some interesting possibilities.

The simpler option is perhaps the best one for the Ravens. The team could move up to the No. 5 seed if:

  • Baltimore defeats Cincinnati AND The Denver Broncos win/tie against the Los Angeles Chargers OR
  • Baltimore ties AND Los Angeles loses.

If both the Ravens and Broncos win, Baltimore would have a better record than the Chargers. Despite defeating the Bengals twice in the regular season, Cincinnati would still have the best winning percentage due to having a 16-game schedule. Because of that, Baltimore would be the No. 5 seed and face either the Jacksonville Jaguars or the Tennessee Titans.

Jacksonville and Tennessee will face each other on Saturday night. The winner will clinch the AFC South and the No. 4 seed. Then, in this scenario, face the Ravens.

The Titans are currently on a six-game losing streak and without quarterback Ryan Tannehill due to an ankle injury. With an inexperienced quarterback in Joshua Dobbs, Tennessee could be a good option for Baltimore.

The Jaguars have not made the playoffs since the 2017 season. While Trevor Lawrence is showing some promise, he has yet to make a postseason appearance. So, facing another inexperienced quarterback would be ideal for the Ravens.

This is by far the best-case scenario for the Ravens. Playing against either the Jaguars or Titans, even if it is away, would be ideal. Additionally, with all the uncertainty surrounding Jackson, it would be better to face teams with quarterbacks with few years in the NFL.

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Worst-case scenario: Buffalo Bills

In addition to everything involving the Bengals and even a coin flip, there is still a high possibility that the Ravens do not even face Cincinnati in the Wild Card at the end of the day.

That would require the Bengals to move up to the No. 2 seed. For that to happen:

  • Cincinnati defeats Baltimore AND Buffalo loses to New England

In that case, Baltimore would stay at No. 6 while Buffalo falls to No. 3. This creates a Wild Card matchup between the two with the Bills having a home-field advantage.

With the Ravens without Jackson for Sunday, it is not difficult to consider the Bengals the favorites. Cincinnati likely wants a better seed and would not like to depend on a coin toss to determine where a game will be played.

According to FanDuel, Cincinnati currently has a spread of -9.5, one of the largest among all Week 18 matchups.

On the other hand, the Bills would need to lose to the Patriots. Buffalo is at 12-3 and has already clinched a playoff spot. A win on Sunday could move the team up to the No. 1 seed if the Kansas City Chiefs lose to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Regarding Bills-Patriots, New England is still battling for a playoff spot. A win would mean Bill Belichick's team is in. Because of that, they should give Buffalo a hard time.

In their previous matchup, Buffalo won 24-10 on the road. However, it should be interesting to see how the Bills will respond to all the adversity they faced this week with Hamlin.

Although difficult to happen, Buffalo losing to New England is still on the table. Because of that, facing the Bills in the Wild Card Round is the worst-case scenario for the Ravens.