Joe Flacco

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Done with all the drama, the Bengals are grinding their way into the playoff conversation. Cedric Benson topped 100 yards again on Sunday, and the Bengals scored on their first three possessions, setting up a 17-7 victory over Baltimore that kept surprising Cincinnati atop the AFC North and undefeated against division foes. With a win next Sunday in Pittsburgh, the Bengals (6-2) would be in position to make the playoffs for only the second time in the past 19 years.

BALTIMORE (AP) -- The Baltimore Ravens aren't quite yet a playoff team. They sure are playing like one, though. Joe Flacco threw a career-high four touchdown passes, and the Ravens capitalized on six Chicago turnovers in a 31-7 rout on Sunday. Baltimore (8-6) led 14-0 after 13 minutes and 31-7 after three quarters. The victory solidified the Ravens' hold on the sixth and final playoff spot in the AFC and improved their record against teams currently with losing records to 6-0. "The game looked like one team was playing for something and the other one really wasn't," Bears coach Lovie Smith said.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The Baltimore Ravens are rolling down a familiar road. It's a route they once took to a Super Bowl title. They expect it to lead to the same place. In January 2001, the Ravens stuffed their wild-card playoff berth down the throats of four opponents to win their only NFL crown. One of the teams they beat was Tennessee. On Saturday, the Ravens eliminated the Titans, the AFC's top seed, 13-10. That followed a 27-9 victory over Miami in the wild-card round.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Reaching the AFC championship game in their first year under coach John Harbaugh was quite an accomplishment for the Baltimore Ravens, who successfully rebounded from a 5-11 season to get within a victory of the Super Bowl. No one expected much from the Ravens, who had a rookie quarterback, an inexperienced head coach and put 19 players on injured reserve -- second-most in the NFL. Yet they won 13 games, defeated top-seeded Tennessee in the playoffs and gave the Pittsburgh Steelers a bit of a scare before dropping a 23-14 decision Sunday.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Joe Flacco has been making headlines this postseason for what he hasn't done. In two games, the Baltimore Ravens quarterback has completed only 44 percent of his passes, thrown for one touchdown and is averaging 148 yards through the air. Nothing special there. Yet Flacco has not fumbled or been intercepted, and that's the biggest reason why he is the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to win two playoff games. He's no Joe Montana, but the man known in Baltimore as "Joe Cool" has outplayed quarterbacks with longer resumes and far more experience.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) --The Baltimore Ravens starred in this version of "Hard Knocks," punishing the New York Jets with plenty of them. The Jets intrigued audiences in the preseason with their no-holds-barred, behind-the-scenes TV show, but it was the Ravens who grabbed the spotlight Monday night with a 10-9 victory. They held New York to 176 yards, six first downs, allowed Mark Sanchez just 74 yards passing and kept Rex Ryan's crew out of the end zone. "Anytime you challenge a warrior, a warrior is always going to respond," Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said.

CINCINNATI -- Instead of watching a game, Mike Nugent got a chance to win one. The kicker who spent most of last season watching from home had the best day of his career on Sunday. He made all five of his field goal tries, sending the Cincinnati Bengals to a 15-10 victory over the Baltimore Ravens that extended their domination of the AFC North. Instead of Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco, the star of this one was the kicker. "Hey Hollywood!" holder Kevin Huber called out to him in the locker room.

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Joe Flacco threw for 229 yards and two touchdowns for the pass-happy Baltimore Ravens, whose no-huddle offense befuddled the New York Giants in a 24-10 preseason victory Saturday night. Flacco completed 21 of 34 passes before leaving after one series in the third quarter. Last year, he threw as many as 34 passes only seven times for a team that relied heavily on the run. Going without a huddle and often throwing on first down, the Ravens (3-0) scored 17 points over three straight possessions in the first half and coasted to their seventh consecutive preseason win. New York (1-2)

It seems like we can run, but we can't hide. I don't know about you, but I was spending this week getting ready for the Super Bowl. You know, the Big Game (since we aren't authorized to call it the other title). This one has a tinge of interest, especially since the Baltimore Ravens were going to be playing. But on Wednesday, I was notified that the buildup to Sunday's kickoff wasn't what it seemed. It was like when you were watching your favorite show and you hear “We are interrupting this program for a special announcement.” The announcement came courtesy of ESPN football analyst Tom Jackson.

Ray Lewis knows a championship defense when he sees one. Now the Kansas City Chiefs do, too. Lewis and Baltimore’s tough and savvy defense overwhelmed the young Chiefs on Sunday, sacking Matt Cassel three times and forcing five turnovers in a 30-7 victory in the opening round of the playoffs. The Chiefs (10-7), who won the AFC West with a six-game improvement and took pride in not beating themselves, managed just 25 yards in the second half. “To set records is one thing,” said Lewis, who forced a fumble and had a sack in the second-half dismantling of the Chiefs.