Bengals 23, Ravens 17
Andy Dalton went 10-of-15 for 78 yards and a touchdown in limited action and Carlos Dunlap ran an interception back for a score as Cincinnati knocked off visiting Baltimore.
The Ravens had an outside shot at jumping up into the No. 3 spot in the playoffs but instead decided to rest most of their regulars. Joe Flacco attempted only eight passes before yielding to Tyrod Taylor, who passed for 149 yards and rushed for 65 and a score. Baltimore will host Indianapolis next week.
The Bengals elected to sit running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis (hamstring) and only threw two passes A.J. Green’s way before giving way to the backups. Cincinnati will be the No. 6 seed in the AFC and will visit Houston in the divisional round next week.
Marvin Jones caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Dalton with 45 seconds left in the second quarter to knot it at 7-7 at the half. Josh Brown put the Bengals on top with a pair of field goals in the third quarter before Taylor’s 1-yard scoring run gave the Ravens the lead 14-13 with 12:58 left.
Brown’s 38-yard field goal 5:38 later gave Cincinnati the advantage back and Dunlap’s 14-yard interception return on the ensuing drive sealed the win.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Ravens RB Ray Rice carried the ball just three times for five yards while WR Torrey Smith did not have a catch. … Cincinnati backup QB Bruce Gradkowski went 5-of-11 for 65 yards in the second half. … The Bengals won for the seventh time in the last eight games and snapped a four-game losing streak to Baltimore.