Good news: the Cincinnati Bengals are trending upward after Week 13 and are edging closer to their AFC North rivals.
The Baltimore Ravens and Bengals both won on Sunday and both hold 8-4 records, though the Ravens hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Each team's odds haven't changed much since the week prior as the Ravens are still favorites to win the AFC North at -140 odds per FanDuel, down from -240 odds they had before Sunday's narrow win over the Denver Broncos. Cincinnati has closed the gap, however, and sits at +125 odds.
Part of the reason for the Ravens' lowered odds is Lamar Jackson's injury. Jackson hurt his knee in Week 13 against the Denver Broncos and sat out for the rest of the game. Details of Jackson's injury haven't yet been revealed, but it appears that the star quarterback could be in line to miss some time.
Bengals are catching up to Ravens in AFC North race
The Ravens managed to clinch a win on Sunday with backup Tyler Huntley, but losing Jackson even for a brief period of time could seriously hurt Baltimore's playoff hopes.
The Bengals just came off a thrilling victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, and everything seems to be going right for Cincinnati at the moment.
Ja'Marr Chase returned from injury and posted a near-100 receiving-yard game in Week 13. Joe Burrow is playing at an MVP level. In Joe Mixon's absence, Samaje Perine has put the run game on his back and stepped up as a bona fide RB1 in recent weeks.
Baltimore are still considered favorites due to their relatively easy schedule: they will play the Pittsburgh Steelers twice, Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons, and the Bengals.
Cincinnati still have to play the Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, and the Ravens.
If Lamar Jackson is ruled out for even a few weeks, the Bengals should be able to take control of the AFC North. This division should be an exciting two-horse race and is definitely more up in the air heading into the final stretch of the season.