Just one more hill remains for the Ravens to clinch their second straight AFC North title.
Baltimore (11-5) will host the Cleveland Browns (3-13) in the regular-season finale, and the NFL announced Sunday night that the game will be played at 4:30 p.m. Saturday and broadcast on ABC and ESPN. The league had not announced dates and kickoff times for Week 18 games as it waited to see which ones would have playoff implications and be played in prime-time.
The Pittsburgh Steelers, who are a game back of the Ravens in the division, will host the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday night at 8 p.m., also on ABC and ESPN. .
If the Ravens win, they capture the division title and clinch the No. 3 seed in the AFC and will host a wild-card game, while the Steelers would be the No. 5 or 6 seed. If the Ravens lose and the Steelers win, however, Pittsburgh would be AFC North champs and would be the No. 3 seed, while the Ravens would be locked into the No. 5 seed.
The Bengals’ playoff hopes also hinge on beating the Steelers and the Broncos beating the Kansas City Chiefs in Denver in their 4:25 p.m. showdown Sunday.
If the Broncos beat the top-seeded Chiefs, who are likely to rest at least some of their starters with their spot secured, then Denver, currently the No. 7 seed, would get in. If the Broncos lose, however, the Bengals would be the No. 7 seed with a win by virtue of their wild overtime win over Denver on Saturday.
The Los Angeles Chargers, who will play the Raiders in Las Vegas at 4:25 p.m. Sunday, are also vying for playoff seeding. If the Steelers win, the Chargers will be locked in as the No. 6 seed. But if Pittsburgh loses and the Chargers win, L.A. would be the No. 5 seed.
As for the Browns, their playoff hopes expired long ago, but they could play the role of spoiler for the Ravens’ hopes of a division title.
The last time the teams met, in Week 8 in Cleveland, Jameis Winston completed 27 of 41 passes for 334 yards and three touchdowns, including a 38-yarder to a wide-open Cedric Tillman with 59 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to lift Cleveland to a stunning 29-24 upset. Baltimore had won five in a row going into the game, but its much-maligned pass defense got eviscerated while also dropping at least three would-be interceptions.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns and drove Baltimore to the Browns’ 24-yard line in the closing seconds, but his last-ditch heave into the end zone fell incomplete and the quarterback spiked his helmet afterward.
Running back Derrick Henry also had just 11 carries for 73 yards, while Jackson was sacked three times.
However, Baltimore has won six of eight games since, including four of its past five. That included three straight in the span of just 11 days with victories over the New York Giants, Steelers and Houston Texans on Christmas Day.
The Ravens are 17 1/2-point favorites over Cleveland.
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