2023 NFL picks, score predictions for Wild Card Round

(AFC no. 6) Baltimore Ravens at (AFC no. 3) Cincinnati Bengals

If you ask Joe Burrow, there’s not really a Super Bowl “window” for this Cincinnati Bengals team. Burrow delivered a quote that will go down in Bengals lore when asked about any Super Bowl window, saying essentially that he is the Super Bowl window. As long as he’s around, there’s a window to win it.

You’ve got to love the confidence from no. 9, and you’ve got to love the Bengals’ chances going into this postseason of at least returning to the AFC’s final four. After Cincinnati lost in the Super Bowl last year, I pondered throughout the offseason whether that team would slightly regress given they were rebuilding up until the 2021 offseason. They accelerated their rebuild and made it all the way to the final game of the year, falling just short.

Now, they look like they are established contenders in the AFC. They look like a well-oiled machine. The Bengals are terrific, but the Baltimore Ravens are going to be a tough out in the postseason especially if Lamar Jackson comes back.

Jackson was injured in a game against the Denver Broncos a couple of months ago, and hasn’t practiced since. Have the Ravens just weathered the storm until the playoffs? That would certainly add to the intrigue of this game.

Not knowing whether Jackson will play, or whether he will play and be rusty, makes this a hard game to predict on the whole.

With that being said, I’m going to go with my gut assuming Jackson plays and even plays at a high level.

Prediction: Bengals win 31-27