2022 NFL season: Five things to watch for in Ravens-Bengals on Super Wild Card Weekend

• WHERE: Paycor Stadium (Cincinnati)
• WHEN: 8:15 p.m. ET | NBC
• READ: Ravens QB Huntley says he's a game-time decision vs. CIN
• READ: Ravens-Bengals injury report
• READ: Gregg Rosenthal's Super Wild Card Weekend game picks

Bengals. Ravens. Round three.

The playoffs are always a treat for football fans everywhere, but when it involves a division rivalry, things get even more intense.

Cincinnati and Baltimore split their two meetings this season, each winning as the home team. The games came amid much different circumstances: Cincinnati was fighting through some early season struggles in their first matchup, and Baltimore rested a number of key starters and played a third-string quarterback in their rematch.

This time around, the gloves are off. There's no holding back now. Win or go home -- and hear about it from your division mates for the entire offseason.

Here are five things to watch for in Sunday's Super Wild Card Weekend showdown in Cincinnati:

1. Who's playing quarterback for Baltimore? Lamar Jackson hasn't been available to the Ravens since Week 13, and he won't be back in time to face the Bengals in their 2022 rubber match. Without Jackson, Baltimore has turned to both Tyler Huntley and rookie Anthony Brown, and the offensive results have been disheartening. Baltimore scored a combined 75 points over its last six games of the regular season, marking the second-fewest points put on the board by a playoff team in the Super Bowl era. The only team that was worse was the 2014 Cardinals, who lost to Carolina on Wild Card Weekend. The Ravens dropped into the bottom five in points per game, passing yards per game, passer rating and red-zone touchdown percentage in the weeks following Jackson's injury, ranking 30th or worse in all but passer rating. Huntley seems like the logical starter entering this game, but even he carries a low ceiling, posting bottom-five marks in passing yards per attempt and touchdown-to-interception ratio (2:3). With Jackson, the Ravens beat the Bengals, 19-17, in Week 5. It's tough to expect them to put up many points without him.
2. Bengals back in an unfortunately familiar place. Cincinnati is once again entering the playoffs without a key starter or two available on its offensive line. The Bengals weathered the loss of La'el Collins in recent weeks, but Alex Cappa's ankle injury suffered in Week 18 against Baltimore will keep him from playing in this game. That means the Bengals will hit the field in the postseason without their starting right tackle and guard, presenting an opportunity to the Ravens to pressure Joe Burrow. It will be up to Hakeem Adeniji and fourth-year lineman Max Scharping, who is making his first start this weekend, to keep rushers from Burrow. Cincinnati ranks 24th in sacks allowed, but Burrow still finished seventh in Next Gen Stats passing score and posted a 93.4 passer rating and 8:3 touchdown-to-interception ratio while under pressure. He's built to handle the heat -- we learned this in the Divisional Round last year -- but it won't be easy without the starting right side of his line.
3. Did the Ravens uncover a winning strategy in Week 18? Cincinnati jumped all over Baltimore in Week 18, turning three takeaways (two Anthony Brown interceptions and a fumble) into 21 points in the first half to build a 24-7 lead. The second half was a different and slightly concerning story. After gaining 167 yards and putting 24 points in the first two quarters, Cincinnati mustered just 90 yards and three points while protecting its double-digit lead in the third and fourth quarters. The Bengals were playing without Cappa in that second half, but it seemed as if the Ravens finally figured out a way to shut down a Bengals offense that averaged 29 points per game from Weeks 9-18. It's indicative of a larger trend that began with the arrival of defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, who has backed off on blitzing Burrow and instead allowed his defense to play coverage to success. The Ravens are getting less pressure on Burrow in 2022 as opposed to 2021, but Burrow is also being forced to check down more often, averaging just 7.2 pass yards per downfield attempt against the Ravens and posting a passer rating of 71.7 (as opposed to 111.3 versus all other opponents) on such attempts versus Baltimore. The Ravens' strategy is simple: Keep everything in front of you and force Burrow to dink and dunk as much as possible. Could it be enough to produce a win?
4. Which team is the real Bengals? Cincinnati made the skeptics look smart early this season when it started 4-4 and struggled to replicate the success that powered the Bengals to Super Bowl LVI. Then they emerged from the bye week a different animal. Since their Week 9 break, the Bengals are a perfect 8-0, owning a plus-six turnover differential, averaging close to 30 points per game and lighting up the scoreboard with an offense that rededicated itself to airing it out. The aforementioned sluggish second half last week was the first sign of some sludge in Cincinnati's gears. Was it just an end-of-season fluke or a clue of a looming disaster? The Bengals have looked like one of the NFL's best teams in the second half of the season, but they'll have to prove this weekend that they didn't peak too soon.
5. Cincinnati begins conference title defense. Cincinnati stunned the football world with its surprising run to Super Bowl LVI last season, taking down the class of the AFC in Kansas City and winning each of its playoff games in nail-biting fashion. Evan McPherson quickly made himself a household name with his cold-blooded game-winning kicks, so much that a division rival (Cleveland) spent a fourth-round pick on a kicker in the ensuing draft. Burrow staked his claim to a place among the game's best and brightest young stars under center, and Ja'Marr Chase proved he was much more than just a stat sheet stuffer. There's a difference now, though. The Bengals are now the hunted, not the hunters. No one will be caught by surprise by Cincinnati this time around. Is it built to handle the expectations?