The Ravens have the best record in the AFC at 8-3, but their playoff spot is not secure yet.
The NFL's Week 13 slate will continue to put the playoff picture into focus.
Here's who Ravens fans should be rooting for:
Los Angeles Chargers (6-5) at Cincinnati Bengals (7-4)
_Sunday, 1 p.m., CBS
_The Bengals sit one game behind the Ravens in the standings at 7-4 and would leap into first place in the division with a win and Baltimore loss in Pittsburgh. The Chargers need a rebound after an ugly loss to the Broncos. Meanwhile, the Bengals are coming off a 41-10 blowout of the Steelers. This is a matchup between two premier second-year quarterbacks in the Bengals' Joe Burrow (No. 1 overall) and Chargers' Justin Herbert (No. 6). Even though the Chargers winning isn't great for the wild-card race, it's all about winning the AFC North for the Ravens.
Root for: Chargers
Indianapolis Colts (6-6) at Houston Texans (2-9)
Sunday, 1 p.m., CBS
The Colts are one of the top wild-card contenders and were one of the league's hottest teams before falling to the Super Bowl champion Buccaneers last week. The Texans are among the league's cellar dwellers, but they pulled off a shocking upset of the Titans two weeks ago. Divisional games are always tough and prime opportunities for upsets. Hope for another one.
Root for: Texans
New York Giants (4-7) at Miami Dolphins (5-7)
Sunday, 1 p.m., FOX
The Dolphins are still a longshot to make the playoffs, but they've rattled off four straight wins to keep their hopes alive. Looking at their schedule, there's definitely a path to 8-7 before closing the regular season out with two tough games against the Titans and Patriots where anything can happen (like rested starters). The Ravens don't want the Dolphins, who own a head-to-head advantage, to be in the mix and one more loss may drop them out.
Root for: Giants
Washington Football Team (5-6) at Las Vegas Raiders (6-5) *_Sunday, 4:05 p.m., FOX _Have the Raiders righted the ship? They're coming off a Thanksgiving win in Dallas, which was heavily aided by penalties. That snapped a three-game losing skid and kept them in the AFC West logjam with three teams sitting at 6-5. Meanwhile, WFT is riding a three-game winning streak with some impressive performances against the Buccaneers, Panthers and Seahawks. Always root for AFC teams to go down at the hands of the NFC, especially with the Raiders holding a head-to-head advantage over Baltimore and being in the playoff picture.Root for:* Washington
Denver Broncos (6-5) at Kansas City Chiefs (7-4)
Sunday, 8:20 p.m., NBC
This one is a little tougher to make a ruling on. With four straight wins, the Chiefs seem to be back on track after a topsy turvy first half of the season and now are one of the top threats to the Ravens' No. 1 spot/seed, along with New England, Buffalo and Tennessee. Thus, it would be good to knock them another game back in that chase. However, doing so would boost the Broncos' playoff chances. It still seems unlikely that they would be able to get in, and the Ravens have a head-to-head tiebreaker over them. So let's make a mediocrity mess of the AFC West and pull for Denver.
Root for: Broncos
New England Patriots (8-4) at Buffalo Bills (7-4)
Monday, 8:15 p.m., ESPN
The Patriots sit just a half game behind the Ravens in the AFC and have won a league-high six consecutive games. This is the first of their two meetings. It certainly looks like both squads will make the playoffs, but better to put some more distance between the Ravens and the rest of the conference in hopes of securing a potential first-round playoff bye.
Root for: Bills
