The only way for Cincinnati to ascend to the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs is to win Sunday while the New England Patriots lose at home for the first time all season.
The playoff picture
See where each team stands in the playoff picture heading into the final week of the 2013 NFL regular season. **More ...**
A Buffalo Bills victory at Foxborough would rival the Cardinals' win in Seattle as the upset of the season.
In the face of those long odds to improve his seeding, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis still has no plans to rest his starters against the Baltimore Ravens.
"It's a big football game for us," Lewis said, via the Cincinnati Enquirer. "We don't know what it'll mean until it's over and later that evening, but we're going to do everything we can to win the football game with our guys."
If there were any doubt about Lewis' message, cornerback Pacman Jones made it clear Tuesday that there will be no let-down after clinching the division title last week.
"We want to defend home and make sure we win," Jones said, via the team's official website. "If it was my choice, I don't want Baltimore to make it. We've got to make sure we defend the house and play all four quarters."
Quarterback Andy Dalton boasts an impressive 105.1 passer rating and 18:5 touchdown-to-interception ratio at Paul Brown Stadium versus 80.8 and 13:11 on the road.
With Cincinnati at "full-go" for the season finale, FootballOutsiders.com gives the Ravens just an 18.9 percent chance of earning the AFC's final playoff spot.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" delivered a Christmas gift, analyzing the chaotic playoff picture in both conferences.
