‘See you Sunday night’
After chippy Week 18 game, playoff rematch could be more intense
Once the Ravens opted to rest several key players last week against the Bengals in Cincinnati and the hosts took an early lead, the game’s outcome became more or less decided. It almost acted as a rehearsal for the all-important playoff game to come the following week.
But the game’s meaning did not match its outsized intensity. Even as backups and rookies saw significant time in Cincinnati’s 27-16 win, there were scrums, contentious on-field chatter and, this week, finger-pointing of unsportsmanlike behavior.
Some Bengals have badmouthed the Ravens. Cincinnati cornerback Cam TaylorBritt told The Athletic that the Ravens’ play
was “cheap” and added that even though the Bengals won, “we owe them.”
“It was a lot of late stuff,” Taylor-Britt said of perceived transgressions by Baltimore players. “Just after the play, doing dirty stuff you shouldn’t do in football. Aiming at guys’ legs and stuff and other dirty hits. We don’t play like that. We’re gonna remember that.”
If last week — which, by the end, carried all the weight of a preseason scrimmage — included unpleasant exchanges and accusations of unfair play, this Sunday night showdown — the first playoff matchup between the AFC North rivals — figures to be downright hostile.
The wild-card game will mark the third time the Ravens and Bengals have played this season and the second time in as many weeks. It took a rarity to set up such a matchup: Sunday will mark the first time since the 2009 season that two NFL teams will play each other successive weeks with the same team as host, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
“I’ve never played anybody back-to-back before,” Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald said.
He reportedly sought a fully guaranteed contract in the offseason, but he and the Ravens were unable to come to terms, prompting him to play this season without any future deal in place. Some fans have hypothesized that Jackson is not eager to return for fear of further injury ahead of free agency; were he under contract, that would likely be less of a concern.
Regardless of contract status, returning from a knee injury can be a daunting task. Dr. R. Frank Henn III, the chief of sports medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and a sports medicine physician at the University of Maryland Medical Center said, in some cases, recovering from a PCL injury can take a few weeks, although it can also require months.
“For athletes that need to do a lot of pivoting and cutting [it] can be a little bit harder to recover from than someone who doesn’t,” Henn said last week.
The PCL (posterior cruciate ligament) connects the shinbone to the thighbone, like the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament). Although PCL tears are not as severe as ACL tears, they can still render a knee loose and unstable. A Grade 2 PCL injury means there is a partial tear in the ligament, while a Grade 3 classification indicates one that is completely torn.
As Jackson has rehabbed his knee and the Ravens have turned to Huntley and Brown to play quarterback, Baltimore players have conveyed confidence.
“Lamar is one of one,” tight end Mark Andrews said this week, “but you look at the other two guys, ‘Snoop’ [Tyler Huntley] and Anthony Brown, there’s so much to trust in both of them.”
But without Jackson, who has been one of the NFL’s most electric offensive players since he debuted in 2018, the Ravens’ offense has struggled and oddsmakers have shrunk Baltimore’s chances to make a deep postseason run.
In the six games they’ve played without Jackson, the Ravens haven’t scored more than 17 points. The offense will have at least one more chance to put up a strong outing without the team’s star: the Ravens are set to face the Bengals Sunday at 8:15 p.m. on NBC in the NFL’s wild-card round.