Ravens officially lose AFC North following decision on Bengals-Bills Week 17 game

The Baltimore Ravens were trying to rally late in the year to take the AFC North divisional crown away from the Cincinnati Bengals after their Ohio rival won it in 2021. However, due to a decision made by the league, Baltimore officially lost the division on Thursday night without even playing.

The game between the Cincinnati and the Buffalo Bills from Week 17 was officially declared a no contest by the NFL, meaning that it won’t count towards either team’s record in either way. That means that the Bengals will finish the year with a higher winning percentage than the Ravens no matter the outcome of their Week 18 contest, making Cincinnati the 2022 AFC North champions by default.

The Bengals now are the AFC North Champs.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 6, 2023