Never before has an NFL division had all of its teams make the playoffs, but it could happen with the AFC North this season. The two-time defending division champion Cincinnati Bengals (5-4) are currently last in the North and would have almost no shot at making it three in a row with a loss and season sweep at the hands of the first-place Baltimore Ravens (7-3) on Thursday night to kick off Week 11. Lamar Jackson and Baltimore are 3.5-point home favorites on the SportsLine consensus.

Both teams are coming off shocking home losses in Week 10, but both have been money after losses in recent seasons. However, Cincinnati has lost 14 straight road primetime games, including in the playoffs, the longest such losing streak this century. Joe Burrow has been part of four of those games. 

The AFC North has two former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks in Burrow and Jackson as well as the QB to get the most guaranteed money in NFL history in the Browns' Deshaun Watson, but the division is thriving on defense. Baltimore (15.7 points per game allowed), Cleveland (18.9), Pittsburgh (20.2) and Cincinnati (21.3) are all allowing less than 22 points per game. The last time four teams from the same NFL division finished a season each allowing 21 points or fewer per contest was the AFC North in 2011.

In a way, the playoff chances of these teams were helped Wednesday with the news that Cleveland's Watson was done for the season, which massively downgrades the Browns' chances as the team moves forward with some combination of fifth-round rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who will start Sunday vs. Pittsburgh, and former XFL signal-caller PJ Walker. Before the Watson news, the SportsLine Projection Model forecasted an 8.8% chance for all four North teams in the playoffs. That's down to 7.0%.

While the Ravens' chances of making the playoffs stayed the same at 92.5% (win total projection stayed put at 11.2), Cleveland's dropped from 82.5% to 63.5%, while Pittsburgh's rose from 57.9 to 63% and Cincinnati's from 45 to 48.6%. It may not matter quite as much in the division race as after they face the Steelers on Sunday, the Browns' lone North game left is Week 18 in Cincinnati. Watson's absence should be a boon for the Bengals if they need that win. They currently project with the lowest win total in the North at 9.6. 

At DraftKings, the AFC North winner odds are Ravens -115, Bengals +400, Steelers +425 and Browns +450. Cincinnati would fall to 0-3 in the division with a loss, a likely fatal blow. 

We'll take you through every aspect of the Bengals-Ravens game that you need to know before you lock in your bets, including SportsLine expert picks, props, trends, injury information and everything else that will help you know which plays are worth making for the primetime matchup.

Who wins Bengals vs. Ravens in the Week 11 Thursday night game, and what critical X-factor makes one side of the spread hit HARD? Join SportsLine right now to see everything you need to know about the game in the Thursday night matchup to kick off Week 11 of the 2023 season!!